Hotel Accommodation In Christchurch

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30056, 14 February 1963, Page 12

Hotel Accommodation In Christchurch

Many factors have combined to restrict improvement in hotel accommodation in most New Zealand cities; and much has still to be done in Christchurch to provide better facilities for both tourists and businessmen. The Canterbury Chamber of Commerce is to be commended for undertaking its current inquiries into Christchurch requirements. Since the housing shortage was relieved, the building industry has been better able to direct resources to commercial buildings, including hotels. It will be important to achieve the appropriate balance between new central accommodation and motel-type hotels in the suburbs. This is a matter to which the chamber’s investigators are wisely devoting attention. To ignore the continuing need for

high-class accommodation in the central area of Christchurch would plainly be foolish, even though motels have gained tremendously in popularity, Many persons will agree with the opinion of Mr J. Roysmith that in Christchurch undue reliance has been put on the remodelling of existing buildings. In recent years at least two schemes for building new multi-storey tourist hotels on the sites of existing licensed premises appear to have been shelved. Christchurch has surely reached the stage in its growth where the construction of another hotel, designed and operated according to overseas standards, is justifiable. Because of the relaxation of price controls and of antiquated legal restrictions, such a hotel must now have better prospects of financial success.