SEEING NEW ZEALAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 157, 3 July 1916, Page 7

SEEING NEW ZEALAND.

AN EFFECT OF THE WAR. SATISFACTORY TOURIST SEASON. STATEMENT BY MINISTER. An interesting review of the progress ot the Dominion tourist and health resorts vii ma de by the Hon. Dr. McNab. the Minister i"n charge of that i department, in the course of a conversa- , tioii with a "Star"' reporter. Wheu asked whether the resorts had sutfered ■ seriously through the loss of touriste iroin overseas. Or .UcXab remarked that this had not been the case to any great extent. Indeed, many of the popular resort.-, such a≤ Rotoriia. Mount Cook and Waitomo. had done remark- ; ably well. It seamed that New Zealand people were not disposed to go overseas. to any extent, on holiday just now. and I had spent their holidays in seeing some- j thing of their own country. At rtanmer I Springs ai;d at Rotorua there had be«>n the additional attraction of the returned soldiers in the military hospitals established at those centres by t-he Defence ! Department. Man/ friends of the soldier? had gone to see the soldiers, j I and. at the same time, had taken tho | ' opportunity of seeing something of the thermal regions. The dislocation of shipping from Melbourne to the RlufF had siven Auckland ! an added number of Australia-n visitors. I j People who would ordinarily have gone ' to the Bluff or Port Charmers, to do I the round of the Cold Lakes or Milford Sound, had been obliged to come to New j Zealand via Sydney, and thus been, landed in Auckland or Wellington.) Naturally enoueh. they went to R-ntorua j and Waitomo. or to Wanganui. Nevertheless. th» returns supplied from the Pouth wore ennd. particularly , from Mount Took. This wn< another j -videnee that the Now Zealamlers i themselves were visiting the wonder , places in their own country. Asked i about the Waitomo Caves, the Minister j replied that the oppnine up of the caves ! had proved t" t» a most popular move, i This year it had shown a profit of £«00.