Suppressives

New Guinea Visitors Need Malarial Suppressives

During the past 10 years, the Papua-New Guinea Department of Public Health has been engaged in a Territory-wide campaign to pro gressively control and finally eradi cate malaria. But visitors should be warned that there is a long way to go before New Guinea is malaria free.

A SENIOR official of the Depart ment of Public Health said in Port Moresby recently: “Only in small isolated areas has malaria been eradicated, and even in these there is a danger of its re introduction from other areas. Thus, the whole of Papua-New Guinea re mains malarious or potentially malarious.

“The risk of illness or death from malaria is negligible provided prophy lactic drugs are taken regularly.

“Despite the virtual absence of malaria from some areas of Papua- New Guinea, the Department of Public Health strongly recommends all overseas officers and their families living permanently or temporarily in the Territory to take prophylactic drugs regularly.”

The official added: “It is particu larly important that visitors to the Territory take appropriate drugs for the duration of their stay and for 28 days after departure. Airlines, or shipping lines, will advise travellers abon* the names of malarial sup pressives that are on the market.”

ONE result of the recent New Zealand currency restrictions applied to New Zealanders travelling overseas has been that Norfolk Island is now spending less on tourist promotion in New Zealand and more in Australia, A $2,000 grant recently received by the Norfolk Island Tourist Bureau from the Norfolk Island Administra tion, will be spent on advertising in Australia. From the same source the bureau has also been promised $30,000 over five years, subject to submission of a tourist development plan.

After years of effort and heart break, tourism is now established as the island’s leading industry, and it is receiving support from both the Administration and the Norfolk Island Council.

THIRTEEN representatives of the hotels industry in Fiji have decided to form a Hotel Association.

One of the objects is to maintain and promote standards within the tourist industry.

A SUGGESTION that Tarawa, headquarters of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, may be linked in future by air with the United States Trust Territory (Micronesia) to the north to provide a novel route for tourists will be brought up at the Pan-Pacific tourism con fere n c e, organised by the Fiji Visitors’ Bureau, to be held at the Korolevu Beach Hotel in October.

The idea will be raised by a repre sentative of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Representatives of other Pacific Islands territories and New Zealand will also attend.

Although the theme of the con ference will be “Tourism and Fiji”, the question of closer tourist re lationhips between Fiji and her neighbouring territories will also be discussed.

The GEIC newsletter, Colony Information Notes, said recently:

“Although the colony has, as yet, only limited facilities for tourists, an expansion of the tourist industry outwards from Fiji could have a marked effect on the development of our own tourist potential.

“With larger aircraft likely to be operating in the near future between Suva and Tarawa, it is probable that the colony will attract tourists in the region who have already visited the larger islands and would like to see something different. ‘Tourism would also be en couraged with the development in the future of an air link between Tarawa and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to the north which would permit tourists to encircle the Pacific on a novel route.

“This could result in Tarawa be coming an important tourist station on a trans-Pacific airway rather than a terminal as is now the case.

These and other possibilities will be examined at the tourism conference.”

A CROWD of people from Lamap (Malekula) and the Maskelyne Islands of the New Hebrides made their first contact with aviation re cently when an aeroplane landed at Lamap airport. The airport was con structed by an enthusiastic Public Works team, and regular flights will soon connect Lamap with other islands in the New Hebrides group.

THE French airline UTA will start a weekly service between Auck land and New Caledonia on De cember 14.

A return flight starting from Noumea will be made every Wed nesday using twin-engined Caravelle jet planes.

Another new weekly service that UTA will inaugurate soon will be

from Auckland to Los Angeles via Tahiti with a Caravelle. This service will begin on November 14. There will then be five overseas airlines call ing at Auckland.

CHARLES F. Klemes has taken over as general manager of the Hotel Pago Pago Inter-Continental, American Samoa. Mr. Klemes was most recently night manager of Inter- Continental’s Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne, Australia. He was born in Czechoslovakia.

Between 1963 and 1965 he was executive assistant manager in charge of food and beverages for the Clift Hotel and the Plaza Hotel in San Francisco.