OUR TOURIST TRAFFIC

Southland Times, Issue 21002, 7 February 1930, Page 11

OUR TOURIST TRAFFIC

AN ADVERSE BALANCE. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. Concern is expressed by the New Zealand Tourist League, an organization with headquarters at Auckland, formed for the purpose of promoting the development of the Dominion’s tourist traffic, at the drain on the country’s finances caused by the large expenditure of New Zealanders touring abroad as against the small revenue from visitors to New Zealand. A circular which is being distributed by the league purports to analyse the Dominion’s tourist balance-sheet, and states that an examination of the Dominion’s tourist traffic figures and the payments of New Zealanders abroad, is complied from information supplied by ,the Government Statistician. The numbers and destinations of New Zealand residents temporarily departing from the Dominion during the last three calendar years are given officially as:—

What Visitors Spend. A leading international tourist agency (and its figures are supported by investigations made by the league among tourist agents generally, and by information gleaned from travellers), says the circular, states that: — New Zealand visitors to Australia stay on an average 30 days at a travel cost of £2 per day. Visitors to the United Kingdom average 180 days’ travel at £3 per day. Visitors to Pacific Islands, 30 days at £2 10/- per day. Visitors to Asia and Africa, 120 days at .£3 per day. Our public, travelling abroad, pay out, therefore, as under: — Say, 10,000 to Australia .. 750,000 Say, 3,000 to United Kingdom 1,620,000 Say, 1,000 to Pacific Islands 37,500 Say, 1,000 elsewhere •. .. 360,000 £2,767,500 An Over-estimate. From the same sources of information the league finds that visitors to New Zealand averaged 30 days’ stay, at a cost of £2 10/- per day, or a total of £75 per person, showing that the commonly accepted estimate of £lOO expenditure per tourist in New Zealand is an over-estimate. It is stated that, including visitors on commerce, our anrrual quota of visitors is under 11,000, and that our national income, from travellers,, is, therefore, about £825,000. Assuming that New Zealanders abroad spend £2,805,000 outside the Dominion, and off-setting against this £825,000 as the revenue obtained from visitors to New Zealand, the league produces an adverse annual balance of £1,980,000. “Can wje stand this drain on our finances of practically £20,000,000 each decade?” the league asks. "Is it not possible that this is one of the invisible factors which, cause periodical depressions in the country? If we could increase our country? If we could increase our tourist annum, the annal revenue would be sufficient to pay the interest on our ■National Debt of £248,000,000.”

Destination. 1926. 1927. 1928. Australia . 9,408 11,173 10,328 United Kingdom or Europe . . 3,392 3,286 3,499 Pacific Islands . 1,136 963 1)099 Asia or Africa 638 686 729 America (North or South) . . 583 551 420 Totals .. 15,157 16,659 16,075