TOURIST PUBLICITY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 26 October 1940, Page 7

TOURIST PUBLICITY

SOUTH ISLAND TRAVEL ASSOCIATION •I DIRECTOR’S ANNUAL REPORT : j PROSPECTS FOR FUTURE I The work of the South Island | Travel Association at the Centennial I Exhibition and in the distribution of I publicity matter, and the prospects for I the future, were reviewed in the an:l nual report of the director, Mr J. J. !W. Pollard, presented at th» annual conference in Christchurch yesterday ! I as follows: EXHIBITION The last annual meeting was held ,1 shortly after the outbreak of war and I just prior to the opening of the New j Zealand Centennial Exhibition. At 1 that meeting the details of the arrangerj ments for conducting a bureau in the South Island Section of the Dominion Court were finalised and the director ! was instructed to conduct the bureau. ! But for the war the bureau would probably have undertaken much book--1 ing, but all the information suggested j that the extra expense involved in 1 preparing for this work would have j been unwise, and experience showed I that this pre-view was correct. More than 6,000 people were interviewed for periods of five minutes or longer and tallies taken at various intervals formed the basis of the estimate that between 25,000 and 30,000 people visited the bureau. Many tours were discussed and many were planned for j travellers, the majority for people i who wished to tour the South Island j without being on a fixed itinerary, j This form of travel is particularly i popular with 'lew Zealanders. It was possible to work in close co-operation with the Tourist D-partment’s booking office in the Exhibition. Had heavy booking eventuated it would not have been possible to conduct the bureau alone. As it was the hours were long and the strain on heavy days noticeable. This was the .experience even in rooms with staffs. BUREAU FINANCE Apart from distribution through the bureau, the Association’s publicity was issued to the public by other South Island rooms and the spii'it of co- j operation between the South Island staffs was a happy feature of fhe Exhibition. This bureau was really an I expression of South Island co-oper-ation and this feature specially impressed North Island visitors. It may be said that the directing policy was to concentrate on giving information primarily to North Island visitors and in the case of South Islanders to awaken in them a recognition of the attractions outside their own regions. Contributions from the various Provincial Centennial Committees totalled £BOO, the sum estimated in the statement adopted at the annual meeting of October, 1939. Of this sum £459 was spent on publicity and in addition, additional matter provided by the Association was valued at about £2OO. This meant a total expenditure on publicity of £6OO. If other contributions by the Association and special additional material ordered from the Association are taken into account the total sum expended on the campaign at the Exhibition was £I,OBO. The return from this outlay in interest thoroughly justifies the effort. STATISTICS Publicity matter distributed through the bureau and through the South Island Provincial Reception Rooms was as follows;—South Island Calendars, 4,950; South Island Map Seals, 169.550: South Island Map Folders, 8,625; Poster Stamps, 228,000; “Discovery” 2,585; Special Form Letters, 3,580; Letter Papers, 2,640; Envelopes, 5,886; Regional Guides, 12,420; Sita Cards, 1,450. DISTRIBUTION OF NELSON GUIDES In addition, over 5,000 Nelson Guides were distributed through the Nelson Room, as the result of a special purchase by the Nelson Progress League, and 1,000 Timaru Guides from the Canterbury Room in a similar way. These were supplied to the provinces at bare printing cost and were additional to the Association’s normal supplies. There can be no doubt that the campaign had an excellent effect and made an impression on North Island visitors. It is being followed up this season. OVERSEAS INTEREST j The general view was that the war had stopped all travel, but as a matter jof fact it opened a favourable market lin the East, especially in Malaya, | Dutch East Indies and India. There had been a marked increase in the numbers coming to the Dominion from these regions, most of them on furlough and staying quite a considerable time. It is pleasing to record that at the Exhibition, and since, the effects of “Discovery” were revealed in interviews with visitors from these parts. Useful contacts were also made. Arrangements were made to increase supplies of “Discovery” to these parts and we hope to continue this campaign as opportunity dictates. “DISCOVERY” AND GUIDES The outbreak of war affected the sales of all publications for the overseas mails, and though extra sales of "Discovery” were not as large as we expected the public demand was good, and the Association obtained a substantial revenue from this source. Sales were continuing at a lower price. The Guides were keenly sought and widely commended MEMBERSHIP Naturally a diminution in our revenue and membership was expected as a result of the war, but the year’s figures show that the falling off has been gratifyingly small. The decrease in the membership revenue amounted to 20 per cent; however, subscriptions are still being received and these figures may be improved by the time the annual meeting assembles. THE FUTURE The Association will consider its j future operations. Last year much j useful work was done and it is possible to see opportunities for further work on a lighter scale during the year now being entered upon. It is desirable to keep the association in action so that when the war ends it will be possible to move into full operation Without delay. Arrangements considered by the emergency committee aimed at reducing expenditure while keeping the machinery of the association in gear. These will be presented to the meeting.