teething troubles

Tongan tourism has its teething troubles

When the little Kingdom of Tonga decided to enter the highly competitive tourist trade in the South Pacific, she was really competing with the “big boys”. Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and Tahiti have long been enticing the overseas visitors to their golden shores, with promises of delights to be tasted that only the Pacific can offer, in modem comfort.

IHE final completion and opening of Tonga’s Dateline Hotel last ptember was only the first step in ticing the tired tourist to this off i-jet-route Pacific Island, and it is ly now becoming clear, despite the my warnings over the past 12 mths, that an international hotel itself is not the end-all answer to ow to make money and influence ople” in the competitive tourist ide.

The long awaited, and oft-postponed, cning day of the Dateline made impossible to solidly advertise forehand, so that bookings, to date, ve been a mere trickle. This has en a blessing in disguise, if also financial disappointment, as it not ily enabled the completion of the p floor, but it also gave the staff tra time for training and settling

"Dine and dance"

The training has not been the suc ss it was hoped. Staff is layed off iring the weekday slack period, and tien the busy weekend comes and I staff is flat out, their training not what it ought to be.

To help the hotel financially over is waiting period, a regular Satur iy night “dine and dance” has >en organised. It is keenly patronised, it it has shown up a few in lequacies, such as a sorry lack [ seating accommodation in the unge and around the patio dance x>r.

It has also proved that one bar in i international hotel is far from ifficient. Each Friday and Satur ly night local Europeans and ongans flock to the hotel to dance > the Tongan bands, enjoy the floor lows and to drink in comfortable, lodem surroundings, but if they are aing to be able to continue to enjoy rese facilities, a second bar and mnge will be a necessity when the otel is booked out by overseas uests.

The Tongans have been told, and

believe, that this is their hotel.

Certainly it has been built with their money, but for a purpose—to at tract tourists and make money for the country.

But until the hotel has earned enough to make the extensions possible, the locals are not going to be able to have it both ways, and this will cause some heart burning.

Another problem that has cropped up since September is the in capacity of many people to hold their liquor and still behave in the manner fitting to an international hotel.

Sensible laws

Tonga’s liquor laws are ve r y sensible, as anyone may obtain a licence to buy bottled liquor in quantities that depend on, firstly, their financial means, and secondly, their ability to remain sober. But at the hotel anyone may go in and buy drinks, irrespective of whether they have a licence, or even if they have had that licence taken away from them for drunkenness. This problem is receiving attention, but more policing is certainly necessary.

To boost the overseas advertising on Dateline a specially prepared tourist folder is to be sent to hotel representatives in New York, San Francisco and Australia.

TV Channel 7 in Sydney is to visit Nukualofa to film the various tourist attractions, including the hotel facilities and groups of dancing girls.

Travel agents in New Zealand and Australia have been sent photos of the hotel and its facilities.

The increase in cruise ships visit ing the kingdom—l 9 ships next year compared with eight last year— should also boost tourism in Tonga.

However, it is still obvious that much more must be done to enter-

tain the tourists in the kingdom, in the way of planned tours, glass bottomed boats for reef viewing and modem facilities for visiting and en joying the outlying islands. The powers-that-be will have to get up and go if they want to compete suc cessfully in tourism in the Pacific.—

Dorothy Lav In.

NEW TORTOISE: Tuimalila II, a young Madagascar tortoise seen being admired by King Taufa'ahau and Queen Mata'aho, is destined to carry on the tradition established by her predecessor Tuimalila, who, before he died last year, gained much valuable publicity for Tonga. The first Tuimalila was said to have been brought to the kingdom by Captain Cook.

Tuimalila II arrived in Tonga late last year and was named by the king on the day Tonga's Dateline Hotel was opened.