They'll Have To Go Up To Come Down!

The sellers of Tongan handicrafts on the mala’ae on Nukualofa’s waterfront will probably have to change their ways soon—when Nukualofa’s new tourist hotel is completed and tourists begin flowing into Tonga.

At present the Tongans are possibly the only people in the Pacific who put their prices down whenever a ship is in port—a custom that local Europeans take advantage of when they want to buy Tongan handicrafts.

But the Tongans will probably soon learn to put their prices up foi the tourists, so that the tourists, who usually expect to do some wrangling before buying, can beat them down again to the prices they are willing to accept.

Meanwhile, a tourist and publicity committee has been set up in Tonga to plan for the influx of tourists expected when the new touris< hotel opens.

The committee is expected to recommend to Cabinet a new publicity brochure on Tonga and the beautification and sprucing of the main islano of Tongatapu, especially the town of Nukualofa and its waterfront.