Government Must Back Tourist Industry "A NYTHING short of full official
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ri recognition, backed by adequate financial support from the Government, will fail to develop the [tourist] industry so as to make it an effective competitor with foreign tourist organizations," said Mr. Amos.
Until recently it had received very little official recognition, although, after careful examination of all available facts and comparison with other tourist countries, the claim had been made that the tourist industry could be developed to yield £100,000,000 a year, and thus become one of the country's " principal sources of income on international account.
Good Publicity Essential
It would be impossible, said Mr. Amos, to realize the full advantage of the unsurpassed attractions of Britain as a tourist country unless They were linked with enlightened, sustained and adequate publicity. Without a positive' effort in this direction and backing by adequate funds, the desired results could not be achieved.
, Tourist boards, transport companies and hotel owners should add their full weight in spreading propaganda and publicity, which should be first class in design and quality. Literature should be backed by the use of suitable films.
Special exhibitions, fairs and other events, organized to stress the cultural life of the country and run specially to attract 'tourists, should be featured.
Mr. Amos referred to the importance of the agent in the chain and said that the commission paid (7i per cent. on c8 the inclusive fare, in the case of the Scottish Motor Traction Co., Ltd.) justified strong efforts by agents in putting out traffic-creating publicity, as well as in giving service.
As an aid to enlightened publicity, \ the various boards should compile authoritative statistics showing the points of origin of tourists; their length of stay and. as far as possible, a note of the distribution of. their average expenditure. Without this information it would be difficult intelligently to direct a campaign for a bigger and better tourist industry.
Extended tours must make an appeal to the widest possible ranges of passenger, and there must be different standards and prices. The de luxe tour must afford complete luxury, but whatever the class of tour, there must be a minimum standard of comfort in both vehicles and hotels.
Think for the Passenger The itinerary should enable completely representative parts of the country to be visited, and Mr. Amos added, "the ideal must be to provide a completely carefree holiday during which the whole of the passenger's. requirements have been foreseen and. arranged."
The development of the fantail tour was a notable feature of recent years. It had, however, the disadvantage of limiting the area that could be covered. although it .had certain advantages in the matter of hotel accommodation.
Whatever the type of tour, the vehicle should be of the highest possible standard. The body design and the arrangement of seating should provide for maximum visibility, and a sliding roof was indispensable. Arrangements for keeping the vehicle clean during the whole of the tour were, important, and this should be one of the• driver's main considerations.
If avoidable. passengers should not
be bothered two or three Limes a day to hand out vouchers for each particular service. Where this nuisance could not be overcome, as was often the case with fantail tours, vouchers should be arranged in consecutive order, should be firmly bound and enclosed in an attractive cover. . An individual tour booklet and map of the route should, if possible, also be provided.. Arrangements must be made for individual seat . hooking.
At all . stages, Mr. Amos continued, the -maximum service Must be given to the passenger, and there must be developed a .spirit of personal, as well as helpful .and informed, service by all members of the staff.
On the vexed question of accommo
dation, he said that the comparatively short touring season offered no inducement to hotel proprietors to extend their premises, and all possible steps should be taken to include the months of May and October.
Hotel keepers were often predisposed against coach traffic, because of the casual use of hotels by coaches on land cruises, which called at a different hotel each night. This difficulty was largely removed when fantail tours were operated from a base at one hotel for a week or more.
Alternatively, where a series of land cruises was operated, the itinerary could be arranged so that the different tours made use of the same hotel on successive nights. This method fre
quently increased difficulties in compiling schedules, but, at present, was often the only way of obtaining adequate hotel accommodation.
Mr. Amos thought that consideration would also have to be given to the ownership of hotel circuits by transport authorities for the benefit of the tourist industry throughout the year.
Unsuitable variety in bedroom accommodation gave rise to many complaints. On the average extended tour, the S.M.T. estimated than5 per cent, of passengers preferred, and frequently insisted upon, single bedrooms. These were frequently not available in hotels where the owners had tried to overcome a shortage of bedrooms by converting single rooms into twin-bedded.