Note of caution at hotel opening

Press, 1 February 1988, Page 6

Note of caution at hotel opening

By

LES BLOXHAM,

travel editor ■ Tourism was an indus- , try which as much as any , had had to come to grips with the reality of the new economy, said the Prime Minister, Mr “ Lange, at the opening of the new T.H.C. Queenstown Hotel on Saturday. “The industry is operating in an increasingly competitive and constantly changing world,” he said. “Very little in it can be taken for granted. There is no boom .which will always last.” Speaking at a time when some regions are feeling the first chilly winds of what could develop into a tourism depression, Mr Lange acknowledged there would be challenges ahead. “It is plain that the high 1 value of the dollar against some foreign currencies has made us a less attractive destination in some of our major markets. i "We know that for a i variety of reasons many visitors are coming here f for shorter stays. We b

know too that uncertainty in stockmarkets around the world has already had an impact on the luxury end of the business The $3O million, 150bed hotel stands on a prime site on the lakefront between the old Eichardt’s Hotel and reserve. The original plan for a much larger hotel was thwarted by successful planning appeals by objectors who did not want a high-rise building encroaching on the adjacent reserve. The chairman of the Tourist Hotel Corporation, Mr R. W. Stannard, said he hoped that the de-' velopment of a new airport at Queenstown would help reduce travel costs and therefore encourage North Islanders to “further their education” by visiting the South Island.’

The Mayor of Queenstown, Mr John Davies, congratulated the corporation for providing needed upmarket accommodation.

The Prime Minister formally opened the hotel by cutting a ribbon