Tourism : The sleeping giant awakes

Tourism is big business. Internationally it is the second largest industry behind oil, while in New Zealand it is the sixth largest sector in the economy. The importance of tourism is noted by the Government and others: at last year's Economic Summit Conference, the then President of the Manufacturers' Federation, Earl Richardson, termed the industry "the sleeping giant" of the economy. At the same conference, a tourism spokesman predicted the number of overseas visitors could increase from 583, 000 to one million by 1990.