WAR FEARS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 194, 18 August 1939, Page 6

WAR FEARS.

TOURIST TRAFFIC HIT.

"Both Italy and Germany offer extraordinary attractive terms to the tourist, but war fears have effectively operated, and American, British, French and other nationals give the totalitarian States a wide 'berth," says Geoffrey Rawson, a special Press representative visiting Europe.

One of the chief impressions which the traveller in Europe receives to-day, and especially in those two greatest of all tourist countries—Germany and Italy—is the almost complete absence of tourists. And this in spite of the alluring offers made by the Italian and German Governments to attract foreign visitors to their countries.

The'reason is. of course, that people fear being caught in those countries should a war break out. Tourism in Germany and in Italy has 'been developed to a fine art in recent years, but all the efforts made to attract visitors have failed. To-day the vast machinery and organisation for the reception of visitors is almost paralysed.

If the.e 'be one thing that Germany and Italy require to-day it is foreign currency, and they rely largely on the immense tourist industry to bring it into their countries. The ramifications of the industry are enormous, and its temporary suspension has wrought havoc in every direction. The German and Italian liners normally en-gaged in -bringing American and European visitors are suffering from the slump.

The fine landing wharves and big buildings erected for the speedy reception and dispatch of tourists stand empty. Taxis, porters and other subsidiary services are unemployed. The hotels are having a lean time. The motor coaches, which take tourists on a round of the "sights," and the "sights" themselves, many of which in the past derived a handsome revenue from admittance fees, are suffering from the slump.

One reason is that the average Briton is now very hostile to the Xazi "gang" and is determined not to let them have his money. There is. no such hostility against Italy, but here again "political and strategic" reasons have ruined the tourist traffic to that country. Normally and traditionally, Italy is the queen of the tourist countries par excellence. She has more to offer than any other country, and the cost of living there is low.