TRAVEL IN THE SOUTH ISLAND

Southland Times, Issue 24367, 22 February 1941, Page 4

TRAVEL IN THE SOUTH ISLAND

EFFORTS MADE BY ASSOCIATION “Although the association is alive to the fact that during the war years the tourist traffic, at any rate from Europe, will fall off,” said Mr H. L. Gibson, president of the South Islands Travel Association, in an interview with The Southland Times yesterday, “there is bound to be a reaction after the war, and people will travel more than ever. This was so after the last war, when there was a veritable boom in tourist traffic. Consequently the South Islands Association would like to be ready to place its publicity in the right quarters and so influence much of the tourist traffic to come to tire south.

“To do this,” Mr Gibson said, “the association must be kept alive, thus enabling it to keep in constant touch with its overseas agents and points of distribution which are now well established. If the association is allowed to go out of existence, then not only is the support given it during the past four years wasted, but, if the past can be taken as any criterion, the South Islands will once again suffer the loss of this most profitable source of revenue —tourist traffic.”

Expenses were being kept down, Mr Gibson said, so that funds would be available to produce at short notice sufficient post-war publicity to distribute throughout the world. At the present time, the association was concentrating on Australia and the East for overseas traffic, and it was also paying particular attention to the North Island in an endeavour to attract New Zealanders to the south. PRIVILEGES FOR MEMBERS “The association has left for some time,” Mr Gibson said, “that members themselves were entitled to some consideration in return for the support they have given. I am pleased to say that this year all members of the association and of all travel clubs throughout New Zealand will receive complimentary tickets to the Canterbury Park Trotting Club’s meetings at Addington. It is hoped to make a similar arrangement with racing and trotting clubs in other centres in the near future.”

Mr Gibson also announced that the association had decided to discontinue its monthly bulletin and produce instead a quarterly magazine entitled Journeys, the first issue of which would be available in March. A section would be devoted to letters of suggestions or criticism from members.

“At present, I am undertaking a tour of the South Island, urging that support for the association should be continued,” Mr Gibson stated, “and I would like to appeal to organizations and the public generally to give the association all the help possible so that its efficiency may be maintained and it will be able to bring revenue to the south when the war is over through increased tourist traffic.” The association was being reorganized, he said, and it was intended to have advisory committees in the large centres. The South Island had been divided into 12 branches and these committees would discuss matters of local interest and would forward recommendations to the executive of the association. A delegate from each committee would attend the executive meetings every quarter. It was considered, he said, that if it was properly organized a more extended interest would manifest, itself and greater activity would be given to the work of the association.