ATTRACTING TOURISTS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 111, 6 November 1935, Page 11

ATTRACTING TOURISTS

A GERMAN SCHEME

SPECIAL CURRENCY

How Germany attracts tourists by arranging that they can buy registered marks outside Germany at an advantageous rate, was explained by Mr. Allan Sutherland during the course of an address he gave to the New Zealand Numismatic Society on his travels abroad. "The currency of Germany," he said, "attracted me most by the reason of the fact that, as a tourist, I received almost one bonus mark for every mark I spent in Germany. In-order to attract tourists to Germany, and build up reserves outside of the country, tourists were permitted to buy registered marks outside Germany at the rate of 22 to the £ sterling, whereas the trading rate was only 12 marks to the £. If one exchanged British or other notes inside Germany only 12 marks would be given, so that it was imperative to buy the marks outside of' the countrjfc On arrival in Germany I presented my order for marks and my. passport to the Railway Change Bureau, and had no difficultly in securing the money. Tourists were allowed to spend up to 50 marks per day, and had I known what this bonus mark scheme meant, I would have converted more money into tourist marks before leaving London. "At Aachen, the Belgian-German frontier, I was questioned regarding the types of money I had in my possession—at least, that is what I presume the questions in German language must have been—and I showed only mj' order for registered marks. Later, in conversation with passengers, I discovered that I should have declared £20 in Cook's cheques, besides coins and notes of several countries, so that I would be permitted to take them out again. I decided to sit tight, for this was my emergency money. I realised that because of my lack of knowledge of German this money might be confiscated when I crossed the frontier again out of Germany. I had discovered my error too late. Tourists are permitted to take out of Germany only ten German marks, equal to about 10s. The. scheme, however, is an excellent one for the tourist, and these checks are necessary to make it effective.., If searches were not made there would be juggling with German- currency and the tourist-mark scheme • would be defeated. . "Some time ago, nuns were discovered smuggling German marks out 'of Germany, and were imprisoned and the marks confiscated. When I returned to the German frontier I had some qualms about my undeclared money, which was not in marks, of course, and I said nothing about it when the' frontier examining officers put me through the examination. I merely displayed the butts of my touristmark orders, and all was well. Actually I crawled over the frontier on my last mark, for I did not want to change my emergency money at 12 marks only. But these are only frontier incidents between sixteen delightful days in Germany with the hospitable German people. The cost of the return trip from London, over the Channel to Ostende, through Belgium, and down to Heidelberg,was only.£4, mainly due to big reductions in the fares on German railways, and the whole sixteen :days only cost me £14, and I had a most enjoyable time. The fare, return, was less than the fare London-Edin-burgh, or Wellington-Auckland. "An American friend of mine told me that when he crossed the German frontier with a Ge.-r'r'ro from Hamburg he was ask^d -hat German money he had, 4i^ hereplied, 'Just enough for a beer,' and his word was accepted with a laugh, but when his German'friend presented his passport and credentials, which were quite in order, he received the order 'Take off your boots,' and he was subjected to a careful search. 'All of which goes to show,' said my friend, 'that the word of the Englishman and American is taken in Germany, and that German officialdom, as well as the people, are holding out the hand of friendship to their near cousins—for many, of us come from the same Saxon stock.' "Germany, with its ingenious touristmark system, .is attracting many tourists who formerly went to France. The gold standard in France is making holidaying there impossible. Germany and Spain are said to be the cheapest countries in Europe at the present time." ■ Mr. Sutherland added a warm word of praise and appreciation for the German people and the friendly reception they give to English visitors. A new generation, he said, had grown up in Germany, a generation which hated war as much as we did.