All But One "Real Tourists

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30560, 1 October 1964, Page 1

All But One "Real Tourists

Twelve Russian tourists—all intellectuals except for a woman tram-driver—-arrived at Christchurch Airport last evening to begin a 10-day tour of New Zealand.

Their leader, Mr Yakov Loinko, chief editor of the weekly Moscow “News,” said they were all real tourists, each paying . his own way except for the tram-driver, Mrs Evgenia Potapova, whose fare was heavily subsidised by her tramway workers’ union. The others are all university professors, scientists, and writers. Mr Lomko said the cost for each person was nearly £6OO. He agreed that that was expensive, but said that two other categories of Russians —miners and steel-workers—-were well enough paid to be able to save that amount. He said the tour party was collected by the Soviet state travel bureau, Intourist, but the initiative had been taken by the U.S.S.R.-N.Z. Society,

the Russian equivalent of the N.Z.-U.S.S.R. Society, representatives of which were at the airport to meet them. Also there was Mrs N. Wassilief, of the Internal Affairs Department, who will act as tour leader and interpreter. Mr. Lomko said that some of the party were specialists in this part of the world. Mrs Nina Bluket, professor of botany at Timariazev Agricultural Academy, Moscow, and Mrs Vera Andreeva, senior scientific worker at the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences, were both in that category. “For many years they have taught their students about New Zealand,” said Mr Lomko, “and they eagerly desired to visit your country." He said this tour had been planned for December last year, but not enough tourists could be found at that time to make the tour economic. Then they had been told that it would be too hot in January and February, so the tour was postponed until the spring. In the last seven or eight years travel had developed very rapidly in Russia. Very many tourists visited the U.S.S.R., and more Russians

were travelling abroad. “There is a desire to see the world,” said Mr Lomko. “I will be writing many articles about New Zealand for our readers. “The Moscow ‘News’ is not published in Russian. Jt is in English, French and Spanish, and our circulation is between 250,000 and 300,000. In Australia I spbke to members of Parliament and trade union leaders as well as a number of writers. “I had dinner in Sydney with the author Morris West, and strangely enough, although he is a Catholic and 1 am a Communist, we found that we had much in common." Mr Lomko said his newspaper took Tass’s news service, and was preparing to send its own correspondent to New York. “There have been difficulties,” he said. “The man We wanted to send was not acceptable, and. we now have to prepare another." Asked what they particularly wanted to see in New Zealand, the Russians responded with a mixed chorus of "universities” and "geysers" (which they pronounced “geesers’).

“We want to see everything that we learned about at school,” said Mr Lomko. “We know of New Zealand as a good example of people who work much but produce good results. Your problems are close to ours." Also there to meet the party yesterday was Mr N. V. Ivanov from the Soviet Embassy in Wellington. The tourists will be in Christchurch until Saturday morning, when they will go to Wellington, Rotorua, and Auckland. From there they will fly to Sydney, Karachi, and Russia.