wint
kurits
.3.
and on 24th August, 1935, I suggested that the scheme should be
abandoned. We have struggled on with inadequate support both
from Government and from the public and it has been a thankless
task. In this connection I attach a cutting from the Daily
Mirror of 13th December, 1938, which shows that the Government
subvention to a similar Association in Britain has recently been
increased from £5000 to £15000. Even this is only a tithe of
what is spent by, say, the Italian Government to attract tourists
to Italy.
In conversation one day His Excellency the Governor
remarked to me in this connection that "Good wine needs no bush"
but I submit that the good wine available in Hong Kong is very
little known throughout the world. Hong Kong is only a little
red pin point on the map of the world and was at one time
considered as synonymous with the "other place". Recent events
in this part of the world have however focussed attention on
Hong Kong and we are now becoming much better known. But
continuous publicity is necessary. I submit that even now when
we have a Chinese refugee problem there is still room for the
foreign tourist and that we should encourage his coming here. A
great deal of the financial and banking prosperity of Hong Kong
has arisen from the remittances through Hong Kong of the thousands
of Chinese who have left the neighbouring provinces of China to
work overseas. These remittances form a large part of the hidden
exports of Hong Kong and the new money brought to the Colony by
tourists is a welcome addition, for practically all of it will
stay in the Colony.
pus
I submit that the part played by visitors to a country
in the building up of that country's economic structure is not
fully appreciated. The falling off of tourist traffic in Japan
with a consequent loss of foreign exchange and buying power
abroad has had a material effect on Japan's financial position
to-day. I am not suggesting that we can emulate Japan's enormous
tourist traffic but in a smaller way the funds brought to Hong Kong