TOURIST ECONOMY

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 89, 12 October 1932, Page 6

TOURIST ECONOMY

Sweeping economies were recommended by the National Expenditure Commission lin the Government tourist resorts. It was ; proposed that numerous properties be disposed of by sale or lease if at all possible and that some resorts should be closed. In a time such as the present,- it is indeed difficult to justify' a substantial .loss incurred in a provision which is mainly for pleasure. Yet we think it would be wiser -to proceed cauti6usly in cutting the loss. Speaking in the House of Representatives yesterday Mr. de 'la Perrelle suggested that the Commission had disregarded the benefits which the tourist traffic bestowed o!n aIF sections of the community. The difficulty in assessing. these benefits is that none of the beneficiaries is prepared to admit receiving them when asked for a contribution toioffset the loss. But if the drastic cutting proposed by the Commission f<is' to be avoided (as we'think it should be) the 'towns and interests whicii bene-' fit more particularly from the traffic should be ready to acknowledge the benefit. The . Commission makes several proposals on these lines for transfers of costs from the Government to local authorities. Some such transfer is fully warranted. We believe also (as we have previously suggested) that there is scope for greater' assistance by private interests. If some of the resorts were closed the private enterprise which is interested in tourist trade would i lose heavily. Is it not fair, then, that private enterprise should do all it can to keep the resorts open? And we do not mean simply by sending deputations to the Government to demand that it should continue to carry the load. ■ %