RIDING THE STORM

Taranaki Daily News, 8 June 1931, Page 8

RIDING THE STORM

WHAT A NATION NEEDS. A GOOD REPORT OF ITSELF. In ‘‘the present critical period” Auslia should advertise! Such is the opinion of Mr. IT. W. Clapp, chairman of the board of control of the Australian National Travel Association. “National advertising is essentially an obligation of citizenship,” lie said in an address broadcast in Melbourne. “Why,” he asks, “should we be best known to the rest of the world through oifr most unpleasant domestic problems?”* Mr. Clapp is not in a position to solve these problems, but he does claim to be in a position to change the subject. If he cannot truthfully advertise the political-economic prudence of Australian politicians, he can at least proclaim the great resources of Australia. Against a foreign debt of over 500 millions, Australia can place publicly-owned assets worth SOO . millions, plus a continent about as big as the United States. Mr. Clapp did not quote the above figures in his broadcast, but he strehuously maintained that Australia’s assets should be advertised abroad. National advertising would be a factor in the restoration of Australia’s prosperity. Much money was being spent by the association, he said, in advertising the beauties and the potentialities of Australia overseas, and representatives were reporting a tremendous increase in tlie number of inquiries about Australia. “We have made an excellent beginning,” Mr. Clapp eaid, “but it will be a heavy, uphill task for the first five years. “We appeal for the whole-liearted support of every Australian who has the welfare of his country at heart. We want all Australian business interests to allocate automatically a very email percentage of their advertising vote to tho cause of this national advertising. As a matter of fact, a large number of firms have already seen the wisdom of this. The present critical period has created a desperate necessity to bring the true Australia to the notice of people of other lands with a view to removing tho misunderstandings that exist, and to cause the stream of world travel to flow in our direction. Travel represents one of the largest industries in the world to-day. It is based on selling the attractions of a country. These cost nothing to produce, and if properly ‘serviced,’ the stock in trade never diminishes. The visitors’ spendings, which are assessed in millions, represent new money involving neither repayment nor interest. Travel to Australia will increase in ratio to the amount of money intelligently spent on national advertising and the nature of the welcome and the quality of the service extended to the visitors. “Perhaps the most striking truths of to-day are that as a nation we must live within our income and that we cannot live unto ourselves, which means, of course, that we must be both known and understood outside Australia. Although we Australians have excelled in the art of enjoying ourselves, in growing-wheat and wool, and in building up monumental secondary industries, we have never developed, a national pride strong enough to insist upon our country being properly advertised abroad. Possibly our isolation has had something to do with it. We have acquired an independence of action and outlook that is fictitious, for far from being independent of the rest of the world we are desperately dependent. Our isolation has unfortunately given us too much scope for experiment and the creation of artificial conditions which have unquestionably retarded progress. Through lack of national publicity iff the past Australia has lost millions of pounds. “Tho prestige of a country, knowledge of its resources, and the sentiments of its people have a definite value in other lands in obtaining overseas markets and capital for further development. Without favourable publicity we carry a colossal handicap, and at the present time Australians are terribly misunderstood abroad. National advertising should be a real front-line, policy to build up an.,atmosphere favourable to Australia. To accomplish this best we miist first develop a justifiable pride in our 'wonderful heritage — a pride that will spur us on to achievement. The most effective way to advertise Australia is to induce people to’ see Australia, for seeing is believing. Why should we be best known to the rest of the world through our most unpleasant domestic problems? When the visitor recovers from his surprise at what he sees in Australia, he invariably says, ‘Why don’t you advertise the beauty and the greatness of your country overseas?’ That is what the Australian National Travel Association is doing.”