Tourist Report

With A Sting

From Our Noumea Correspondent

New Caledonia’s complacency

in regard to its tourist industry

was rudely jolted in October,

following the publication in a

Noumea paper of a study by

two American tourist experts.

r[E men, Messrs. Clement and Koel, had been commissioned by ' Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) to make a study of various Pacific tourist possibilities. New Caledonia is a subscribing member of PATA through the local govern ment.

The report stated that it was an agreeable surprise to find such a French atmosphere in a country entirely surrounded by Anglo Saxon influences. Food and wines were found excellent.

But at that early point the bouquets stopped, and on the other side of the ledger (according to the experts) were the inconvenience of having an international aero drome nearly 50 miles from the town; the inability of big vessels to use Noumea’s port facilities, hence the absence of big shipping lines calling at Noumea; and above all the complete absence of amuse

This tourist to New Caledonia certainly looks as if he has nothing to complain about.

for tourists. With regard latter it is a fact that the re ways of distinguishing st in New Caledonia are or her gaudy raiment; and or her air of utter ennui. ity on Noumea is non and the two organisations ; development of tourism übsidised and the other tent-operated) work in in to each other instead of iting. Actually New Cale bs need of a set-up such ; splendid Public Relations [lt is the Fiji Visitors’ that looks after Fiji’s ndustry.—Ed. P7M]. ixperts’ report recommends w Caledonians be educated to receive and entertain that better use be made r e arts and folk lore; that “marauding” licences be taxis to save tourists the earch for a taxi, ita aerodrome is too far Special studies have shown is the first 15 minutes in :y which create the lasting on. But the tourist who it Tontouta, which is situa country that looks like the Df the moon, passes through aal building which has no and then has to make an ourney over a bad road to oumea. ;wo experts were not too i favour of the projected They did not believe that installation was a magic for bringing a cascade of o the country. But they ;hat if a serious effort were r New Caledonia, along the ggested and if every one his weight, there is no vhy the country should not at least 20,000 tourists per 10 years’ time.

Raised a Storm eport raised a storm when ed on New Caledonia’s Holy 3S, the military establish :t is tabu here to point the : that institution but the experts’ report stated that ary base was detrimental, ingerous, to tourist traffic ■e as sooner or later, the ent devices created for are overrun by soldiers and ewspaper which carried the ;ook up this question and itly pointed out that the and sailors had always themselves well in Noumea e population had always ited this behaviour, ice that New Caledonia’s programme is not going )o well can be seen in the closing of a hotel after a peration, obstensibly because lised back road had not ted but more likely because natality to make ends meet.