PARLIAMENT

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 August 1928, Page 5

PARLIAMENT

THE TOURIST TRAFFIC. (Special to "Star.") WELLINGTON, August 24. Attention was drawn by Mr. Sullivan in the House to-day, to the fact that New Zealand was spending about £36,000 on advertising, and he sought information as to the results. Mr. Sullivan said that in view of the. amount being expended Annually on advertising the beauty spots of the Dominion, it was only right that Members should be told if the results justified the expenditure. Had there, for instance, been an increase in the number of tourists visiting the country? The Acting Minister of Internal Affair (Sir M. Pomare) said it was very difficult to gauge the amount of good that advertising did. Mr. Sullivan: In Switzerland they get £6,000,000 a year out of tourists. How' much do we get? Sir M. Pomare: 1 don’t think w'e have any statistics in regard to the money we get from tourists. There is no doubt that the tourist traffic has increased and increased very considerably. Advertising has done good, not only because of the people that have been attracted here, but because of the money they have left behind. DOMAINS AND RESERVES The principal amendinent made by the Lands Committee of the House, in the Public Reserves Domains and National Parks Bill, increases from ten to twenty, the number of days on which a charge may be made for admission to a reserve, but the number may be increased by the GovernorGeneral to a maximum of thirty, in any one year.

A new clause has been added enabling National Park Boards, with the consent of the Minister, to grant rights of easement over tracks of roads through a park, for purposes of access to any area included in the leases for utilisation of water for electric and other purposes, or for development of a park as a tourist resort.