DOMINION PUBLICITY

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12251, 24 September 1925, Page 5

DOMINION PUBLICITY

CONFERENCE YESTERDAY PUBLICITY BOARD PROPOSED IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS The Dominion Conference organised by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce to discuss publicity and tourist matters, met yesterday under the chairmanship of Mr A. Leigh Hunt. The proposals of the special committee as published a tew days ago were discussed at some length in the morning, Mr J. A. Hunan, M.P. of Southland, being one of the speakers, and others were Mr G. Finn, Auckland, Mr D. Hay, Hamilton, Mr A. Varney, and Mr P. Coyle, Wellington. PROPORTION OF CONTRIBUTIONS When the conference resumed in the afternoon, Mr P. Coyle, president of the Licensed Victuallers’ Association, agreed that the question of raising sufficient funds for 'he scheme affected his body. One thing that was commented upon was how the conference could expect the people he represented to contribute £25,000, when the ship-

ping companies were only asked to provide £15,000. The standard of acoommbdation with the prices charged in New Zealand were second to none in the world, but it was impossible to run two tariffs, tut if the tourist traffic business increased automatically, a better service would be undertaken. There were difficulties in the way of providing more accommodation, although it was admitted that the accommodation in hotels in New Zealand at the present time was unduly taxed. His people agreed on the desirability of giving further publicity to the attractiveness of the Dominion, but did not regard contributions of £50,000 from the Government, £25,000 from the licensed victuallers, and £15,000 from the shipping companies as being in quite the right proportion. There were not more than half-a-dozen hotels in New Zealand which . charged more than 25s a day, and the service given for ihe charges made was good. Mr D. Hay, Hamilton, expressed the opinion that Australian ‘ tourists would give the best results aiji would repay more publicity work. Mir A. Varney, New Zealand Y.M.O.A. general secretary, said when in Honolulu recently, he was much impressed by the ignorance of American people regarding New Zealand. Some of them thought New Zealand was_ a small country in the Antarctic, while others thought it was part of Australia. He emphasised the. need _ of doing more publicity work in Universities in America and amongst the class of people who were likely to become tourists. The chairman,/ Mr Leigh Hunt, replying to Mr Coyle, said the shipping companies spent a considerable sum upon their own publicity. HOW MANY BOARDS?

Mr R. B. Bell, South Canterbury, urged the importance of a competent board representative of all parts of the Dominion to deal with the suhject. Mr George Finn (Auckland) disagreed that one board should handle the subject. There should be a Soenery Preservation Board, under which should place the tourist resorts that now came nnder the oontrol of thg Tourist Department. The latter _ department would be glad to be rid of that responsibility, leaving it to devote the whole of its time and attention to encouraging tourist traffic. The meeting then went through the proposals seriatim, and adopted those paragraphs: (1) That tourist traffic should be placed 1 on a commercial basis and developed; (2) want of organisation and lack of co-operation between various interests concerned; (3) chief reforms needed are adequatepublicity, improved accommodation, transport, etc., and co-ordinated effort; (4) necessity of those likely to benefit from publicity contributing to the fund in order to have a say in the expenditure of the funds. It was resolved: “That the annual publicity fund to be placed at the disposal of the board be a sum to be recommended by the executive committee ■—to be set up by tbe conference—after negotiation with private interests concerned. a fixed proportion of such amount to be voted by tbe Government, and the other part contributed, on a basis to be determined, by auch independent, non-Govemment services as motor and shipping interests, licensed and private hotels, accommodatianhonses, carriers, etc. “That the hoard consists of seven Government nominees, and an equal number of representatives elected by the non-Government services concerned. “That the representatives on the board of each of the non-Government services contributing to the board’s funds shall be elected by the interests concerned. ' “Tliat an executive committee of seven be set up to further the resolutions of this conference, and to take tbe action proposed in the resolutions adnnted.” Those elected on the committee were: Messrs G. Finn. P. R. CHmie, P. R. Sargood. A. Lei"h Hunt, L. O. Tripp, and two others to he ap pointed bv the pnhlioitv committee of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce