TOURIST TRAFFIC.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 155, 14 April 1936, Page 3

TOURIST TRAFFIC.

NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT. MR STERLING’S VIEWS. (Special to the “ Guardian. ’) WELLINGTON, April 13. A great opportunity for the development of ?ts? tourist traffic is open to New Zealand. Tourist countries m Europe are having very difficult tunes through a number of causes, and tne people of Great Britain and America are disposed to be interested m new countries. The rising tide of prosperity assists to make this opportune time tor the Dominion to develop its tourist business. These are the opinions of Mr H H Sterling, chairman of the Runways Board before its recent abolition, who returned to Wellington to-day after a long tour abroad. Mi- Sterling said his observations confirmed the views lie hal expressed before leaving New Zealand, when he advocated organising the tourist business in New Zealand on a national basis. This was being done in other countries, in Great Britain a national organisation had been constituted. The Government of Canada had also become very active and had set up a department to deal with the matter. South Africa pushed its tourist business very energetically in Great Britain. In Australia the National Travel Association was doing good work for the Commonwealth, and also, it might he remarked, for New Zealand, and the Federal Government was interesting itself in furthering the business.

There should be the closest co-opera-tion between Australia and New Zealand on tourist matters, said Mr Sterling. He was glad to see some progress iiad been made along this line. Australia was New Zealand’s nearest market for tourist business, and both countries had much to gain, and nothing to lose, by very close collaboration in countries overseas. After a tour which had taken in the North American continent, Great Britain and most of the European countries, lie was very definite in his opinion that New Zealand was preeminent in its natural attractions lor the tourist.