A FORWARD STEP

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 303, 17 August 1932, Page 4

A FORWARD STEP

The scheme for community cooperation outlined to the Rotorua ftotary Club on Monday, given the support which it deserves, should be the forerunner of a movement which will do something to lift Rotorua and its district from the slough of despond into which it is in danger of falling. In the nature of things, it is inevitable that a holiday town must feel the efiects of the economic depression acutely, and this is the experience of Rotorua business people at the present time. The fact that business people all over the country are also feeling the depression in greater or less degree, is, after all, cold comfort. It is equally true that although the problem may be the same in its broader aspects, each district and individual community has its individual problems moulded by its own particular circumstances. As the originators of the report pointed out, it is impossible for an individual Community to combat the world- wide eauses which in the main are responsible for the depression, but it is possible for such community to meet its own locab problems with determinaticn and foresight, and by this means do something to tide itself over its difficulties. In spite of changing circumstances which have largely altered the nature of the tourist business, a great deal of Rotorua's prosperity still depends upon the holiday traffic which it is able to attraet. In a time of depression such as the present, the number | of visitors both overs6as and j Dominion, must necessarily be j restricted while those who are i prepared to travel, have less money to spend. But this does not imply a fatalistic acceptance of the fact, for a great deal can be done to recoup the position in other ways. Recognising the restriction and congestion of existing. markets, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in a recent speech advised businessmen to go out and search for new markets, develop hitherto undeveloped fields, and generally endeavour to make up on the swings what they had lost on the roundabouts. This advice may very well be applied to Rotorua and its district at the present time. By co-operation and by adopting a definite progressive policy, it is possible to triumph over adversity and turn depression into prosperity. There is a tremendous field still open for development but that can only be done by reconstructing old and outworn ideas and by adopting a new policy to meet the times. This district has been endowed with wonderful natural assets, something already has been done to enhance these assets, but there is no question that a great deal more remains to do. It must be realised that the tourist of to-day is a great deal more discriminatmg and a great deal more able to indulge that discfimination than his predecessor of 20 years ago. The vogue of the motor-car has given the visitor a means of transport which can easily convey him to other parts if he is dissatisfied with his entertainment. Not only that, but he has learned to take a more critical view of the value which is given him for his money. Rotorua must set itself out, in the first place to attraet visitors, and in the second to satisfy them when they come. Anything which savours of exploitation at a time like the present, is nothmg more or less than suicidal. The time has undoubtedly arrived when this district must take stock of its resources and employ them to the best advantage; that can only be achieved by a determination on the part of all sections of the community to give the best pos-

sible value for money received. The organisation sketched to the Rotorua club offers the foundation for such united effort and unquestionably deserves most careful thought and eonsideration. Amalgamated into one league, the various organisations and interests concerned with the tourist traffic could achieve results which individually would be impossible. Committees were outlined which would coneentrate in every possible direction upon the comfort, entertainment, and eonvenience of visitors, while in addition a definite policy of advertising the district would be pursued. The time has passed when we can rely upon the Government to carry the responsibility and foot the bill. Rotorua's destiny is in its own hands and it will only be realised by its own efforts. Given the co-operation of the Borough Council, an organisation such as that outlined would have definite resources upon which it could rely, while its energies could be directed to supplementing these by various means. With these resources, both the business of attracting visitors and of entertaining them while they are here, could be organised and infused with a new vitality. There are very many energetic organisations in the town and district which have already done a great deal to assist its progress, but the time has now arrived when something more than individual effort is demanded. As the Government has already impressed upon us, the present is a time for emergency measures ; everywhere the world is realising that in cooperation lies its only hope of salvation. Lausanne, Ottawa, the pending international conference, are all symptoms of this realisation. But if Rotorua is to organise for its own benefit, it must be realised that this organisation cannot be merely parochial. With its changed perspective in regard to the tourist trafiic, Rotorua must cultivate a Changed perspective in .regard to its district. As the largest town and railhead of the Bay of Plenty ' area, Rotorua is the natural centre for a very wide and productive district. T'he organisation sketched to the Rotary Club has envisaged this broader view, and with it a new and more enlightened attitude toward the future. The whole of the Bay of Plenty, organised as a district instead of standing as a group of more or less isolated communities as at present, could accelerate its progress in a manner never previously contemplated. Organisation and co-operation must not be restricted merely to Rotorua or to the encouragement of visitors; it must extend to all qvenues of community effort.