travel

We Can Cope With [?]urist,"Lord [?]owe Islanders Say

The Lord Howe Island Ad ory Committee decided in late ly that local enterprise could equately care for tourist

:ommodation requirements on

j island in the immediate ;ure.

HE committee decided this after holding a meeting to discuss a ter from Captain S. C. Middlemiss, leral manager of Airlines of NSW, ose company, a subsidiary of Ansett ansport Industries, operates a fly ;-boat service to the island, rhe letter had been referred to the nmittee by the Lord Howe Island ard in Sydney which controls the md, and which so far has consist ;ly supported the principle of giving icessions only to Lord Howe mders for the erection of guest uses.

In the letter, Captain Middlemiss aressed concern at the reduction in ;nsed guest houses on the island, i said that as a result of the per cent closing down of some guest uses, and the closing of others dur ! the winter, the registered guest use accommodation for winter uld be reduced by 50 per cent.

Outside Interests

Captain Middlemiss added that his line was experiencing difficulty in jping the subsidy paid to it by the deral Government down to a isonable figure, and that if the pre it accommodation trend continued Lord Howe, the board would have consider allowing outside interests develop the tourist potential.

In discussing Captain Middlemiss’ ter, some members of the Advisory immittee said they thought it was barefaced attempt by Ansett in ests to get a foothold on the island, hers, with some reservations, felt it the company had cause for con •n.

However, it was finally decided that isting accommodation was adequate • all but five or six weeks of the iristmas-New Year period, and that ; board should be so advised.

Since then, Mr. R. A. Williams, proprietor of Somerset Guest House, which had been closed indefinitely, has let it be known that he will re open on December 16 for the summer season. Somerset has accommodation for more than 30 people.

Footnote ; The Lord Howe Island Signal reported on July 21 that after the Airlines of NSW flying-boat left the island on July 23, there would probably be only one tourist on the island—the lowest number since the flying-boat service began in 1947.

“Well below 20” was the previously figure—in another July.

MORE than 16,600 tourists visited Fiji in the first half of 1965 compared with just over 13,600 in the same period last year, according to Fiji Government figures.

Of the visitors 4,500 came from the United States, 4,100 from New Zealand, and 3,600 from Australia.

PAN American World Airways has opened a new district sales office in Pago Pago’s Recreation Hall Building, facing the historic malae in the heart of the Bay Area mercantile zone. District manager is Mr. Don Pegues.