Tourist spending needs boost, says Mr Bolger

Press, 23 July 1986, Page 10

Tourist spending needs boost, says Mr Bolger

Wellington reporter New Zealand is ‘‘losing out” in the spending-per-visitor stakes, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, told the annual conference of the Motel Association at Waitangi. Overseas earnings from tourism now put New Zealand in the big league of export earners. For the 1985-86 year, it had earned $llBl million in overseas exchange from tourism. Unfortunately, this had been an increase of only 2.8 per cent over the earnings for 1984-85, Mr Bolger said. That had

been a very small increase given that total visitor arrivals had been up 15 per cent on the previous year. Bearing in mind that inflation during the 198586 year had been 13 per cent, that increase of only 2.8 per cent in receipts looked even worse, he said. The steady increase in the value of the New Zealand dollar had had an adverse effect on those receipts. The Government’s policies on the exchange rate were having an impact on the tourist industry. Another issue of con-

cern to the tourist industry was the increasing level of violence on the streets and in the towns.

No country wanted to have a reputation as a violent society, Mr Bolger said. Many tourists came to New Zealand to get away from precisely that kind of threat. This was another reason why New Zealand had to do more to contain the violent element in its society. In spite of strong growth in the tourist industry there was no room for complacency, Mr Bolger said.