Tahiti Seeks Tourists

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32285, 1 May 1970, Page 14

Tahiti Seeks Tourists

Passengers from New tealand to Tahiti and ither French possessions n the Pacific had increased encouragingly, laid the New Zealand nanager of UTA French Airlines (Mr G. Sarly) n Christchurch yesterlay. He said that there had been 112 per cent increase in 1969 >ver the previous year but inly 15 per cent of this paslenger traffic, was from the south Island “something we nust remedy as soon as posiible,” he said. Mr Sarly same to Christchurch yesterday in connection with this task. Last evening travel agents rom most parts of the South island, and their wives, atended “An Evening in the ?acific” at a city hotel at vhich a suitable atmosphere vas provided by eight Tahitian dancing girls and a small land led by Nat Mara. Mr Sarly said that it was ilanned to bring the airline’s tew DCIO jumbo jets into the ?acific in 1972 to take over ■outes at present flown by 3CBs. The tourist invasion of the South Pacific, largely from he United States, would ;row and jumbo jets on

Pacific routes would greatly help the growth. The eight girls brought to Christchurch for last evening’s function live in Auckland. They demonstrated Ta- ' hitian dancing during the French airline’s promotional i tour in five Australian cities earlier this year. Mr Mara was last in Tahiti in 1966 when he escorted a Maori concert party there. He said he tried, unofficially, Jto assist Tahitians visiting ' New Zealand. Mr Mara holds the Legion ; D’Honneur, Croix de Guerre, ; Medal Militaire and Cross of ; Liberation. In the Second ’ World War he enlisted in the . Royal New Zealand Ai r ’ Force, went to Canada, and ’ eventually served as a radio , operator-gunner with the , Royal Air Force with which .he completed 51 bombing , missions over Europe. i Towards the end of the war , he transferred to the French Air Force and while he was I serving on an air-sea rescue mission, his aircraft, piloted i by Captain Raymond Dugat, ; I crashed in the English .channel. Mr Mara had to wait 20 r years for his next meeting with Captain Dugat, who is ► now a captain on the airline’s i Caravelle which regularly 1 flies the Noumea-Sydney-i Auckland route.