ENGLISH PARTY'S TOUR

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19892, 21 March 1939, Page 7

ENGLISH PARTY'S TOUR

WORKERS' TRAVEL SCHEME WELLINGTON WELCOME (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. To spend nearly a month in New Zealand in the course of a world tour, an English party of 18 organised by the Workers' Travel Association, London, arrived by the Awatea today. They were welcomed by representatives of the" trade union movement in Wellington and later were to be received and entertained by th< Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage. According to Mr. T. Groom, who was once connected with The Clarion Sir Robert Blatchford's paper, but who has now retired and is finding an interest in the travel association, the association arose from a meeting at Geneva in 1921 at the time of the 1.L.0. conference. It is a non-party, non-sectarian and non-profit-making. As an indication of the way it had developed last year, he said it took away over 65,000 people. Anybody could go. There were no restrictions. A person automatically became a member when he booked a tour. That entitled him to membership for two years and the magazine free. The council of the association was entirely voluntary and all the profits went back to the association in the shape of either decreased fares or preferably increased facilities. He mentioned that Is if deducted from the cost of individual tours to provide for convalescents who need a trip, but who are unable to afford it.