‘lncentives Needed'

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31090, 20 June 1966, Page 14

‘lncentives Needed'

If there was a proper plan of policy, promotion, incentives and more cohesion in the tourist industry it could achieve targets of £3O million by 1970 and £6O million by 1975, Mr J. Newman, past-president of the Travel and Holidays Association, told its annual conference in Christchurch on Saturday.

Mr Newman said the industry was not yet moving forward in balance, and too

much lip service was being paid to complete co-operation. “We are just scratching the surface,” he said. We could go about it in a more logical way.” He said forecasts showed that importing visitors was New Zealand’s fastest-growing industry. But deficiencies of accommodation and entertainment would slow growth unless something was done about it.

Certain exemptions and grants were needed as incentives for more beds. The cost of extra beds would be returned in less than two years in overseas earninjs. "The bottleneck of accommodation could cost us millions

in overseas exchange,” he said. Mr Newman proposed a tourist development plan, preceded perhaps, by reports from expert consultants. But Mr R. S. Odell, general manager of the Tourist and Publicity Department, said he believed that too much could be read into planning at times. A national plan meant there were set patterns to which to conform and a lack of flexibility. “Let us beware.” he said, “of a beautiful scheme that helps us on paper, but is no help in our everyday work. This is very much a privateenterprise industry and we don’t and won’t have Jaws to push people around in telling them how to make a profit.”

Mr Odell said he was not against planning, "We can examine the facts and produce guide-lines,” he said, “and if planning means that, I’m completely for it.”

Mr Odell said investment was the biggest problem in the tourist industry. “What worries us.” he said, “is where the capital is coming from to match the big influx of people. I don’t know the answer to it. But we had twice the number of visitors we expected in the last five years and beds were found for them. I am sure that something like that win happen again. It will come from all the investors and triers in New Zealand who will put their money into it.” Mr Odell said he was aware that the credit squeeze was affecting the industry, and he had been toying with the idea that £lOOO invested in a hotel bed would bring better returns than the same £lOOO invested in a marginal' farm. “This smacks of heresy,” he said, “but I think it is so. The question of investment priority will have to be reassessed in both the public and private sector. “The Government is considering exactly how it can help the tourist industry in the light of what it can earn. It has been said that the criterion is overseas exchange earning power, but when we get down to the individual case the criterion is the profitability of the business.”