SOUTH ISLAND PUBLICITY

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22554, 9 November 1938, Page 12

SOUTH ISLAND PUBLICITY

PRESENT TACTICS CRITICISED EFFECT IN AUCKLAND OBSERVED VIEWS OF SECRETARY OP CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The effect in the North Island of the complaints made at the conference of the South Islands Travel Association last week that overseas tourists were not encouraged to come to the South Island was observed by Mr J. Roy Smith, secretary of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, who was in Auckland at the time. On his return yesterday he made some trenchant criticisms of the methods of publicity adopted to attract tourists to the South Island, basing his comments on the attitude he had found to exist in the north. He referred during his discussion of the matter to a leading article in the “New Zealand Herald,” which slated that the South Island should make it its business to encourage visits from North Island residents, maintaining that what was unique in New Zealand was mainly in the North Island and that the special attractions of the South Island, among which Mount Cook was not included, were difficult of access to tourists in a hurry. “Although South Islanders may disagree to some extent with the tone of this leading article, it is a marvellous illustration of the fact that the people of Auckland are unfavourable to the South Island tourist resorts,” said Mr Smith. Tourists “Put Off South Island” “When the visitor from overseas comes to Auckland he does not find necessarily that the Aucklander speaks in a derogatory tone of the South Island. But the Aucklander says that he has not been there, and damns its attractions with faint praise. His attitude of superiority puts the tourists off the South Island. This is not done deliberately, but the Aucklander has his own attractions in mind, and he never thinks of the South Island, in so far as he has never been attracted by the South Island. "It is at this point that valuable practical work can be done in the North Island, such as the exhibition of films in schools, sports clubs, and other institutions, so that North Island people may themselves be attracted to the South Island and may in turn encourage overseas visitors to come here. “Referred to as a ‘Howl’ ” “Statements that the South Island is not getting its share of the tourist traffic and emphasising the unsatisfactoriness of the present position in a tone that is referred to in Auckland as a ‘howl’ cannot be considered to be very good tourist publicity. The tourist reads such statements and comes to the conclusion that there must be some reason for not going to the South Island. Its interests are adversely affected by this constant crying out. “What business firm, if it were not getting as much business as it needed, would advertise the fact and complain about it? “A sound scheme of comprehensive publicity in Auckland is called for. When the tourist has come to Auckland the first obstacle is overcome. The customer has entered the shop, and a campaign of education to the attraction of the South Island through showing films in the way suggested would do a great deal more than the publication of complaints about tourists not coming south. The same remarks apply to Wellington, but not to the same extent, as Wellington is closer to the south, and a great many Wellington people have been to the South Island.”