Australian Tourists Needed To Improve Trade Balance

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27824, 24 November 1955, Page 10

Australian Tourists Needed To Improve Trade Balance

A “New Zealand package tour” for Australia could do a great deal towards closing a gap in the balance of trade between the two countries —in New Zealand’s favour, said the Minister in charge of Tourist and Publicity (Mr E. H. Halstead) when he addressed about 300 members of the Tin Hat Club. Mr Halstead said that the South Island had much to offer tourists from Australia who were particularly interested in what the country had to offer. Overseas travel experts were convinced that New r Zealand had something to seU and were anxious to sell 'New Zealand, he said. Christchurch itself had something to sell—the South Island.

Australians, especially those who lived in the states of Victoria and South and Western Australia, found something in the South Island that was completely different Many of them had never seen snow, or mountain lakes or liords, and wished to do sx The figures for overseas travellers visiting the North and South Islands were rapidly approaching parity. “If we could only get a few new hotels built in Dunedin we could absorb more from overseas,’* he said. ‘Although accommodation is good m Christchurch, I hope it will get even better. In the peak season there is some trouole, but it is not as bad as in other cities.’’ However, that was not so bad for Australian visitors because in Australia hotels were worse than in New Zealand.

“If they get bad accommodation they do not complain so much as visitors from the United States and Britain,” he said. “They are much more easily satisfied than some of our visitors from further afield.

“Some people say that with all these tourists New Zealanders will tend to become ebsequious and servile,” Mr Halstead said. “That is a lot of tommy rot. No New Zealander will ever be servile—they never were in prison camps.”

Tourists coming to New Zealand from Australia would help to balance trade. Last year Australia had sold the Do-

minion £30,000,000 worth of goods but had bought back only £8,000,000. If the Dominion could sell tourism to Australia the gap would be appreciably closed, he said. ‘Tourism spins the money around,” said Mr Halstead. “When people go on holiday they want to spend. More than 80 per cent, of overseas tourists are over the age of 50. and a lot of them have saved up for a long time for an overseas trio. That is a help to our overseas exchange position and helps keep New Zealanders in touch with other people and thinking in other parts of the world.” To be successful, tourism had to be planned by experts. When United States military forces moved from Honolulu to Japan at the end of the war, Honolulu was faced with a dwindling revenue. Economists planned a tourist campaign, and from 15,000 visitors in 1946, the trade had grown to 91.287 lasf year. “It just shows what can be done by planning a tourist trade,” Mr Halstead said. “I could not help but feel that with 91,000 visitors in Honolulu we could get more down to New Zealand. We only get 2000 at present.” Tourist interests in Honolulu had been interested in his proposition that they should endeavour to sell more trips to New Zealand, he said. The Government and the interests were now co-operating to encourage more visitors to the South Pacific, known as the “Oceana Package.” The scheme was particularly useful to Honolulu interests because tourists were caught by them twice —coming and going—but New Zealand benefited.

Tourism was of great economic importance, and in Britain ranked as the biggest dollar earner and the seventh most important export. In 1947, 401.000 visitors to Britain had brought £33,000,000 in overseas exchange, and last year £137,000.000 had been earned in foreign currency by 901,000 visitors from overseas.

New Zealand had also had a big influx of visitors from other countries. In 1948-49 there had been 11,719 tourists, but “since that significant year” the figures had risen to 29.000 last year and an anticipated 35,000 this year.