A belief that the Canterbury earthquakes caused significant damage in Dunedin or that there is a high risk of quakes in Dunedin is causing some international students to avoid coming to the city, education providers say.
This comes after the University of Otago last week announced international students numbers as of April 1 were down by 5.9% compared with the corresponding period last year, in part due to "negative impressions of the South Island as a safe destination".
Otago University international pro-vice-chancellor Prof Sarah Todd said that perception was partly caused by international media which ran headlines along the lines of "South Island hit by earthquakes".
"This, plus the fact that travelling to Dunedin frequently necessitates travel via Christchurch, has resulted in some students choosing to study elsewhere," Prof Todd said.
It was "difficult to quantify" exactly how many had avoided Dunedin because of the perceived risk, but several institutions and students had cited concerns about earthquakes as the major reason they chose not to come.
In some cases overseas universities were making the decision that students should study elsewhere to reduce their institutional liability.
In an effort to fight the perceptions, the university had sent messages after every significant quake to overseas institutions and recruitment agents that Dunedin was not affected.
"In some cases, we have been asked for, and supplied, information regarding the likelihood of Dunedin experiencing an earthquake of a similar size to those that have struck Christchurch."
Education Dunedin marketing manager Sue Radcliffe said the perception the South Island was unsafe was widespread among prospective students.
Despite the perceived risk the number of international pupils coming to Dunedin high schools was up by about 10% on last year, she said.
However, there was a possibility of a "down turn" in numbers coming as a result of the perceived threat and that meant institutions would need to keep reminding overseas partners that Dunedin had different geology to Christchurch.
Otago Polytechnic communications manager Mike Waddell said members of the polytechnic who travelled offshore had encountered a lot of people who believed Dunedin was affected by the Canterbury earthquakes.
"Somebody, say sitting in India, looks at the globe, looks where New Zealand is and they see comparatively it's a small place and the South Island is even smaller.
They know Christchurch is in the South Island so they assume the whole island has been affected."
This perception put all institutions in the South Island "at risk" of losing international students and meant the polytechnic had to do "far more reassuring" than previously.
Despite some being put off by the perceived risk, international student numbers at the polytechnic were up on last year, he said.
