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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 4 (July 2, 1934.)

Travel Promotion

Travel Promotion

Although Shakespeare had never seen the Venice of his Merchant, and Mark Twain wrote “Innocents Abroad” without moving from his native heath, these strangely dissimilar tales, with their European setting, have, in their different ways, added much to human enjoyment, but nothing in the way of dependable knowledge, regarding the customs of the people or the geographic features of the places described. For there is only one fully satisfactory way to get to know about a place, and that is to go there.

In recent years an increasing desire to travel has been aided by greatly improved facilities for transport, and the economic value of travellers to the places visited is so great that a huge business of travel promotion has developed. This business is, in general, rather unorganised, depending on individual efforts for personal or private company interests, and seldom does it occur that a complete service is given. For, properly understood, travel promotion includes dependable advice as to the places worth visiting for specific purposes, the creation amongst travellers of a desire to visit such places, complete arrangements for their transport, adequate provision for their accommodation, and personal assistance for their guidance and pleasure. When all these elements of service are properly co-ordinated then the place to be visited has a fair chance to gain a just proportionate reward in tourist traffic according to its worth.

The Governor-General of this Dominion, whose remarkable powers of observation have been applied during a long period of travel over most parts of the world to gauging the attractions of various places, declares in a special article published in this issue, that no place has scenic attractions to equal New Zealand's. With this sound judgment, supplementing as it does that of other experienced travellers, this Dominion is in a strong position to organise its travel promotion for sight-seers along the most modern lines. What has already been done in the promotion of internal travel by the Railway Department acting in association with local bodies, travel agencies and associations, and resort interests, is proof of the efficacy of this kind of service in developing travel.

Much remains to be done to make the business of travel promotion within New Zealand achieve maximum results. In the matter of travel promotion from overseas countries to New Zealand some thought has recently been concentrated on the idea of joint action by countries in or bordering upon the Pacific'to draw travellers from Atlantic countries. It is generally recognised that no one country could do this effectively, and that efforts by individual countries acting without co-ordination of any kind might well prove an actual disservice to visitors anxious to see the best that the Pacific has to offer. Where identity of interest is obvious there is every economic inducement for the promotion of travel by the united efforts of the countries concerned. Parallels in ordinary business are easily found where, identity of interest being proved, united campaigns to sell some commercial product, without specific reference to the individual manufacturers of it, have given a definite impetus to its general use or consumption. It is along these lines that the most hopeful possibility of largely increasing the influx of visitors to New Zealand lies. This country can certainly entertain and accommodate more visitors. The hotels at the principal resorts are now maintained at a high standard and the facilities for travel have never been better. Any development which may result in a steadily increasing stream of tourists to and through New Zealand will give a valuable help to trade throughout the Dominion and add to the world's knowledge of its own fairest country.