TOURIST FACILITIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22366, 13 September 1934, Page 7

TOURIST FACILITIES

SCOPE FOR EXTENSION RAIL AND HOTEL ACCOMMODATION. While he stated that he was delighted with what he had seen of New Zealand, Major J. W. Oldfield, a member of the Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board, who is at present on a visit to Dunedin, told a Daily Times reporter yesterday that there were points on which criticism of the Dominion could be expressed. The quality of the tea provided in the hotels, he stated, was as a rule very low. He was surprised that this should be the case, for outside of the hotels there could be no complaint with the tea with which he had been provided. It was strange, lie thought, that there should be no observation cars on the trains, which ran over -many of the extraordinarily beautiful journeys that could be made by rail in New Zealand. It was very difficult to see the countryside from the ordinary carriages, which had not been built for sight seeing, and observation cars should be provided, particularly during the summer months. The hotel accommodation in some of the small towns, he added, was not all that could be desired. He had heard it said that American visitors complained about the lack of proper accommodation. Perhaps they did not really complain, but wished to draw attention to, the different facilities existing in their own country compared with New Zealand. This applied in a lesser degree to visitors from Great Britain and Europe. They wanted, and qycro prepared to pay for. up-to-date accommodation. Some parts of the Dominion were certainly backward in that respect. At one hotel where he had stayed in a very famous scenic resort there had been only two bathrooms (one for men and one, for women) for 18 or 20 bedrooms. “ If you arc going to attract tourists,” he added, “ you must cater for them in these ways, and by tourists I mean rail sight-seers and not the people who come here to ijsb, because they are generally prepared to rough it. In spite of these few criticisms I don’t want you to run away with the idea that I have only criticism to offer of this country, for to me, after being in North America lor some time, being in New Zealand is like being at home—and by home I moan England.”