SWISS SKI INSTRUCTOR DESCRIBES HIS COUNTRY

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29239, 24 June 1960, Page 2

SWISS SKI INSTRUCTOR DESCRIBES HIS COUNTRY

Light but pointed criticism of tourist services in this country was made by a Swiss ski instructor (Mr Rudi Wyrsch) at a meeting of the Canterbury Travel Club yesterday. “New Zealand is the Switzerland of the Southern Hemisphere,” he said, “but you don't have the same standards of service here that you would expect in any Continental country. “If you go to an hotel in Switzerland you can expect service and you will get it. From the moment you step inside the doors, your language is taken from you and you have no further worry about it. At night you can place your shoes outside the door of your room and they will be cleaned and polished when you want them in the morning.” Mr Wyrsch mentioned the Swiss Airline Company in his comparison. When working behind the counter for the company he was approached by a traveller from New York who was spending one day in Switzerland and wanted to record the yodelling songs on tape. Part of the “service” that was extended by the company on that day involved arranging for a group to perform for the American.

“You will find the same thing in any Swiss restaurant,” said Mr Wyrsch. “It would be hard to find a restaurant that isn’t clean. For £1 you can have a luncheon table that includes an aperitif, entree, main meal, sweets, coffee and liquers. It may sound expensive but for what you get, the price is reasonable. You can take as long as two hours or more over the meal. No-one will present you with a bill, ask you to hurry, or stand round waiting for you to pay.” Mr Wyrsch then described several of the better-known tourist resorts in Switzerland. Among them he mentioned Lascona “the antique town” where antiques of all periods from Egyptian to 17th century could be bought; St. Moritz, in winter, where ski enthusiasts gathered for informal holidays; Lausanne with its gay French atmosphere and Lucerne where the English people met “so many other English people in a foreign country.” He described Zurich as an “International town—Auckland would be |ts New Zealand counterpart” —and spoke of the many and Varied restaurants there. Zurich had all countries represented in its restaurants, including one with an African theme. There the decor featured a stuffed crocodile and other relics that gave it the appearance of a fascinating museum. The German restaurant was designed to resemble the interior of a ship.

Swiss music was a feature of the Swiss restaurant. There, said Mr Wyrsch, patrons would hear the Swiss horns, said to be the longest wind instruments in the world.

The food served was highly decorative and well flavoured—-

especially the salads. Tourists of all nationalities enjoyed this, said Mr Wyrsch. Returning to the subject of winter sports, the speaker pointed out that not all visitors had to ski at St. Moritz. There were other activities such as skating and curling or even scenic tours by horse-drawn sledge. For those who did ski or who wished to learn, there was a ski school operating from 10 a.m. till noon, and from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m. In the late afternoon there would be a tea dance or a party that would continue till late in the evening.

“In New Zealand ski resorts, there is the same friendly atmosphere,” said Mr Wyrsch, “but the organisation is more primitive. You are only beginning.”