Tour lure working

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33360, 19 October 1973, Page 16

Tour lure working

Big increases in overseas tourists booked for New Zealand coach tours this season are reported by the Christchurch offices of tour companies. The increases range from about 40 per cent to 100 per cent on last year, and are greater than had been expected. The influence of the Commonwealth Games is thought to be small, however. Most of the tourists are Australians, but there are also more Americans booked. Not only are more Australians coming to New Zealand, they are staying longer. In Australia, New Zealand had become the first choice for holidays, said the manag-ing-director of Trans Tours Ltd (Mr J. P. Cronin). And most of those who used to book for 14-day tours were booking for three weeks now. His company had already filled about 75 per cent of the 25,000 tour seats it had

available for the season, and: 80 to 90 per cent of those) booked were overseas tour-| ists. The Christchurch manager of Newmans Coach Lines (Mr A. M. Garnett) said his company’s bookings from Australians were up about 40 per cent. Many tours were already filled, he said. His company) would carry about 9000 Aus-j tralian tourists through the) South Island alone. The Government Tourist) Bureau, which runs the Tiki) coach tours, reported similar) trends. Bookings from overseas i for the bureau’s tours are up 40 to 60 per cent, and about 90 per cent of those booked are Australians. Mr Cronin said the increase in visitors was brought about largely by the more attractive "plant” in New Zealand—vehicles and accommodation—and by increased promotion. His company’s bookings from the United States werei almost double those of last:

11 year, and this was attributed; i j mainly to a “meet the) ■ ipeople” promotion run in the) United States, emphasising; ■ that on such tours Americans ; could travel with, and meet, i i New Zealanders and Aus-| i tralians, not merely other! I American tourists. This prospect seemed to; ■ have particular appeal in the! ''United States. • The substantial increase in) ■ overseas bookings could be expected to continue for /several years, but was going i’to raise problems with; •Ivehicles and accommodation,; 'which would not be able to I cope with the extra demand >jat the height of the season.' Already, overseas tourists I were being turned away at peak times, he said. “We must continue to ext pand our tourist ‘plant’,” Mr • Cronin said. “In some key r areas, where accommodation . is short, there is still nothing I on the drawing boards as far as new accommodation is /concerned.’ ’ ■ ) Mr Cronin cited Auckland tlas an example.