News release: December 24, 2011

Safety first as Christchurch moves on from latest quakes

Tourism operators and retailers have bounced back quickly from a series of pre-Christmas earthquakes which rattled Christchurch yesterday.

Most have re-opened today after shutting temporarily immediately following the magnitude 5.8 and magnitude 6 quakes in order to carry out safety checks on their premises.

Christchurch International Airport closed for several hours yesterday so the runways could be inspected for signs of damage but it is fully operational again today, although passengers are advised to check with their airlines as there maybe some changes to scheduled flight times.

Power and water are on in most parts of Christchurch and all major roads and bridges are still operational.

“The quakes were unsettling and have caused some further damage in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch but the people here are very resilient and bounce back quickly,’’ says Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive Tim Hunter.

“Most shops, including our new container shopping precinct in the central city, supermarkets and petrol stations are trading again today as are most of the city’s cafes, bars and restaurants.

Christchurch’s i-SITE Visitor Centre on Rolleston Avenue is open today and visitors can call the information hotline on 0800 4 237 83. The i-SITE will be open every day except Christmas Day from 8.30am to 5pm.

“We’ve had no reports of closures from any of our commercial accommodation providers so there is no need for people who were planning on coming to Christchurch to re-think their holiday plans.

“Local tourism operators are operating on a ‘safety first’ policy, so if they are open - and most are - then it is safe for visitors,’’ Mr Hunter says.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says earthquakes of the magnitude experienced yesterday were not totally unexpected.

"GNS scientists have been telling us that there was a likelihood that we would have an aftershock of this magnitude," he says.

The fact there was no loss of life or serious injury was due to all the hard work that has been done over the past 15 months to make Christchurch safe, Mr Parker says.

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