Tourism, Forestry “Can Beat Targets”

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31770, 29 August 1968, Page 12

Tourism, Forestry “Can Beat Targets”

(From Our Own Reporter)

WELLINGTON, August 28.

The tourist and forestry industries are convinced that in the next 10 years they can surpass the export earnings set as targets for them by the targets committee of the National Development Conference.

Mr G. N. Roberts, for the tourist committee, submitted that targets be revised from $3O million to $35 million in the first five years of the planning period and from $5O million to $B5 million in 197879.

“Otherwise, we are afraid that we will have to spend our time fighting to keep people out of the country,” he said.

The figure of $B5 million represented a tourist intake of 700,000, Mr Roberts said. On current performance and international traffic forecasts the figure was conservative. To ensure that tourism flourished there must be more promotion and advertising overseas, Mr Roberts said.

One thing that would help would be relaxation of the severe monetary restrictions on New Zealanders travelling abroad. People overseas saw New Zealanders “travelling hard” on their small exchange allowance and thought they would have to travel hard if they came to New Zealand. Wood Surplus

Mr A. L. Poole, the Direc-tor-General of Forests, said prospects for export markets were good. It seemed clear that with adequate market research, satisfactory ship-

ping arrangements and trade negotiations, New Zealand could export most profitably all the wood surplus to domestic requirements The forestry committee estimated that it could exceed the target by about 20 per cent, making forestry the fastest grower in exports between 1968 and 1973, Mr Poole said. Forest produce could be exported as logs as sawn, dressed or precut timber, as panels, veneers and plywoods, as chips, wood pulp, newsprint, cardboard or wrapping, printing and writing papers, and even as furniture, wooden utensils and ornaments.

Mr Poole said rapid development to take full advantage of the wood-producing potential would put a heavy strain on existing capital labour and forest resources.

High wood production was possible only if backed up by high planting rates particularly in the next 20 years.