WHERE TOURISTS GO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20622, 22 July 1930, Page 7

WHERE TOURISTS GO.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE.

GREAT BRITAIN NEGLECTED.

NEED FOR MORE ATTENTION. American visitors to Europe iast year spent £75.000.000 in France and only £5,000,000 in Britain. Why this tremendous difference? asks the Daily Express.

Mr. Alfred C. Bossom, a member of the grand council of the Travel Association, when in New York last year convened two general meetings of leading representatives of British interests in America. These included railway and steamship interests, mercantile concerns, leading hotel representatives, British Government.officials, travel bureau agents and others interested in travel.

An advisory committee was appointed, and made it a matter of urgent import unce to discover why travelling Americans neglected Britain in favour of Con tinenlal countries. As a result a list of recommendations was drawn up.

Mr. Bossom discussed some of these regulations in a recent interview iri London. "We pay less commission to the travel agents in America than either France, Germany, or Italy," he said. " An American taking his family across goes to the agent, and, regarding Europe as something in the mass, says, ' Where shall we go V " The agent says to himself, 'lf I send these people to Germany I shall make, say, £2 in commission; if to England, only £1 10s.' Naturally he sends thein to Germany." One of the recommendations urges an inquiry and alteration of this state of affairs. Matter of Time-tables. •" Take our time-tables," said Mr. Bossom. '' Can you find your way from one side of England to another by them ? Not without tremendous trouble, even knowing England as we do. In France they print time-table 3 for the American market. The agents in America have them, and can mark the routes on them. " Look at the scales of charges offered to the American or other visitor. An American travel agent can give exact cost for hotel requirements on the Continent. For England he has to say it will be ' something up ' or ' from so much.' A man taking his family across wants to know what the actual cost will be. He has no use for ' something up ' or ' from so much.'

" Then they do not like our food. Almost everywhere outside London the food is poor. Even in London they get a meal in French. It is not a real French meal, which is excellent. It is rather an imitation French meal with a French menu. " Americans in England appreciate a real English dinner when they can get it —roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, baked potatoes—not an inferior -French meal which suffers by comparison. " They look for baggage facilities. When about to arrive at a Continental port a man gives the keys of his baggage to a man on the boat. He looks after the customs business, and when the passenger arrives at his hotel there the baggage is awaiting him in his room. A 5s fee to the man on the boat and all trouble is saved. We do not do that here.

Other Comparisons. "Another thing: the visa charge. The head tax, which goes on the ticket, is £2 for England; only eight shillings for France. Many Americans reckon it costs about £1 for a day's keep in doing Europe, and consider it costs two days' keep to get into England for a start, and ' something up ' afterwards, so they go somewhere else.

" Tlie Germans have put up about £BOO,OOO and the French Government something like £200,000 for publicity purposes. The British Government has promised £SOOO, providing the Travel Association movement can get £20,000." The observations and recommendations of the advisory committee established by Mr. Bossoin in America deal with these and other points. They recommend the abolition or reduction of the visa, charge, urge English hotels to meet the requirements of American visitors, customs authorities to give equal facilities with those prevailing on the Continent, railway companies to meet American wishes. The committee also suggests a lecturer in the United States, co-operative advertising by kindred groups of trades, wide distribution of important English social and sporting events, clearer time-tables, and in general the education of the British public into " American-mindedness."