for tourist build up

New Hebrides will aim at America for tourist build up

From a Vila corerspondent

A new airstrip just opened for service at Lonorore, Pentecost Island, brings the total number of strips served by internal airline Air Melanesia to 13—and means that 11 of the 13 major islands of the New Hebrides are now within easy reach.

This extensive internal air service is of particular interest to tourists.

Most visitors arriving in Vila or Santo are coming to see some of the unique sights which the territory can offer.

Four impressively active volcanoes are within 30 minutes flying time of Vila, there are the big and small Nambas peoples of north Malekula, the Pentecost Jump and mountainous green islands looking exactly as they did when de Quiros, Bougainville and Cook first saw them—unspoiled by the reaching concrete and tarmac fingers of techno-civilisation.

Until a few years ago such tourists were the adventurous few, happy to accept the modest accommodation and excellent food available in Santo and Vila, and willing—once away from the two urban areas—to brave the discomforts of touring vessel, bush and an almost complete lack of accommodation. Well, the times, they are a-changing.

Air conditioned

Just over five years ago the Vate Hotel, with air-conditioned rooms, opened in Vila, the first of the new hotels planned to cater for a tourist industry. (It is worth adding that, popular as the Vate is, it has not reduced in any way the attractions offered across the road by that most efficient family business, with superb cuisine, the Rossi Hotel).

This first major step towards meet ing the accommodation problem was made by Mr. Pierre Bourgeois who had already founded the Coral Tours Travel Agency in 1961. Both these businesses, the Vate Hotel and Coral Tours, have now been acquired by brothers Jean and Pierre Hesnault, who are backing the future of tourism in the New Hebrides on a grand scale.

Opening its bar, lounge and bed room doors on September 29 is the Hotel Lagon, a SAH million project situated on the shores of the lovely Erakor Lagoon.

This superb new hotel is designed to cater for the other, and vastly more numerous kind of tourist, who likes a little luxury and a maximum

of comfort with his sun, palms and sea.

The hotel, only three miles from Vila, is built with a considerate aesthete’s eye for a beautiful and un spoiled setting. Deep palm thatch and cane matting are used to clad practical concrete both in the main service buildings and in the 25 bare chalets so far completed.

Inside each chalet, which can sleep one, two, or three people, cane decorates the walls and fine pandanus matting provides a floor covering, while ceilings are decorated island style in attractive geometric patterns.

Each chalet has its own bathroom, a refrigerator ready-stocked with suitable liquids and—a most attrac tive touch—its own shady verandah where guests can sit and sip their cocktails in peace and watch the evening shadows drawing over the waters of the lagoon.

The hotel has a challenging and very fine nine-hole golf course. It has already been played for some months by members of the Vila Golf Club —although 12 months ago the bush had barely been cleared.

Other facilities include tennis

Why change for

the tourist?

A UN adviser on tourism visited several South Pacific territories in June-July to make a preliminary survey of potential tourism develop ment. Swiss adviser, Mr. Pierre Rhon heimer’s report will be considered by the next annual South Pacific Con ference in Noumea in October.

It was last October’s conference that recommended the UN should be requested to make such a tourist study of the region.

Certain islands then expressed re sistance towards any attempts to make them change their living habits to suit tourist demands. Cook Islands Premier Albert Henry said: “We don’t want to build anything higher than a coconut tree, because if you hide the coconut trees it won’t be an island any more.”

courts, a freshwater swimming pool on the terrace, water-skiing and deep sea fishing. Each chalet will have its own outrigger canoe drawn up on the beach outside the door and the ketch Nirvana (Capt. Georges Balkanyi) will make daily tours to other islands with picnics included.

Jean Hesnault expects nearly all his first visitors to come from Aus tralia and New Zealand, where an advertising campaign has attracted an encouraging number of advance bookings.

The main campaign in America will be launched next year and aims, to show results when the project is. finally completed in early 1971.

Lower rates

The main restaurant and admini strative buildings and bare accom modation for a further 100-odd guests have yet to be constructed. Mean while, rates are proportionally lower and the first year’s guests, prepared to accept the construction work, which will be starting again in January, are getting an “economy/ luxury” holiday.

Hotel building in most parts of the Pacific—especially on a large scale— is a risky business. You have to provide the service before you can get the customers and how can you: be sure that they’ll come, especially with that curious feeling that must be induced when you have a million of your own dollars tied up in the building (half-a-million came as a loan from the Caisse Centrale of France).

“I am sure tourism will increase each year.” says Jean. “But I don’t know how much—it’s difficult to know how long it will take for word to spread. The islands are unspoiled and unknown but I am sure that in five years there will be lots of people in Vila. Fiji took five years to build up and I think it will be the same here.”

Other people in the New Hebrides are equally realistic about tourism but, having seen it they have few doubts about the future of the Hotel Lagon. They don’t see how it can fail.