DISTRIBUTION OF LICENSES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21084, 8 February 1934, Page 7

DISTRIBUTION OF LICENSES

HOTELS FOR TOURIST RESORTS A CONFERENCE SUGGESTED The tourist and publicity committee of the Canterbury Progress League submitted the following report relative to hotel accommodation at the tourist resorts of the Dominion, to the meeting of the executive of the league last night:— Recently the president of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce received a letter from Mr John Fuller, of Messrs John Fuller and Sons, Ltd., calling attention lo what, in his opinion, constituted a serious handicap under which many of our scenic resorts were suffering—the lack of suitable hotel accommodation. He attributed these shortcomings to the law which prohibited the redistribution of licenses. He called attention to the number of licenses in Greymouth and Westport, where the hotels and drinking establishments were so numerous that it was necessary to place them side by side in order to fit them into the town. On the other hand, there was the spectacle of many of our finest resorts and scenic attractions crying out for accommodation which cannot be provided because, without a license, the cost of raising the .standard of comfort would not be justified. Distribution of Hotel Licenses. The president of the chamber submitted Mr Fuller's letter to a meeting of his council, when it was decided to refer the subject matter to the joint tourist and publicity committees of the chamber and the league. This joint committee met last Wednesday to decide what action, if any, was to be recommended to the respective bodies. At first members were a little hesitant in taking any action at all, but after it was explained that the meeting was expected to concern itself only in that phase of the question that affected the interests of the tourist traffic, it was decided to recommend that the Government be asked to set up a special committee,, or, alternatively, call a conference for the purpose Of comprehensively examining all matters relating to the provision of facilities and amenities for tourists throughout the Dominion, particularly concerning hotel accommodation and the proper distribution of hotel licenses, together with other matters which might require attention to ensure the comfort and convenience of overesas visitors; the committee, or conference, to sit under the chairmanship of the Minister in charge of the Tourist Department (the Hon. Adam Hamilton), and to consist of representatives of the New Zealand Alliance, Licensed Victuallers* Association, the Health Department, and the shipping, railway, and transport interests.

The organiser for the league (Mr P. R. Climie) said that the joint committee had left it to the league's committee to submit the report to the executive of the league, and, if it were adopted, to make representations to the Minister.

Mr G. H. Holford, in emphasising the necessity for a chain of hotels in connexion with the Dominion's tourist resorts, referred to the accommodation provided by the Government at Lake Te Anau, and said that while there was quite a good dining-room and sitting-room, the bedroom accommodation was very bad. The whole thing, he asserted, was in a shocking mess. The South Island compared unfavourably with the North Island in respect of accommodation at tourist resorts. The suggestion contained in the report was on right lines. The report was adopted.