TOURISTS FOR GIBRALTAR

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27917, 14 March 1956, Page 15

TOURISTS FOR GIBRALTAR

FRANCO DESTROYING TRADE LINERS NOW USING SPANISH PORTS (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, March 13. The news that the big American tourist liners, Constitution and Independence, have abandoned their regular call at Gibraltar in favour of the nearby Spanish port of Algeciras, rs but one example of how General Franco’s regime is destroying the effectiveness of Gibraltar as a port, says the “News Chronicle.” “Under cover of incessant clamour for the handing over of Gibraltar. Spain is taking a\vay scores of ships which are an important source of revenue for the colony,” he says. “Spain is doing it by intelligent planning with the use of dollars and helped by a lack of initiative by the British Colonial Office. “To shipping, Gibraltar has been a place mainly for the landing of tourists and as an oil and bunkering port. -A year ago, ships had little choice but to go there. With a bankrupt country, General Franco could not afford to compete. Then, with dollars flowing in, he wasted no time. Millions of pesetas are being spent on making the nearest Spanish ports much superior as passenger and bunkering terminals. “Now ships, many of them British, call at Ceuta in Spanish Morocco. 18 miles across the straits. Once a dirty ramshackle port, it has been made into a fine bunkering place. At Algeciras, until recently little more than a fishing town, landing facilities are being improved and a through train service to Madrid has been laid on for tourists from American liners. “Across the bay at Gibraltar, hoteliers and shopkeepers sadly watch their prosperity disappearing. Latest reports say the Italia line, which also brings hundreds of tourists to Gibraltar, may switch to Algeciras. “Genera] Franco has the advantage in competing. He will do anything to capture business and to make sure his customs and immigration officers make it as difficult as possible to cross in and out of Gibraltar,” says the paper"