H.—2.

Island in their itineraries. I have pointed out to various organizations in the South that our agencies vie with each other in showing the largest return of tickets issued, and that obviously the Tourist Agent in Auckland would get little credit for booking a visitor to Rotorua and Taupo at a small cost, when by inducing him to visit Mount Cook, the West Coast, or Milford his figures would be much enhanced. As a matter of fact, lam safe in saying that 65 or 70 per cent, of the Department's booking business is with South Island firms. To test this I have recently taken out the figures for the year of bookings with the five leading South Island firms, as against the five leading North Island firms. The South Island business amounted to £15,978, and the North to £9,429. The main improvements effected at the Department's resorts are referred to in the detailed statement regarding each place. Briefly, they are the completion of the extensions and additions to Lake House at Waikaremoana ; the lighting of the Waitomo Caves by electricity, and the practical completion of the excavations for a new building there ; the completion of the additions to the hotel at Lake Te Anau, and also to Glade House, at the head of the same lake. During the year I have visited as many of our resorts as possible, and found them all well conducted. Recently I got as far south on the West Coast as Scotts River, beyond the Fox Glacier, and was greatly impressed with the scenery beyond the Waiho, south of which I had not previously been in that locality. With the completion of the bridge over the Waiho there will, I am sure, be a great rush of tourists to South Westland, and it will be necessary to have an accommodation-house somewhere in the vicinity of the Fox Glacier, with huts, as there are at present on the Franz Josef Glacier. This is certainly one of the finest districts, from a tourist point of view, in the whole of New. Zealand. All the booking bureaux of the Department have been exceptionally busy throughout the year, and a very large increase in business is shown : this will be referred to later. There have been no less than 40,160 tours actually issued, at a cost of £154,879, an increase of £68,722 over the previous year ; and this, of course, takes no cognizance of the vast amount of valuable information supplied to visitors and inquirers who do not eventually book with the Department. One item of interest to which I desire to draw your attention is the success which has attended the inauguration of the system of issuing coupons to travellers for their hotel accommodation. Some £11,000 worth of coupons have been issued, and these return a percentage of 10 per cent, to the Department. The scheme has worked very satisfactorily to the tourist and to the hotel accom-modation-house proprietor. Another innovation was the establishment of an arrangement whereby all officers travelling on public service accounted for their tickets through the Tourist Department, thus ensuring that the most reasonable fares were paid, and tending to co-ordination in Government business. The number of tourists who visited New Zealand this year was 9,195, as against 7,365 for the previous year, an increase of 2,830.

Statement showing Financial Position at Main Resorts.

Return of Receipts. The following table shows the receipts of the Department from all sources from 1919 to 1926 : — 1919-20. 1920-21. 1921-22. 1922-23. 1923-24. 1924-25. 1925-26. £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Receipts .. 42,218 51,038 50,822 40,246 45,704 47,263 55,391 Return of Expenditure. The following is a comparison of the expenditure for the past six years : — 1920-21. 1921-22. 1922-23. 1923-24. 1924-25. 1925-26. £ £ £ £ £ £ Consolidated Fund .. .. 93,720 86,944 59,647 60,445 66,294 70,794 Public Works Fund .. 19,041 17,996 5,435 27,264 12,343 45'096

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Year 1925-26. Year 1924-25. «* f I «5 -fl Resort. aj 4 " <d S & I °Si § °N i | ££•& o. . i -| ■|.& "8 h .5* 1=1 °d° " 2 S m 0 « <d $ o § ® & a "a> £ o § <x> o >• b g O. Kto goS g £ SftWgoS £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ TeAroha .. .. .. 1,449 3,012 1,563 .. 1,451 3,522 2,071 Rotorua .. .. .. 27,516 32,332 4,816 .. 26,911 32,795 5,884 Rotorua Acclimatization District .. 2,169 1,257 .. 912 1,945 776 .. 1,169 Waitomo Caves .. .. 8,646 3,993 .. 4,653 7,100 4,125 .. 2,975 Lake House, Waikaremoana .. 1,446 1,525 79 .. 1,305 1,500 195 Queenstown .. .. .. 259 869 610 .. 207 672 465 Glade House and Te Anau-Milford 4,251 6,091 1,840 .. 2,503 3,418 915 Track Morere Hot Springs .. .. 444 269 .. 175 310 294 .. 16 Passenger-booking Bureaux .. 7,068 7,794 726 .. 4,528 6,468 1,940