£4M A Year From Tourism For N.Z.

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29824, 17 May 1962, Page 18

£4M A Year From Tourism For N.Z.

fNrur Zeatand Press AsWcuatcw) z

, WELLINGTON. May ik Tourism was yielding New , Zealand more than £4 mU- i lion a year in traceable re- i venue, the Minister in charge of Tourist and ■ Health Resorts (Mr Eyre) i said today. ' ' This does hot induce' money spent on cruise ship tours, tours paid for here ' when only a deposit was ■ paid overseas, or New Zea- 1 land currency brought into the country. Travel receipts reached , £4,143,911 in the year ended March 31, Mr Eyre said. ' “This is a reaT milestone in : the tourist industry.” Mr Eyre said the increase ' in business from North America had been particularly encouraging. The year’s receipts from the United • States were £812,900 which was more than four times the amount of six years ago and an increase of £75,000 cm the previous year. Canadian business, had almost doubled in one year and was now worth- £lOB.OOO, he said.

Receipts from Britain had increased by 18 per cent, to £li million and the Australian figure had risen by £72,000 to £1,771,500.

‘There are two significant features of this rise in travel receipts from Australia,” Mr Eyre said. “It was achieved at a time when an economic recession in Australia was reflected in a falling-off of both general overseas traffic and normal Inter-State holiday traffic, and the most marked increase was in' our own ‘off-season’ of May to November.

“Breaking this £4 million barrier is an excellent. indication of the actual and potential worth of the tourist industry. I regard it as

a step towards our target Of £lO million and there is every prospect that each succeeding step will be taken at an accelerating rate. • “The increase in visitor numbers will offer a challenge to all sections of the tourist industry. We must have facilities to tope with them and I am sure this is a challenge the business community will be pleased to accept. “Tourism is already big business and it is a business with infinite scope for development—if we go after it and if we ensure we have the equipment to handle it,” said Mr Eyre.