THE TURN OF THE GOLDEN TIDE

NZ Truth, Issue 1263, 13 February 1930, Page 6

THE TURN OF THE GOLDEN TIDE

Steadily, but Surely, New Zealand Is Looming Larger On The Tourist s' Horizon

EFFECTIVE EXPANSION OF PUBLICITY

(By A. «' Messenger, Government Publicity Officer, man exclusive interview with "N.Z. Truth.")

Every form, of advertising plays its part m drawing attention to the tt wares offered | for saile, and the man who m these bustling days neglects to go m for some method of | display may as well close the shutters and go out of business. § That which is true of business, applies also m the case of a country that desires to 1 draw the attention of the world to its attractions.. "Were we m the Dominion to cease 1 broadcasting descriptions and pictures of its, many natural wonders, we would be forgot- | ten m less than a week, so keen are the salesmanship, methods adopted by other coun- § tries at the present time. § IHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiniIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIH

HONOLULU, California, the United Stages, Canada, Great Britain, and every State m Europe are all en- . gaged "Telling the World," as our American friends say, of the marvellous attractions each has to offer. So much so, m fact, that every New Zealander who goes abroad comes back disgusted with the comparatively small noise that the Dominion makes m the general clamour. Let us, however, take a rational view of this matter. Where nations can afford to spend millions, we must rest content with a few thousands, and by carefully spreading the resulting propaganda gather a very fair share of the tourist harvest. Geographically, we are the most distant of all the tourist countries. Those who are anxious to see us leap at one bound into the forefront of the world's holiday resorts are fond of quoting the figures relating to the millions- of tourists that annually invade Canada from the United States, overlooking the fact that this mighty stream of visitors simply flows mainly per medium of the motor across an invisible boundary. Comparisons are also attempted when referring to the great holiday traffic across the Atlantic from America to Europe. Here again one has only to consider the choice of a number of famous i steamship routes along .which the ! world's largest and most palatial i liners are plying, against the crosscontinent run "from the Eastern States to California, followed by the long sea voyage to New Zealand, to realise that there is no similitude. On facing this problem, several very important facts present themselves for analysis. Firstly we have the great disad- j vantage of distance, which means that only those who can afford a fairly long absence from their homes will be able to visit us.

Secondly, the established lines of tourist traffic have been following well-defined routes for centuries, while the Pacific has remained practically unknown to the majority of wealthy travellers. Then again a keen competition has been set up among the countries of

the world for a share of the golden stream which annually flows from West to East. Taking these items m the order given, our first effort must be to prove that the matter of distance from America or Europe is far from being an insuperable one, and this can only

be accomplished by good propaganda. In the second case we must bring to the notice of people abroad the fact that the Dominion has attractions of a nature unsurpassed m any other quarter of the globe. Thirdly, as we must enter into the great competitive field, our primary efforts should lie m the nature of a gradual penetration which will slowly but surely make itself felt. Now, m the matter of propaganda, it is fairly generally agreed that our efforts m this direction are reaching a standard which compares favorably with similar matter produced by other countries, and this is already having its effect on travel-minded people overseas. The Pacific, also, is gradually coming into its own as the new tourist centre of the world — a matter which will be assisted to a very large degree by the forthcoming conference • of Pacific delegates to be held at Honolulu some time'this year. Everything points to a definite turning of the golden tide towards New Zealand and Australia.. The latter country is mentioned, as to realise the full value of the traffic we must work m close co-operation m order that a great circular tour may result which will allow of the tourist returning by a different route, thus adding greatly to the charm and interest of his trip. That the work, already performed by the Publicity Office is having a definite effect on the tourist traffic is proved by the growing lists of visitors each year, also m the ever -increasing flood of inquiries from various parts of . the world for all manner of information respecting the Dominion. Tne aim of the office is to build steadily but surely, so that finally the dreams of the most sanguine among us, visualising a new Switzerland m the Pacific, may 'be realised, making our tourist traffic the leading revenue producer of the country. ■ ■•