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Between earthquakes and now a terrorist shooting, it has been a tough few years for the city of Christchurch. Now, a report that predicts an immediate dip in tourism in the Canterbury area that will undoubtedly send many Christchurch businesses scrambling for disruption coverage.
Data from ANZ’s New Zealand Weekly Focus report revealed that, in terms of the macroeconomic impacts after last Friday’s terrorist attack, an immediate dip in tourist arrivals is expected – particularly from traditionally more risk-averse markets in Asia. “After the toughest decade in its history, it seems monstrously unfair that the city has now been struck by a new tragedy, this one man-made,” the report said.
“There will likely therefore also be a broader impact on business confidence in the services sector and particularly in Christchurch, given concerns that the hospitality sector in particular was already oversupplied.”
While the perception of increased risk will likely cause an uptick in insurance activity, it will also impact the city’s productivity as it recoups and continues rebuilding from the Canterbury earthquakes.
“In the longer term, we can expect a diversion of resources nationwide towards essentially unproductive insurance-type activity: security guards, bag screening, cyber monitoring and the like – probably not likely to have a meaningful macroeconomic impact, but a regular reminder that we aren’t as immune from the world’s woes as we thought,” it said.
