v2 A19 - Sunday News, December 28, 1980 AN ATTENTIVE AU- DIENCE greeted this puppet show which was presented recently at the Lynn Valley branch of North Vancouver District Library. (Terry Peters photo) Tourism in B.C. is forging ahead But must work hard to stay healthy The British Columbia tounst industry is in good shape but those involved will have to work very hard to keep it healthy. And even harder to develop it into a strong contender in inter- nauonal competition for the travel dollar. That was the verdict after more than 50 experts had examined the industry from every possible angle at the first province wide tourism conference held November 24 to 26 at the Richmond Inn Keynote speakers from Canada the lS and abroad federal and provincial government officials and leading representatives of every part of the privale sector were unanimously optimistic about the future of the in. dustry which ts expected to funnel $1.8 bilhhon into the Provinctal economy — this year But many also echoed the warning sounded by Minister of Tourtsm Pat Jordan. who said the market was bevoming increasingly increasingly diverse and the inter National traveller in creasingly sophisticated affluent and demanding The biggest challenge she saw for BC she said was the upgrading of hotels motels resorts and other facihties This view found wide support as yvanous speakers emphasized thal \ravellers tn these days ol wide spread inflation are Paving top dollar and expect top facthues and services They agreed thal {riendly ethiient service was of the “ulMoOBL Importance “Tt isnt our product Chat inspires the competitive greatest number of com- pliments,” said Jim Garber, marketing director for Disneyland. “The thing that impresses visitors most 1s cleanliness. followed closely by the friendliness of the personnel. The importance of that courteous greeting and that goodbye thank you cant be overestimated,” he said Chairman of the Visitors’ Bureau in Hawan. which welcomes four millon tourists a year in the face of what he calls “intense competinon”. Jack Simpson was categone “Don't treat tourists as uf they were dumb.” he said “And don't shoritchange them ~ Bill Rowe. vice-president Atlantic Canada Region. Aur Canada. put wt another way "We need to lke our tourtsts, not use them ” Soaring fuel costs were an area of concern at the convention particularly among (hose connected with transportation the business that 1s crucial to fourtsm Rowe said he didnt know whether carnmers were facing a scarcity of simply rising prices “but cheap fuel is no longer there © Flying in to Vancouver for the concluding session of the conterence Charles LaPointe federal Minister of State for Small Business and Dourtsm agreed that challenges relating te energy will become In creasingly important In this Connection he said it was important the industry be informed ino advonec of any fucl. onstrames Jordan said ccanmonnte development on the Pac alr Rim meant increased lourtsl potential, a view shared by Dr. Keith Hay, president of Econolynx International, who said Asia-Pacific tounsts will mean over $200 million to Canada by 1985 and about one third of a bilhon dollars by !990 However, he said he felt that in the short term, Canada. and especially B.C. should concentrate on the traditional Pacific markets Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand lp to the end of September 1980. he said. Canada had aliracted 138,000 9 visitors from Japan, $4,000) from Austraha, 26,000 from Hong Kong and 16.500 from New Zealand with BC the province of entry for a large percentage of them Jordan also mentioned the largely unexpected possibilines of the overseas market and Harry Liedtke district sales manager for British Airways said (sreat Britain had enormous un tapped market potential British tourists are not aware of what this country has te offer he said “and have stayed away tin droves While one in every SO Britons visits America only one in 200 comes toC anada and only one tin | OOO is a pure tourist he said SELL IT. in the NEWS classifieds - 986-6222 “Who would want tobea a "Up ; HM ts, 4 Wk" More than 400 North Shore girls, that’s who. Some girls pose as Sunshine Girle because they want to become models. Some girle want to have their picture in their community newspaper Some do tt to get a high-quality, professional photograph of themselves. Some do It for the money; It’s a paid modelling assignment. Some do it because their boyfriends, huebands, or families encourage them to pose as a Sunshine Gir! And there are a lot of other reasons, too The Sunshine Girl in our Sunday and Wednesday News Is very popular among readers, advertieers, and the models themselves If you re interested in posing as oa Sunshine Girl I'd lthe to hear from you sunday news Ele worth Dickson 1139 Lousdale Ave... North Vancouver 985-2131 north shore news