Continental Tours for £20: Rate-cutting Alleged
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HE question whether seven-day coach tours from places in Cumberland and Westmorland to Paris for £21 and Ostend for £20 would pay, or whether these rates had been cut to create a demand, was raised during a sitting at Keswick, last week, of the Northern Licensing Authority, who granted applications, by two associated Morecambe concerns to run the tours. , The applicants, both of whom were already licensed to operate the tours from Morecambe, were Florence Motors, Ltd., proposing to run the Paris tour from Penrith, Keswick, Carlisle, and Kendal, and Kia Ora Motor Services, Ltd., proposing the Ostend tour, with Windermere substituted for Carlisle as one of the starting points. For the companies, their joint general manager, Mr. F. Binns, explained that they were at present authorized to pick up passengers in Cumberland and Westmorland for their British tours. During the past three years their passengers from Barrow-in-Furness had increased from 320 to 494 and from Carlisle from 385 to 546. Passengers from the various starting points would link up with the Continental tours at Morecambe. Already they had well over 400 bookings for Paris 'and 200 for Ostend.
Mr. Binns suggested that the proposed charges were not competitive with the £55 14-day tour to Paris and Brittany run by the Grange Motor Co. one of the objectors. Messrs. Robinson's Luxury Tours, Barrow, also an objector were authorized to run a Belgian tour, but had no picking-up points at Penrith or Keswick, and:so far as Mr. Binns knew, had never run the tour, Mr. Lionel. Lightfoot, for the objectors, said to Mr. Binns: I suggest your prices are cut rates at which it is quite impossible to make the tours pay? '
Mr. Binns: "I should be the last man in the world to operate anything where there was not sufficient turnover coming in."
He added that he was prepared to put in exact coatings to show the amount of profit made.
Travel agents from Barrow and Kendal, supporting the applications, said that there was a demand for shorter and cheapei Continental tours. Mr. George W. Pass, of the Grange Motor Co., maintained that the proposed tours would be unremunerative. Mr. J. Booth, for the Railway Executive, held that present facilities were adequate.
Granting the applications, the Authority pointed out that none of the road operators concerned had so far run a tour to the Continent and it would be unfair to exclude the applicants from a logical extension of their British tours services. As for the railway objection, there was a great deal of difference, in the facilities offered.