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(e) Group Tours. During the year the Department planned comprehensive itineraries for several parties from overseas and made all travel arrangements in connection therewith. The organization of these tours was carried out without a hitch, and members of the parties expressed appreciation regarding the efficient manner in which all arrangements were made. The principal parties handled during the year were the Federated Chambers of Commerce party, the Queensland Bowlers' party, the Australian Primary Producers' party, and a party of Australian ski-ing enthusiasts for the New Zealand Winter Sports Championships. It is not the policy of the Department to encourage or take part in arrangements for travel from New Zealand to other countries, but during the year a party of thirty-eight farmers from all parts of the Dominion was organized to visit Australia. The main object in organizing this tour was to promote friendly relationships between the farmers of New Zealand and Australia, and also to reciprocate to some extent for the assistance rendered in the past to this Department, by the various Australian tourist bureaux and farming organizations in Australia, in the formation of group tours to this country. Staff. No important changes in staff took place during the year, but owing to the volume of work now being handled by the Department, due to the development of the tourist industry, it was necessary to increase the general staff during the period under review. Publicity. It is pleasing to report that the Government has shown a decided interest in the development of tourism, and during the past two years has materially increased the vote for this purpose. With the additional funds available the Department was able to extend its publicity activities, particularly in the United States of America, where, according to reports received, there is a growing interest in travel to the South Pacific. The methods adopted by the Department to encourage travel to and within the Dominion are principally as follows : — (a) Advertising in magazines and newspapers. (b) Distribution of standard and 16 mm. films of New Zealand scenery, booklets, folders, photographs, posters, circular letters, lantern slides. (c) Radio broadcasting. (d) Placing articles on New Zealand with overseas newspapers. (e) Participation in exhibitions. (/) Window displays. (g) Lectures on New Zealand. (h) Frequent contact with travel agencies. The Department recognizes the fact that, generally speaking, persons travel for pleasure to a particular country, because of an idea which has been established in their minds through something that they have read or heard about that country, consequently countries that are seldom heard of or read about, are not visited by travellers from other lands.. The question that has therefore to be solved is what is the best method of reaching the largest number of prospects in the shortest possible time. It has been the experience of the Department in its publicity work that the best and quickest method of reaching the potential tourist in the first place is by a direct advertising appeal in magazines and newspapers in the territory to be covered. The other forms of publicity are important and necessary to supplement and strengthen the direct appeal, but lose some of their value if not supported by magazine or newspaper advertising matter. Advertising campaigns in leading journals in countries from which a material increase in the tourist traffic may be expected —i.e., the United Kingdom and the United States of America—can now be arranged with the additional funds available for publicity work, but as continuity of effort over a period of years is essential, if the full value of an advertising effort is to be gained, it is hoped that it will not be necessary for any reduction to be made in the future in the sum now appropriated by Parliament for this important work. During the year under review an advertising plan covering newspapers and magazines in Australia was put into operation, and an advertising appeal in America and Canada, directed towards educationists and others who travel during the American summer, was arranged in specially selected journals having a national distribution. The campaign undertaken in Australia was of an intensive character covering the best media likely to reach the travelling public, the designs of the advertisements being attractively produced, and the results achieved were entirely satisfactory. From advice received the magazine-advertising plan in the United States and Canada attracted the attention of readers of the media used, and as a result many inquiries regarding this country were received by the Tourist Commissioner at Los Angeles from practically every State in the United States. The prompt resjionse to this appeal is most encouraging.

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