He Says Suva

is Jealous

The correspondent who in Octo PIM (p. 15) said, in effect, thai\ was a good thing that Suva shot take precedence over other parts the Colony of Fiji as a tourist cen has, according to one correspondd aroused the ire of the whole Nor West of Viti Levu. about it, except being “amused”. W generally amused”.

Our correspondent thinks that\ anyone indulges in petty rivalry a scramble for tourist bodies it’s Si and not towns in the N-W like L toka and Nadi. And he makes tF other points: 9 The Fiji Visits Bureau has been promising the N> a tourist booklet for years but it 1 never eventuated. 9 Tourist agenc abroad are encouraged to book th clients on tour that leave Nadi J port immediately on arrival for Sr or Korolevu and the clients neven* a chance to know there are any am natives.

He then takes these arguments: bit further ; LAUTOKA believes that not o are Suva interests trying to all the tourist trade, but by influeß on overseas shipping interests, f actively opposing any visits to L toka by tourist vessels. One reasi given is that the new Lautoka whr

mgerous of access. And that ika has not enough taxis and to handle the large number of igers. is sort of thing leads to the lying feeling by the North-West in everything pertaining to m and in all things such as tals, schools, wharves and a er of other amenities, Suva gets ty. e North-West feels, irrespective iva’s position as the capital and ndoubted attractions for shop that, since the bulk of the iy’s income comes from the i-West, the Government should ilise the spending of available y and put some to good use ie Suva. ne months ago there appeared j Fiji Times two or three articles his subject, when the Govern attempted to show with some ully prepared figures that Suva mly its fair share. The figures discredited by the North-West, va can feel assured that the i-West is quite happy about its ing as the capital of Fiji and 1961 Hibiscus Festival showed by the numbers of Lautoka and people who went specially to for it. iere are many tourist attractions e North-West, and these will be oped in time. >ur correspondent has his facts d in places. Nadi’s Commerce c was in July, well clear of Hibiscus Festival and Lautoka’s r Queen Festival was during the al Cession celebrations—neither

were invented to detract from Suva’s September Hisbiscus Festival. It is true that Lautoka’s festival in October, so soon after Suva’s, was somewhat of an anti-climax and suffered financially accordingly, but Nadi’s Commerce Week, at the beginning of the tourist season from New Zealand and Australia, did well and is sticking to the same date for next year.

Nadi is not primarily an airport as the PIM correspondent said. It is a town in its own right and nothing to do with the airport, five miles away. Your correspondent should also read New Zealand papers, for in the last year nearly every town of

any prominence had its own Festival.

What’s wrong with that?

It is true that the programme of the Nadi Week was sent all over Australia and New Zealand, with the intention of bringing publicity to Nadi and to Fiji, There is no muddled thinking on the part of the organisers of any of the North-West Festivals. They have learned the hard way that unless they shout, and shout hard, no one hears them in Fiji, and that the Visitors’

Bureau is especially deaf, Petty rivalry! The North-West chuckles at this view from Suva. It knows better!