HEAVIER HOLIDAY BUSINESS

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21354, 22 December 1934, Page 14

HEAVIER HOLIDAY BUSINESS

MORE TRAVELLERS THIS CHRISTMAS RAILWAYS VERY BUSY I Expectations of a busy holiday season on the railways and roads have proved well-founded, and indications now are that more people will be travelling this Christmas than for several years past. The railway booking offices, the Tourist Department office, and the travelling agencies all report greatly imI proved business. More people are coming to Christchurch this Christmas, more people are going away, and more people are making tours by road and rail. The railways, particularly, have been extremely busy for some weeks, and will, of course, be busier still next week. A booking officer said yesterday that there was a noticeable all-round improvement on last year's business, and that one of the most striking features of this year's booking was that more people were travelling longer distances. During the years of the depression holiday railway traffic had been comparatively light, and those who had travelled had been able to afford only relatively short journeys. This year, however, those who had booked through the Christchurch offices had shown a very wide range of choice. Traffic to the south and the west was very heavy, but traffic to the North Island was much greater than it had been for several years. Many were going to Invercargill, Dunedin, Greymouth, and intermediate stations, but a great many enquiries had been received for trips to Stewart Island, Queenstown, Mount Cook, and other more or less remote holiday resorts. Another feature of the booking which had been noted in Christchurch was that travellers were spreading their _ holiday over a longer period. This also pointed to a returning willingness and ability to spend.

Well Filled Trains Already, trains to and from Christchurch have been carrying very heavy complements. Yesterday morning's south expresses were well filled, about 700 people joining each of them at the Christchurch station. In addition, there were 80 reservations from the North Island by passengers who travelled south by the steamer express. The expresses from the south were also heavily laden. To-day the second last travelling day before Christmas Eve, will also be a heavy one for the railway passenger service. The 8.35 a.m. express to the south was booked up yesterday morning, and, to make provision for the rush, the department has arranged for a relief express to leave Christchurch for Invercargill at 9.10 a.m. Other relief trains have been arranged for the south line and for the West Coast line. To-morrow the steamer express from Wellington will arrive at Lyttelton about 8.30 a.m., and will leave on the daylight return trip at 8 a.m. A train will leave Christchurch at 7.30 a.m., and will run alongside the steamer at 7.52 a.m. The Government tourist bureau, which has practically completed its holiday booking business, reports an improved turnover this year, Many enquiries have been received for trips to the far south and the far north, and round trips by rail and road have been particularly popular. The Mount Cook Tourist Company of New Zealand has also been having a better season than for several years. Visitors to the Hermitage, from overseas and from 'Christchurch, have increased markedly, and there has been a steady demand for hut accommodation for holiday climbers.