17th March 2020 By Contributor
ChristchurchNZ’s general manager of destination and attraction, Loren Heaphy, a year on from the March 15th mosque attacks on how the city pulled together and what was learnt from such a terrible event.
Loren Heaphy
The events of March 15th, 2019 sought to divide us. They did the opposite. It spurred within Ōtautahi Christchurch a spirit of inclusivity and love.
This past week we have been remembering those who died, acknowledging the pain felt here in New Zealand and across the world in the wake of what happened in our city.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the victims had “chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home”.
She said: “They are us.” The words #theyareus trended worldwide, and New Zealand and Ōtautahi Christchurch was recognised for our compassionate public response.
Aside from the Covid-19 restrictions, people continue to come to our city and our region – to explore a beautiful part of the world or to make it their home.
They are, and will always be, welcome here. This is a city of people from all backgrounds, religions and nationalities. What happened last year will not change that. If anything, what March 15th changed for our city was the way we see ourselves.
One year on, we are a changed city. Our spirit of love and resilience has refined the way we talk about Christchurch, and our attractiveness as a visitor destination.
In the immediate days following the attacks, the city saw a significant reduction in visitor numbers, but as we mourned we saw large numbers of visitors change their plans to come to Christchurch and mourn alongside us. This show of solidarity, and the continued global outpouring of love meant in many ways we were a city to add to the bucket list.
We were concerned about our brand. We were concerned about our visitor numbers. We were concerned we were “off the map” as a visitor destination. This was unchartered territory for New Zealand, and suddenly we discovered that we were not immune to the global threat that is terrorism.
In some markets, such as China, the attacks had little to no impact in either awareness or visitation. Surveys with inbound tour operators showed the Chinese market were mostly unaware of the event and it didn’t impact their decision-making to travel to Christchurch.
In our Muslim markets, we saw some hesitancy to travel in the early days, but our subsequent response to March 15th was so positively received that we saw a slight rise in visitation from Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.
In Western Markets, and most especially Australia and the United States, we saw visitors eager to show their support and continue to visit our city.
Media and trade simultaneously reached out to aid our destination in getting back on track and, most importantly, wanted to align themselves to our message of acceptance, love and compassion. One specific example of this was The New York Times naming us as one of the top 52 destinations to visit in 2020 as a “global symbol of resilience”.
As a tourism promotion agency, the events of March 15th helped us realise that it is not just our visitor attractions, landscapes, experiences and people that shape our destination brand, but that our core identity and city aspirations are what drives the desire for visitors to explore our city and learn from us.
Events like the March 15th attacks are not something we would wish on any destination. And in the year that followed the country has seen its fair share of disasters which we grieved alongside – the Whakaari / White Island eruption, the New Zealand International Convention Centre fire, and extreme weather and flooding on the West Coast and at Milford Sound.
But as we move forwards and face perhaps our greatest visitor challenge yet – Covid-19 – like every challenge this city has faced in the past, it will be met with resilience, grace, strength, aroha and most of all, it will be met together, in partnership.
So, what should our learning be? They are us, and we are them. And that is what makes New Zealand one of a kind. I wish you all the greatest strength in the weeks and months to come.
Assalamu Alaikum, Arohanui
