TOURIST TRAFFIC

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 21051, 30 December 1933, Page 12

TOURIST TRAFFIC

BUSINESS IN 1933 BRIGHT PROSPECTS FOR NEXT YEAR One of the signs of returning confidence is that more persons are travelling for pleasure. Indications at the commencement of the tourist season make it appear that the season will be the most successful one that the Dominion has experienced for a number of years. From all sources it is reported that more persons are travelling. In recent /ears many persons have contented themselves with holidays requiring only short trips, perhaps taking a cottage at the seaside. Spreading Their Wings. This year, however, people in general, and particularly the young, seem to have the urge to spread their wings. They have been waiting more or less patiently for this glimpse of returning prosperity, and now that it has shown itself they have decided to enjoy themselves again. Attractions Advertised. During the quiet period the various tourist agencies have been busy spreading their propaganda and pointing out to those with means, particularly in countries overseas, the beauties that are to be seen and the benefits to be derived in countries other than their own. Unsettled economic conditions on the Continent have caused travellers to turn their eyes in other directions, and the claims of New Zealand have been made known in many parts of the world where they were not well known before. Shipping companies have worked hard, chiefly in America and England, to convince people that they should visit New Zealand. The deep-sea fishing from the Bay of Islands has come into its own and satisfied patrons in the past have spread its fame so that now there is a steady stream of sporting fishermen to the northern waters of the Dominion. The wonders of the thermal regions and the magic of the Waitomo Caves have proved a great attraction, and now that the fears of earlhctuakes have been forgotten these North Island resorts are being visited more and more frequently. South Island's Progress. The South Island, too, is assuming definite shape on the tourist map. Each year .sees fresh country opened up and more majestic scenery unfolded, and travellers are beginning to realise that the North Island produces the wonders and the South Island the scenery that cannot be surpassed in any part of the world. Ski-ing, skating, toboganning, mountain climbing, and all forms of ice sport are to he enjoyed in a very small radius, the cost is reasonably low, and conditions of travelling have been improved vastly in recent years. New and up-to-date steamers are making their appearance in New Zealand waters, and there is promise of still more luxurious vessels to come. Trains and motors have been made more comfortable and, i.'jcording to the means available, everything lias been done to attract tourists to New Zealand. A Steady Increase. Enquiries at the Government Tourist Bureau show that during the year, there has been a considerable increase in tourist traffic and the Christmas bookings at the local office have been well up to the average of recent years. Popular trips had been made during the school holidays to the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers and as the fares had been cheap these had been liberally patronised. At other times, too, the glaciers have been most popular and there has been an increasing stream of people to Mount Cook. The Marlborough Sounds have had their fair share of patronage and many people have made the round trip through Kaikoura, Nelson, the Buller Gorge, and back to Christchurch. The southern lakes have had a great many more visitors than usual, the delights of Pembroke and Queenstown proving a great attraction. Lake Te Anau has been very popular and the trip up the Eglington Valley has been in the boom. Hundreds of motor-cars and thousands of travellers have made this trip, and all who have made it praise it in glowing terms. Many have camped in the valley and many others have made it a onedav trip from Te Anau. Manapouri, "the lake of a hundred isles," in its picturesque setting, has had many visitors and the new track from Lake Manapouri to Doubtful Sound by the one route and the return journey by the other route has become more widely known. The Milford Track Popular. Milford Sound and the track from Lake Te Anau to Milford, which has been acclaimed as the finest walk in the world, have lost none of their popularity, and the provision that is being made this year for tourists to visit them will mean that more than usual will make the trip. The Union Steam Ship Company's liner .Monowai early in the year is to make a trip from Sydney to Melbourne and across to Milford Sound, where a number of passengers will disembark to walk overland to Lake Te Anau. The Monowai will then call at Port Chalmers and from that port most of the passengers will commence a tour of the South Island. New hot shower baths and drying rooms at the Quintin Huts on the Milford Track will make for the added convenience of tourists. There h s also been a fair amount of enquiry for the Stewart Island trip and the Hanmer Springs are as popular as ever. The arrival of tourists from oversea does not begin, usually, till January or February, but the prospects for a large influx are bright. The South Island, however, is handicapped to a degree in that it very seldom that the first port of call for any of the large passenger liners from England is in the South Island and the steamers from America call at only Wellington or Auckland. That means that many

tourists whose time is limited confine their visit to the North Island and the fact that there is no passenger vessel connexion between Dunedin or Bluff and Australia is another disadvantage to the South Island, as travellers dislike having to retrace their steps. The Railways. Passenger traffic on the railways during the year has shown a steady improvement. Ranfurly Shield football matches in Christcliurch during the football season were responsible for heavy passenger traffic to Christchurch from the West Coast, Otago, and Southland. Picnic traffic, organised by business houses, tradespeople, schools, social clubs, etc., also improved during the year. The visit of H.M.A.S. Canberra and H.M.S. Diomede to Lyttelton during the year created a great deal of interest and there were large numbers of visitors from Christchurch to Lyttelton while the warships were in port. The passengers travelling by piail and express trains during the Christmas holidays showed that the people generally are looking forward to improved times during 1934, and therefore decided to take a holiday this year. The number of nassengers leaving Christchurch on these trains showed a good improvement on the number for Christmas, 1932. Many passengers were booked through from the North Island for resorts south of Christchurch and these kept the rolling stock of the department busy.