N.Z. Tourist Traffic and Publicity

Grey River Argus, 19 April 1948, Page 7

N.Z. Tourist Traffic and Publicity

The following is the report submitted by Mr D. Cresswell, South Island Publicity Officer to the conference on the subject at Dunedin: — The South Island’s future tourist potential lies in the North Americas. In U.S.A, and Canada about 12,000,000,000 dollars are spent annually on travel. Most of this huge sum is spent inside their own countries. Less on South America and the Caribbean. A very small amount in Europe; and practically hone in New Zealand. This state of affairs is likely to con-

tinue until well into 1949, by which time the Matson Company liners should be reconditioned and the Vancouver run re-opened. We have therefore 18' months to prepare for the flow of tourists from this quarter, which our scenery entitles us to. On the East Coast of North America is the greatest aggregation of wealthy people in the world. For years they have had no chance te travel. Very soon, they will expect to make uu for that lost time. New Zealand is vaguely known to' some as a beautiful country with advanced legislation. As for any distinction between North and South Island —few indeed know' there are two such Islands: To reach these people is going to cost money, for America is the place where the highest powered and most expensive publicity in the world is let loose on people all day long. It would be quite hopeless to think of the South Island entering this field unless it had a lot of money at its disposal. , . Australia has a News and Information Bureau in New York. It has a staff of more than a dozen in an expensive suite of offices in the Rockfeller Centre keeping up a steady stream of publicity about Australia; organising lectures,- putting on radio shows, anfi feeding ’the. press with news every day. The expense of this. I would imagine, would be beyond (he reach of our Government,, let alone , ourselves. Nor would it bo much cheaper to engage a firm of Public Relations people who would take on the whole job of advertising our Island. I stress the cost of these services in a country, where the ordinary typiste gets £l5 a week in our own currency. There seem only four practical ways of getting direct publicity for the South Island in Ameri1. Tie up with the New Zealand Tourist Bureau in New York and get the South Island angle emphasised. The result, as in the past, would prove disappointing. i 2. Feed publicity and information to such people as shipping lanes and air lines on the basis of “What is good for us is good for you too.” 3. The most difficult suggestion, but perhaps the best—by lecture-tours m the States by South Islanders. We ■.must get someone who can talk. Someone who knows our Island well, and who is equipped with the necessary films and information. The man must be good, for he would be up against tough competition. He must have ci whole itinerary mapped out. talking to Women’s Club, Business Men’s Organisations, and well-to-do people who are interested in overseas countries. 4 Interest the editors of sucn papers as “National Geographic” to run illustrated articles on our Alps, our Fiords, our Glaciers. Such articles would have Continental coverage. Summary: America and Canada are wonderful long range fields to exploit for tourists to visit here m 1950 and onwards. There are plenty of people with the money to-spend and the desire to travel. These people could be attracted here once shipping is available, if they could be made to. realise what a beautiful place oui Island is, how varied its scenery, and how easy it is to see. From, this end, such atraction is all a question ot expense. , Overseas: England: There has never been a steady tourist flow from Europe. Distance is against it. Rather should we look to England for immigrants, and such intermittent tourist. trade as would come with the Christchurch Exhibition, the Empire Games, and the regular visits Ox ce.chri ties Overseas: Australia: Within a few ■ hours flving time from this Island are 7,000,000 people. Australia is prosperous. Trade is booming. Her secondary industries seek expanding ixiovkots. ‘Two obstacles stand in th? way of tapping a large and, lucrative tourist trade with this Continent. 1. Lack of direct access. 2. Cost of travel. . , . 41 Lack of access is dealt with in the Conference Agenda under South island International Airport and Resumption of Bluff-Melbourne steamer. Concerning cost of travel. From Melbourne to Christchurch ,or Invercargill, is close io 1300 miles. Airborne tourists are forced to travel twice this distance. Their return fare here from Melbourne via Auckland costs over £7B. Each way they must travel well over 2200 miles. They are forced to use six different planes. They are lucky if they complete the trip each way, in three days. Compare this with direct travel between Melbourne and a South Island airfield. Travelling time is now five hours each way. One plane is used. Based on present air fares from Melbourne to Sydney the cost wouffi be £24 return. Based on Adelaide-Perth rates, £3O return. Based on the Lockheed Company’s estimate, £l7 12$. Here is the comparison set out:--Melbourne-Christchurch return trip at present—Fare £7B 10s. Time about 6 days; using 6 aeroplanes; travelling 4400 miles. Melbourne-Christchurch projected return trip by direct service. Fare £24 return. Time 10 hours Using 2 aeroplanes; travelling 2600 miles. Concerning present steamshin facilities from Australia via the North Island, roughly the same, comparison might be made as with air travel. No Australian tourist trade can be built Up under such conditions. General Summary on Australia ana AmoriCci* — • • • • 1. Australia offers a yaluable tourist source as soon as direct communication is arranged by fast land planes suported later on by fast direct steamer service designed for primarily, but carrying ud to oO tourists at de luxe standard. Such steamers are a feature of the Medireasons outside our control no regular tourist trade can be expected front the N'orth Pacific Seaboard for 18 months or zyea s. One American tourist is woith haps two or three from any othei country. With the dollar worth round about‘l2s here, Americans can sec our sights comfortably for three dollars a day—a ludicrously small amount. The American is not on our own costs basis and can only pe brought there artificially by our raising tbe standard of what we have to offer, and charging him' through the nose for it. This is standard practice in all tourist countries overseas. We mustn’t overlook what such a course might mean to our pockets; nor be unduly influenced by mere numbers of tourists when 10 American millionaires might meant more nett profit to the Island than the whole of Sydney University seeing the sights. 3. By large land-based aeroplanes, 24 tourists should arrive every day. With such a number as a daily basis to work on, the amount of “fresh” money coming yearly Into the Island would be close to £750,000. Very little increase in production would be needed to assimilate 24 tourists a day. At any given time there would be 700 odd spread over the Island. Their money would be easy money. Moreover, 24 tourists fill a bus nicely and can be easily catered for at the

larger tourists hotels without alterations or extensions. My estimate of 24 tourists daily means a yearly total of 8,500 tourists. At' present during the summer months, over 3,000 of our own people move about the country on conducted tours and thousands more travel privately. The Need For Tourist Co-Ordina-tion: By general consent of people best qualified to know, we have in this Island a range of scenic beauties and grandeur as well as sporting fa-, cilities no where else in the world to be found in so small a compass. Tourists, in our Island’s income, should vie with wheat, wool and frozen mutton. And how much easier to win the money. I therefore suggest a conference of all such interested parties as the Licensed Victuallers’ Asociation, the hotelkeepers, the Breweries, private transport companies, Rental Car companies, Local Bodies in Scenic Areas, Chambers of Commerce, promoters of the Christchurch Exhibition and Empires, to' discuss such matters as, — The possibility of: 1. A chain of Tourist Hotels with Tourist amenities and exclusive tariffs. , , 2. Reserved areas for guaranteed tourist sport containing up-country cabins and in some places winter sports. x , 3. Appointing overseas at Sydney, Melbourne, Capetown, and Vancouver, say—overseas representatives on part-time remuneration to boost the South Island. 4. throughout the Island the present haphazard distribution of tourist literature. 5. Efficient publicity coverage of all incoming ships and planes. 6. Over-all betterment of South Island tourist facilities. 7. Laying down a large-range plan to put the wonders of our Island, before the wealthy American public. 8. Levying a commission of 2J per cent, to 5 per cent, or more on all tourist tickets issued for this Island, such commission to be put into a pool and used to further publicise the Island. ’ • x, X (N.B. Five per cent on the suggested tourist trade of £750,000 would be £37,000 a year. Before this war, one overseas Shipping Company spent this amount on one book to publicise Java). It would be useless holding such a

meeting however, unless a firm, decision is reached at this Conference concerning:— 1. An International x4irport for the South Island. 2. A circular State Highway (The Haast Pass Gap). ~ „ 3. Resumption of the Melbourne steamer the moment shipping is available. , , , (N.B. Hitherto we have been asked to make our trade and travellers fit the steamer—no wonder it ran at a loss—now the steamer must bp built or chartered to fit . the trad-, with' amentiiies the tourist regards For decades the Island has been held' back by the Tourist Departments of successive Governments. Throughout the world these Dp- ' payments have been . considered Hue in their lack of. imagination, their dullness and their red fane. What tourist progress we make now will have to be made by ourselves. Quite rightly, from this point of view, Wellington and the North Isinnd have always regarded the loui Ist Tradl as a small and pleasant eX Wffh iust as good reason, many in the South Island see the possibility of building up a Tourist 'lndustry on a laree scale All that is needed to bring this about is unity and determination along lines to be laid down by the proposed Tourist Conference.