Japanese criticism 'unjustified’

Press, 16 January 1986, Page 1

Japanese criticism 'unjustified’

Warnings that Japanese tourists would by-pass New Zealand in favour of Australia because of the alleged high cost and lack of hotels in the South Island were unjustified, say tourist industry leaders in New Zealand. In a report in “The Press” yesterday, some of Japan’s leading tour operators warned that Japanese tourists were “fed up” with the lack and cost of hotels. It said they might skip New Zealand when Australia brought in 20 per cent travel discounts this winter, unless New Zealand “pulls its socks up.” New Zealand tourist industry spokesmen said they were surprised at some of the criticism levelled at the industry. They said it did

not equate with what they had been told by their Japanese counterparts. Delegates to the Japanese Association of Travel Agents’ conference in Tokyo last November said the only concern of Japanese wholesale tour firms was the bottlenecks caused by the shortage of first-class hotel accommodation at places such as Christchurch, Queenstown and Mount Cook. But the industry was trying to improve the situation, said the chief executive of the Tourist Hotel Corporation, Mr Mike Hoy. A large hotel was to be built by the Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation in Christchurch, and several were planned for Queenstown. Criticism of the cost of

hotel accommodation was not justified, he said. Firstclass hotels in New Zealand were cheaper than hotels in Japan, Australia, North America and Europe. The tourist industry was trying to put together alternative itineraries and divert tourists from where the bottlenecks were occurring. Mr Hoy said that he dealt with the people who ran Japanese tours. He had not heard of any dissatisfaction with the services offered. There was nothing in the latest statistics on Japanese visitors to New Zealand to suggest that their interest is dwindling. The number of Japanese arrivals had virtually doubled in the last three years. In 1982 more than

25,000 Japanese toured the country, in 1983, 29,009, in 1984, 35,000, and last year, 47,000. The chief executive of the New Zealand Tourist Industry Federation, Mr Tony Stamford, said that New Zealand was the fastest growing travel market in Japan in spite of the hotel shortage. The Japanese were encouraged to travel overseas by their Government, to use up the trade surplus funds, he said. It was expected that the number of Japanese travelling overseas each year would quadruple, from four million to 15 million, before the year 2000. Mr Staniford said that criticism of the shortage of first-class hotels in some areas was valid. Most

Japanese tourists travelled in groups and wanted to stay at top hotels. Concern that the Japanese tourist might opt for Australia because of discounted travel fares was misleading, he said. Most tours to New Zealand included some discounts on accommodation and travel. It would take about three years before any of the planned hotels could be built. Until that time there was little that could be done, other than to divert tours away from bottlenecks. The Government had provided as many investment incentives as possible. The president of the South Island Promotion Association, Mr Bert Walker, said

the published criticism was a catalyst to review the services offered by the tourist industry. The shortage of hotel rooms in such areas as Queenstown was critical, but the cost was not high when compared internationally. Instead of focusing on Queenstown, the tourist industry should consider developing areas such as Wanaka, Te Anau and the glaciers. It was unlikely that New Zealand would be by-passed in favour of Australia, said Mr Walker. The two countries complemented each other. The Minister of Tourism, Mr Moore, said he would make a statement today.