NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1930. ATTRACTIONS OF TOURISTS

Northern Advocate, 4 October 1930, Page 8

NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1930. ATTRACTIONS OF TOURISTS

Registered for Transmission Throngh the Post as a Newspaper.

Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was a widow. Her husband had "gone west by the alcohol route.” He had had no virtues of which she could boast, but she always recalled with pride that ”he wrote a good hand.” The philosophy of the famous lady who tried to make the best of things might well bo adopted in New Zealand today. So many of us are apt to make ourselves believe that the prosperity of the Dominion depends solely upon the prices received for our dairy produce, forgetting altogether the income derived from wool, frozen meat and other primary products. In like manner there are many who, interested chiefly in the pastoral industry, give little thought to the value of dairying, and imagine that if prices of meat and wool are not maintained ruin must come to the country. The net result of this construction of outlook is individual worry and national pessimism. At the moment, it is Unfortunately only too true that the prices obtained for dairy produce, for frozen meat and for wool are of a nature calculated' to cause anxiety, but, as Sir Otto Neimeyer recently pointed out, the Dominion does not have all its eggs in one basket. New Zealanders, like Mrs Wiggs, should cultivate the habit of remembering that, whatever may. happen to some of our sources of •revenue, there are others to which wo may refer with hopefulness, if not with pride. One source of revenue is apt to be overlooked: it certainly has not been cultivated as its importance deserves. We refer to the ."cenie attractions and other wonders of nature with which the Dominion lias been endowed. The statement, has been made—and it is amply justified—that New Zealanders do not realise fully the asset which their country possesses in its attractions for tourists, and the wisdom of doing everything possible to induce wealthy people from overseas to visit these shores. Nature has been lavish in its bestowal of gifts upon New Zealand. The country is remarkable in the variety of its scenic attractions, all of which are within a comparatively short distance of each other, involving littlo travelling. Its fiords, lake?, alpine and bush scenery, limestone caves and thermal regions are a world in themselves for the tourist, who desires to see the gifts of Nature without any great effort on his part. Nothing has done so much to advertise Now Zealand in more recent years than its deep sea fishing, and the northern fishing grounds arc the Mecca of many sportsmen who find thrilling sport in their duels with swordfish and xnako and other sharks. Our trout streams, too, have attracted anglers from the Old Would, many making an annual trip to the Dominion for this purpose alone. But who will say wo are exploiting to its fullest extent this wonderful source of wealth? According to the Official Year Book, 0105 tourists came to Now Zealand from Australia, 1419 from the British Isles and 695 from the United States. This, in itself, Jis estimated to have produced revenue to the extent of £825,000, but this is only a small fraction of what might bo obtained if the tourist traffic were fully developed. The New Zealand Tourist League, a body formed in Auckland five years ago, which has rendered valuable service in bringing before overseas people by means of bulletins the groat variety or scenery to be seen In Now Zealand with the object of attracting more tourists to these shores, expresses the opinion that, after thirty years of work by the ! Tourist. Department a total of under 10,000 tourists per annum is not a creditable figure.. "Other countries,” it, adds, "in the last decade, or in less, have increased their returns in a far greater ratio. If New Zealand could work up to a position where we would receive 120,000 visitors annually, then j it is likely that they would leave here an amount equal to the interest on our national debt of £218,000,000. Surely to make New Zealand prosperous is something worth striving for.” The service which is being rendered by the New Zealand Tourist. League, is of great value, and the promoters are to be commended for their public spiritedness. The object they have in view has been warmly commended by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, who said: "Why cannot we make a bigger | effort to advertise the really beauti- ! ful country in which we live ’ It is in- j comparably beautiful in all its scenic j attractions.” The Dominion, as wo! have said, does not keep all its eggs in one basket, but it is manifestly advisable to Increase both the number of eggs and the baskets in winch they may be kept. Development of the 1

tourist traffic is one means which

should be pursued steadily and persist cully.