The Australian government has declined an invitation to send officials to Christchurch to see for themselves that it is safe, a New Zealand tourism executive says.
An Australian government website has been advising would-be travellers to stay away from Christchurch for the past four months and telling those who do visit to exercise a high degree of caution.
It is the same advisory it has also placed on East Timor, Rwanda and Iran.
Canberra says the advisory is in place because of the damage to buildings, public infrastructure and essential services caused by ongoing earthquakes.
Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism chief executive Tim Hunter says messages like this are damaging for a city trying to recover its tourism market.
He says all dangerous buildings have now been secured and wants Australian government officials to see that for themselves.
"Our message to them is 'we've made the city safe'. There's no need for them to be making their travellers anxious about coming here."
Mr Hunter says Christchurch will continue to invite Australian officials to visit.
