Local members of SKAL (an international association of travel and tourism professionals) have donated more than 50 nights of hotel and motel accommodation, while Air New Zealand has come to the party with complimentary return flights, SKAL's Queenstown branch president, Graeme Horsley says.
"It's a small gesture that locals hoped would provide a break for some of the business owners.
"Some of these small business owners have virtually lost everything they have invested and worked hard for.
We hope that a bit of time out down here will give them a bit of a break from what is an incredibly stressful and worrying time," he saidThe group has worked with the Christchurch City Council and the Christchurch Chamber of Commerce to locate recipients and Mr Horsley says there has been an excellent response.
The first recipient of the hospitality is a Moroccan restaurant owner from the Christchurch suburb of Beckenham, who arrives for two nights at the Millennium Hotel today.
Mr Horsley said about 100 guests were expected to sign up for the offer.
