City shows resilience with no shortage of night life, UC researcher says

Christchurch has shown its resilience with no shortage of restaurants, cafes and bars to go to following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, a University of Canterbury (UC) business lecturer said today.

UC lecturer Dr Sussie Morrish said Christchurch will be a much better place for night life for next year’s intake of UC students.

She said there were about 420 cafes, restaurants and bars open in the city with more new places opening each week. Thirty four percent of places to go at night were in the central city area.

``The happening scene is also around the Riccarton and Wigram area where new restaurants, cafes and bars have been relocated or are opening up, along with events that are being staged in the city centre.

``The Canterbury Business Association is proposing an international village which would have a host of establishments that could cater to different nationalities.

``Christchurch continues to have a very vibrant music culture with all sorts of events being staged including The Concert spearheaded by the UC Student Volunteer Army.

Dr Morrish said the Addington area which is fairly close to UC is now the “it” place to be with the vibrant café scene endorsed by the global travel guide Lonely Planet.

Tim Hunter, chief executive of Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism, today agreed with Dr Morrish’s research.

"As Lonely Planet predicts, 2013 is going to be an intriguing year to be in Christchurch. Lively cafes, bars and restaurants are returning to the city as the rebuild gets underway,’’ he said.

``Next month will see the opening of several old favourites in great new locations like C1 Espresso with Alice’s on High St, The Twisted Hop in Woolston and Dux Dine in Riccarton, while the city’s creative pop-up culture in venues like Smash Palace and the Cargo Bar continues to make us unique.

``Coming up, Gap Filler’s Summer Pallet Pavilion will be a popular live music venue, on the site of the Crowne Plaza hotel, and three new arthouse cinemas are set to open in The Colombo this December to add to the mix."

Lonely Planet has rated Christchurch at number six on its list of top 10 cities in the world for 2013. Hunter said it was priceless recognition of all the hard work that had gone on in Christchurch since the quakes and had the potential to make a huge difference to the speed at which the local tourism industry recovered.

Christchurch is the only New Zealand city to make it into Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel publication – a collection of the world's best trends, destinations, journeys and experiences for the upcoming year.

The city was singled out by Lonely Planet for the way it was “bouncing back with a new energy and inventiveness".

“New Zealand’s second largest city is rising from the rubble ... with a breath-taking mix of spirit, determination and flair,” Lonely Planet said.

“The recovery effort is well under way and 2013 will be an intriguing year to join the rebirth of this proud southern city.”

University of Canterbury Students Association President Erin Jackson said 2013 looks set to be another fantastic year for students at UC.

``In between the 120 clubs on campus, the over 130 events that they alone put on during the year and the thousands of students that get involved, there’s a lot going on.

``In addition to our clubs, we’ve got the largest, newest and most-custom built student space in the country, which sees different events put on every week. Christchurch, and the University of Canterbury, is really the most innovative and dynamic place to be right now.’’