THE WAITOMO HOSTEL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19743, 16 September 1927, Page 10

THE WAITOMO HOSTEL.

According to a statement a few days ago by the Minister in charge of Tourist Resorts, only part of the additions to the Waitomo Hostel will be available at any time during the coming summer. According to the contract, the building will not be finished until next year. How much relief will actually be given during the approaching season or even when the building is complete may be gathered from the description of the department's plans presented to the Te Kuiti Chamber of Commerce. Official statements have indicated that the additions will accommodate only 50 persons; it is now disclosed that owing to the adaptation of portion of the old building to social and office requirements, the accommodation for visitors will be increased from 36 to only 73 persons. The last report of the department suggests that this provision will completely dispose of the problem of limited accommodation, and predicts that there will no longer be any need to restrict visitors to the time required to inspect the caves. Whether the author of this opinion fully understands the effect of the additions and alterations may be doubted; if so, he must have a wholly inadequate conception of the possibilities of tourist traffic to Waitomo with adequate facilities for the reception of visitors. The implied suggestion that they are limited to 73 persons daily is manifestly absurd. Even if actual needs were satisfied by the provision of 37 more bedrooms, the department's plans would still require explanation. The report from Te Kuiti states that the additions are costing £30,000 — equivalent to £6OO for each of the new rooms. On this information, it would seem that, having undertaken the long-overdue provision of additional accommodation, the department has adopted an inadequate conception of public requirements and translated it into an extravagant form.