TOURIST DEPARTMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20335, 17 February 1928, Page 6

TOURIST DEPARTMENT.

ALLEGATION OF FAVOURITISM. STRONG CANTERBURY COMPLAINT. (Special to Daily Times.) CHRISTCHURCH, February 16. Along with other South Island bodies which are interested, the Canterbury Progress League has had doubts about the service the South Island has been getting from the Government Tourist Department. The complaint has been in general that visitors from overseas going to tho department’s officers for advice and aid have been encouraged to spend their avail able time in the North Island. Evidence of this is supplied in the report as published in the New Zealand Herald of remarks at Gisborne by Mr H. J. Manson, the New Zealand Government agent in Australia. Mr Manson said he was making a visit to the Poverty Bay district in order to investigate its claims to attention by tourists from Australia. The following telegram has been forwarded to the Minister in Charge of the Tourist Department (Mr W. Nos worthy! by Mr P. R. Climie, for the Canterbury Progress League:—“ According to a Gisborne telegram in the New Zealand Herald last Monday, Mr Manson, Government agent in Melbourne, stated that he hoped to make a special appeal to Australians to tour the North Island instead of visiting the whole of New Zealand’s attractions. This is a specific example of the manner in which the attention of the tourists is concentrated on the North Island by Government agents. Trust you will look into the matter and ake steps to see that the South Island is fairly treated. In view of repeated reports from tourists and others that the South Island is neglected by Government agencies, wc desire to direct special attention to Mr Manson’s statement and to protest in the strongest possible terms against what appears to us to be an extremely unwise and partial attitude towards the North Island.”