TRAVEL SLUMP

Hokitika Guardian, 16 September 1931, Page 7

TRAVEL SLUMP

big fall in liner traffic. THIRD CLASS STABLE. World depression, and the financial and industrial slump in the United States, have severely hit the Atlantic tourist trade, and Britain and hei ports will necessarily suffer. At a time when the tourist traffic from the United States should be at its maximum, extensive cuts have been made in the sailings of the principal lines in the North Conference.

The unexpected decision to cancel nearly 40 voyages has caused alarm both in the English ports concerned— Southampton, Liverpool, London—and in the Irish ports of call, including Queenstown. s

Only 156,000 passports have been issued from Washington this season—a decrease of 50,000 compared with last year. At Southampton unemployment is threatened in many spheres of activity associated with the running of a liner—from girls employed in ships’ laundries ashore to pilots on the bridge. Whole crews —which in tile case oi larger ships average about 800 or 900 —will be stood off immediately. There will also be less tuning up and repair work for shipyard workers; even the railways will lie affected. Liners which have higherto loaded cargo in London prior to embarking passengers at Southampton are also hit, as well as vessels from Liverpool and other ports. A remarkable feature of this vearb traffic has been the marked decline in luxury traffic, while the regular thirdclass tourist bookings have remained relatively stable.