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The North Wales Weekly News

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TIDE TABLE FOR THE NORTH WALES…

jVORTI WALES RESORTS.

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jVORTI WALES RESORTS. IN EVERY North Wafcs resort the approach of the season is the favourite topic of conversa- tion, and in many localities the preparations for the reception of Eastertide tourists are well ad- vanced. This remiinids lUIS, that some shopkeepers are very wisely having their premises decorated now kiisitead of deferring the work until the visitors have actually arrived. Ofcur guests like to find the shops, hotels, and boiarding-houises made beautiful for their reception, but they do object—and quite re-asonab,ly-to find themselves welcomed in an atmosphere laden with the odoutr of wet paint. People who cater for visitors should take time by the forelock in regard to such matters as these-" trivial matters," as they may appear to some lofty minds, but really im- port ant in their influence upon the success or non-success of visiting resorts. There is another advantage ariSling from giving out painjting con- tracts at the present time. The painting trade is now passing through a period of slackness," and therefore there are plenty of workmen free to be placed on a job nearer to Easter the orders will pour in all together, and the masters wiilil fund great difficulty in coping with them. The benefits to be derived from prompt atten- tion to details such as these are so obvious that we would be prepared to apoilogise for mention- Tag theim were we not supported by experience. One of the great obstacles to the success of British watering-pi aces is the tendency to over- look the obvious. Neither our priv,ate traders nor our public authorities can. be ac,cuised of lack of enterprise; and yet it is. pathetic to observe from time to time how the value of this or that great improvement scheme, costing a large sum of money, is discounted by the neglect of small but important details. So much by way of justification for dealing at length with this side of a large subject. It is true that the cleaning operations now going forward in a few establishments are not a sure sign of the pirox- imity of Eaisteortide. "Orne swallow does not make a summer." Neither do ia few newly painted shops make an Eastertide. No; for complete and positive proof of the nearness of Elaster or any other holiday we rniust always turn for guidance to our District Councillors. It is not necessary to consult the calendar for inforrnaitian as to the day on which a festival falls, because its near approach will be heralded by the roads being up and the drains care- fully and considera-tely opened. Nearly every British resort is conducted on these lines, and it is difficult to find out whether such methods are good or bad. Do British visitors patronise their own resorts because of, or in spite of, the fact that they generally find their journey from railway station to hotel made as difficult and inconvenient as possible? It is not easy to de- cide, such a system off-hand. There are the open trenches, and theie are the visitors. Would the visitors come if it were not for such at- trac,t.Lon,s "? Would they be so disappointed on finding every road in. good and tidy order when they arrived that they would return home the very next day ? Of course, if visitors prefer these, things to continue in accordance with ancient tradition, and because of their super- stitiofus reverence for old-esitabliahed custom, thejn we have nothing to say by way of criti- cism > Biut we should like to be permitted to ex- press a doubt. But there is another, and pleasanteir side to the pic tore. The fact remains that, whatever complaints may be made regarding details of local administration, the North Wales resorts are moving forward. The rate of progress, per- haps, is not as rapid as might be desired, but alt is some-thing to be able to report a steady advance. There exists a feeling in some quarters that greater success could be attained if we valued our resources more highly and showed o-reatea: energy in making known the unique benefits which our North Wales resorts can and I do offer the visiting public. Splendid work has been done by the various Town Improvement Associations, who, by means of advertising schemes have supplemented the enterprise off the public authofrities and the sacrifices made by the ratepayers in the carrying out of work of public improvement. But more remains to be done, and we still believe, as we have often re- marked before, that the present system is to a certain extent a mistake. Our Welsh resorts, in their advertis.ing and other similar efforts, are fighting one another, and each loses something in consequence. Competition is carried too far. There ought to be room for a system of co-opera- tion which would prove at once more effective and more economical. The great aim shoiuld be this to make a grand united effort to attract the great bulk of visitors across Offa's Dyke, leaving it to the visitors themselves to then settle where they will make their temporary head- quarters. Competition thefre miust inevitably be between our own resorts but does it not stand to reason that by unity and co-operation they can wo ilk for their mutual beneifk? It is full time to etablish, what we have so often advo- cated., a North Wales Federation of Town Im- provement Associations, the main purpose of the Federation being to draw up and carry out such co-operative schemes as may be approved. The. question of the representation and fee of each individual Association joining is a matter which couild be settled with ease. What is wanted is to gain the maximum of benefit from. the minimum of expenditure, and it appears to us that the suggested Federation would provide just the kind of machinery best calculated to produce such a result. This idea is capable of development. Not only would at be desirable to form a Federation of Welsh resorts, but such a union might be ex- tended to embrace all the British watering- places for purposes where combination is needed to fight in an effective manner the great and in- creasing competition of European resorts. This view of the subject is suggested by a most in- teresting article in The Daily Telegraph for January 131th. Everybody has heard of London's White City, but not everyone has heard of the plans for the next exhibition at Shepherd's Bush. The scheme, is described in a Daily Telegraph interview with Mr. Imre Kiraify, and it is a scheme of the. greatest possible in- terest to North Wales. The exhibitioCl will in- clude three main features, and one cxf these is to be the means of setting before the public the manifold attractions of the principal watering- places of th.3 world." Invitations have been sent to the Councils of all our resorts to send up exhibits, and the letters are in most cases receiving the careful. attention of the Advertising and Town Improvement Associations. We in Wales cannot be too thankfuil to the Dailv Telegraph for the manner in which it has always encouraged and fostered our home re- sorts—it is the premier English newspaper from the poinit of view of the visiting public and those who cater for visitors—and therefore OUT readers should make a special effort to read the Telegraph article of the 13th, copies of which will be readily supplied on application at the Colwyn Bay office of the North Wales "Weekly News." In the course of the interview Mr. Imre Kiralfy says:—"The plan which is now being worked out is that each country shall have a section and every town, worthy of the position shall be. pictorially represented. There might be large models, with dioramic or pano- ramic views, or something of that sort, but there must be sufficient variety to prevent the display becoming monotonous. Much will depend on the attractiveness of the exhibits. The con- trasts between the different places will attract attention. Hotel proprietors, as well as local bodies, will have am opportunity of seeing what the foreigners do, and, while advertising their own resorts, may pick up valuable hints. The project, too, should attract the railway com- panies. The popularity of a seaside town de- pends upon its accessibility. Here you can .show that the railways have a good service of trains, that their cars are comfortable, and the method of travelling is up-to-date. Steamship companies in like fashion can- point out the facilities they offer for conveying the holiday- maker to the resorts." Then Mr. Kiralfy adds these significant words You may rely upon it, 11he foreigner is going to show his fa-vouxite watering-place to the best advantage. The British corporations must not be behindhand. Here is their opportunity. I am, off course, anxious to help ouir own people in every way I ca. a-ad my advice is always at their service. I am hopeful that, as the result of the exhibi- tion, some .society will be formed to watch over the interests off the pleasure resorts of the United Kingdom and to increase their popu- larity. It is by no means imposslible for such a society to work harmoniously and see that each place should have its own particular feature to attract the public." We feel sure that this sec- tion of the Shepherd's Bush display will prove immensely popular, and for this and many other •reasons we hope that no stone will be left un- tuainted to secure the best possible repr ostentation of our beautiful North Wales resorts.

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