Longer shop hours welcomed—survey

Press, 12 September 1988, Page 2

Longer shop hours welcomed—survey

By SUZANNE KEEN International visitors would welcome some extension of shopping hours in Christchurch, according to a survey by the Canterbury Promotion Council.

During a week in May, 106 visitors from 18 countries were interviewed at the council’s information centre. Twenty-nine considered the shopping hours “capable of improvement,” and seven said they were “completely inadequate.” A further 59 described them as “0.K.” and 11 as “very good.”

wanted Sunday shopping.

The chief executive of the promotion council, Mr Bruce Dunstan, said it had already made a submission to the Government’s Shopping Hours Advisory Committee and would now advise the Tourist and Publicity Department of the findings.

said. The visitors were interviewed by Christchurch Polytechnic students of tourism and were also asked their opinion on other issues being debated at the time. Of the same 106 visitors, 85 said that if there were a casino in Christchurch they would not have visited it on their trip. Most of the visitors said they and come to the centre to find out about things to do and get information on sightseeing. A smaller number wanted

to know about accommodation. The conspicuous, cen-tral-city location and “word-of-mouth” were the main ways they had found out about the centre. At 10,102, there were 1703 more visitors to the centre in August this year than in August last year. “There is still an increasing number of international visitors coming to New Zealand,” said Mr Dunstan. “I think it also shows a higher awareness of the centre.”

“But because it is a smallish survey it is not going to turn the legislation on its head by itself,” Mr Dunstan said. The main aim of the survey was to find out more about the use of the information centre, he

Of those dissatisfied with the hours, 20 favoured all-day Saturday shopping and the same number favoured shops being open later in the evening. Only three