The Foreign Tourist Traffic The suggestion of Mr. Reeves-Smith on
behalf of the Hotels and Restaurants Association in a letter to The Times that the Government should increase its grant of £4,000 to the Travel and Industrial Development Association deserves consideration. Italy, for instance, grants £17,000 and France £26,000 for similar purposes. The stimulus an increased foreign tourist traffic gives to trade in general is obvious. Not merely do the hotels and caterers benefit, but also the transport, entertain- ment and indeed every kind of luxury industry. As Mr. Reeves-Smith points out, the hotel proprietors are playing their part in attracting the foreign traveller to these shores. The old reproach against the inadequacy of British hotels is rapidly passing out of date. Running water in bedrooms is now the rule, and central heating and more bathrooms to suit the requirements of American visitors are making steady headway. Even the wayside inn can now manage a more varied menu than the traditional ham and eggs. When millions a year are being squandered on a beet sugar subsidy for the benefit of a limited and privileged section of the popu- lation there can be little objection to a grant of a few extra thousands to promote the tourist industry, where the return would be so certain and so direct.
* * * *
Previous page
