Acceleration Of S.I. Hotel Building Urged

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30724, 13 April 1965, Page 18

Acceleration Of S.I. Hotel Building Urged

(From Our Own Reporter) TIMARU, April 12. The prediction that American air traffic, which already represented 26 per cent of New Zealand’s tourist turnover, would increase rapidly within a year of Air New Zealand operating into Los Angeles, was made today by Mr H. R. Wigley, of Timaru.

Mr Wigley attended the fourteenth annual conference of the Pacific Area Travel Association, near Seoul, South Korea, as vice-president

of the New Zealand Travel and Holidays Association, and representative of the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company, Ltd., and Mount Cook Air Services, Ltd. Impact of Jets “It is going to be a wonderful thing to have our own airline selling New Zealand in this big market,” said Mr Wigley. The impact of jet aircraft on the countries he had visited was most noticeable in the upsurge of tourism, and the new jet service into Christchurch was going to give a tremendous boost to the South Island, he said.

This emphasised the urgency of accelerating hotel building in the South Island, Mr Wigley added. New Zealand was the only country in the Pacific seriously lagging behind. Other places realised the value of tourism and were providing facilities to cater for it. Rise In Tourist Traffic

Mr Wigley said he was impressed at the rise in tourist traffic since he last visited the Far East four years ago. For example, 8000 new hotel beds had been provided in Hong Kong in three years, and there were three new hotels in Taipei (Taiwan). “The Pacific is producing more hotel beds than any other part of the world. These big hotels are being built to bring tourists in to spend money. All these countries are going after the tourist industry as the biggest thing to bolster their economy. That goes for governments and private enterprise.” said Mr Wigley. Below Requirements

New Zealand was making more progress than it had done for many years, but accommodation in places such

as The Hermitage, Queenstown, and in some of the cities was still disappointingly far below requirements, and something on a major scale would have to be done if New Zealand wished to remain in the Pacific tourist picture. Mr Wigley said. ‘ Dragging The Chain"

Traffic into the Pacific was expected to treble in 10 years, and it was imperative that New Zealand stopped “dragging the chain” as far as hotel accommodation was concerned It was no good Air New Zealand, Qantas, the Tourist Department and the South Island Publicity Association “selling” the South Island when it was impossible to get beds in places such as The Hermitage and Queenstown, said Mr Wigley. The manner in which he had travelled illustrated only too well how close jets were bringing New Zealand to other parts of the world, and Christchurch would be a vital link in the new and fascinating air age, he said. About 300 persons from 26 countries attended the conference, which was opened by the President of Korea. Highlights included a trip to the demilitarised zone at Panmunjon, and a wreath-laying ceremony at one of the military cemeteries in Seoul where 75,000 persons are buried.

The next conference will be at New Delhi.