Excursions
In the early 20th century most New Zealanders could afford only one- or two-day excursions. In the 1920s the Railways Department aggressively promoted weekend excursions which drew crowds to places like Caroline Bay in Timaru, Arthur’s Pass, Rotorua, Te Aroha, Waitomo Caves and Waihī Beach. In the 1930s, with New Zealand now one of the most motorised countries in the world, families explored further afield – from South Island lakes to Far North beaches.
The Second World War brought petrol rationing and severe travel restrictions. Hotels in remote areas were hit hard by the loss of traffic. The post-war years saw domestic travel boom again.
Tourism in the 1950s
Although advances in aviation during the Second World War brought optimism to the tourist industry, many difficulties confronted its development. At heart New Zealand remained an agricultural country. Although the 1940s Labour government fostered manufacturing, in the 1950s Treasury poured scorn on the idea that tourism could make a valuable contribution to the economy. It based its forecasts on the history of tourism in New Zealand and judged that the country was too far away from the rest of the world.
Dining out in the fifties
While tourists today enjoy fine wines and seafood, there was only one trained chef in the country in the 1950s and New Zealand meals were a shock to sophisticated visitors. Americans looked in vain for coffee, iced water, salads and steak at dinner-time. In one city hotel, visitors were offered a choice of two soups – thick, or thin.
Ordinary New Zealanders remained suspicious of the ‘frivolous’ industry of tourism. Accustomed to bach (holiday hut) and caravan holidays, they tended to resent wealthy outsiders and preferred to keep New Zealand to themselves. Politicians and public alike underestimated the cost of providing decent hotels and access to remote areas, and the need for sophisticated entertainment for tourists who grew weary of gazing at nature. Young people’s preference for working in factories rather than a service industry led to severe staff shortages in hotels. The local taste for simple meals made food a national disaster for the tourist trade. Hotels lost money unless they focused on selling large quantities of beer to locals.
No entertainment
In 1950 New Zealand was a tight society. Imported goods were severely restricted and preference was given to agriculture and manufacturing − equipment for milking sheds rather than carpet for hotels. International hotel chains were deterred by the cost of labour and New Zealand’s restricted working hours. Regulations against licensed restaurants, weekend shopping and Sunday cinema screenings also irked visitors – the whole country seemed to be closed at weekends.
The lack of interest from the private sector led the government to set up the Tourist Hotel Corporation (THC) in 1955 to make use of business expertise to expand government hotels. There was a chain of modern THC resorts from Waitangi to Milford Sound by 1973, but they remained unprofitable until the mid-1980s. The only advance was the introduction by general manager Eric Colbeck of formal staff training and elegant meals. This set standards for the rest of the industry to follow.
