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Im from Sydney, and a white australian who has lived years in Asian and speaks fluent Cantonese, enough to pass for a native - and Sydneys' Asianness just embarrasses me. It isnt diversity, its dominance by a massive populations from a few key countries. I am trying to relocate to another part of the country, and if I do, and I see that the Asian population increases there too, I may feel the same as those on the GC.
I hate to disappoint you but I just got back from a 2 weeks trip from GC Surfers Paradise and guess what? Both of us are females! We still get the same treatment that you have mentioned - all of the above and more!
We went to watch the Outback show (the name should have given us a clue not to go) simply because it sounded interesting and the tourist centre highly recommended the show. Before the show starts, the guests were led to the bar where there were some light entertainment and people can buy beers and other drinks from the bar. I was q-ing behind this white dude and waited patiently for my turn. When the guy left, and before I managed to utter a word, the bar tender turned to my left and served a white dude who has just arrived. I thought to myself that maybe she didn't see me. After serving that guy, she turned to my right and served another white bloke whom has just got there. I was well-dressed that night and was holding a 50 dollar bill in my hand to buy a 5 dollar beer (so believe me, they know I have money to pay for my drinks). I was so furious, and asked her "am I q-ing at the wrong place or do u guys just penalise people who is well-mannered enough to q?"). She looked at me with disgust and continued to serve that guy.
I am a barrister, studied and stayed in the UK for many years. I have traveled to all parts of europe more than a dozen times and the US for at least 5 times (including Las Vegas & Florida) and I have NEVER had this kind of treatment before. I can imagine this kind of treatment if I were to try to buy a beer in a hick town like Texas but in GC? A well-known tourist place in a bar catered for tourists???
We thought we should not take one bad experience and totally write off GC. Later that night when we were walking around Surfers Paradise (it was Friday and our last night in GC), some teenage boys called my friend names.
We also had a very very bad experience in Beer Garden. We were the only asians there in the bar. You know what? A "kind" aussie guy (who was obviously trying to impress her girlfriend) had to knock on the table loudly to help me get the bar tender's attention.
This is by far the worst experience I have touring in a foreign country.
Almost all the other countries that I have mentioned earlier would NOT place their "anger" or resentment of local asians on foreign asian tourists. They would be able to recognise that we will only be there for a short time as tourists. These GC peepz are either really unexposed lot of people that should not be placed near any tourists at all! Sadly, they would make alot of asians not wanting to go back there again.
My apologies for telling the story backwards. We flew business class and naturally our luggage would come out first. We walked through the customs and were asked to open our bags. We don't have any problems with that because being frequent travelers, we are used to security checks. It is the manner which our stuffs have been scrutinised that disgust us. They took out everything from our bags, literally removed everything and used their tiny scanners to scan everything! Even the sole of my jimmy choo shoes! Who on earth would smuggle anything in jimmy choo shoes. Do they even know how much they cost? If they have asked to tear open the sole, I would SUE their asses off! There weren't many asians on our flight (now I know why) and I noticed every asian travelers were asked to open their bags!
Gold Coast is definitely not safe for tourists. Don't ever go there.
I agree with you completely as I've been in your shoes before. Your story about the bag search brought back bitter memory of mine as well. If your plane makes a stop in Asia before continuing to Australlia, be prepared to get sprayed all over your body by 'sanitizer' by the flight attendants before the plane even lands. It doesn't matter if you're traveling on Qantas or non Aussie plane, the flight attendants are required to spray you to meet the 'high hygiene standard in Australia'
A grumpy old guy told me to 'go back to my own country!' while I was standing in line at the sea world in Perth. I gave him tit for tat, of course, but the aussies around me only looked on as if it were part of sea world entertainment for them to enjoy.
It's a shame, really, Australia's beaches are among the most beautiful I've ever seen, but the world is just too big for me to bother with that country again.
Your post is an example of racismand stereotypes. Firstly I have an honors degree in Chinese, and have spoke it since i was 14, so I do more than just make small talk. And the HK employment market is so large with minimal unemployment that you arent taking money away from anyone.
As for your treatment in the GC, as unpleasant as it was for you at least you know what it is like being a white person in Japan, Korea or China, Malaysia ect
Tropical87, I can't speak for Japan or Korea but as far as Malaysia is concerned, foreign tourists (be it americans, brits, aussies, arabs, asians) are treated way better than the local patrons. As far as employment is concerned, it is a different thing because of government's policy, not because of racism towards foreigners and again, is a different topic altogether from this post.
Malaysia is a multi-cultural country with 3 main races, i.e Malay, Chinese and Indian. There are various government policies which favour the Malay at the expense of other races. However, if you walk on the street and go around doing your day to day chores, or even at workplace, the chinese and the indian in Malaysia are not "invisible". The Malays would not refuse to serve the chinese or indians; the chinese will not refuse to serve the malays or the indians etc etc. We do have events such as those you see recently in Melbourne many many years ago but today, I dare say that only a very very small minority of Malaysians (sadly, most of them are politicians) that are actually racists. They will most definitely not refuse to serve a foreign tourist.
I do agree that chinese, in particular, do tend to be uptight and some of them are embarrassed for not being able to speak english well, hence the cold treatment or the "bad" service that you get. But they will not ignore you altogether or refuse to serve you, like the experience I had in GC.
Coming back to your point on employment, in my firm, we have more than 10% white expat from the US, UK and Australia because their skills and expertise are highly sought after by my firm. They generally get better pay packages than the locals. Tropical87, if your skill and expertise are in high demand, there should not be any problem in getting employed. It is all a matter of supply and demand. Btw, HK has the highest number of foreign expats in asia. Strange that you find so much difficulty in HK. Perhaps it will be easier for you to move back to Australia and get a job there? Just don't go for mining companies
Lastly, I would like to thank the others for their empathy and also sharing their experiences in Aust/GC. I agree it is a very scenic country with very nice beaches. GC would have, but for these GC peepz, been even far better developed with the amount of money that tourists pour in. I hope the aussie authorities will do something about it. For a start, they should probably have feedback forms for the customs and commercial establishments. This is the only place I have been to that do not emphasise on customer service.
To be fair...perhaps, those who populate GC want to preserve aspects of their culture and lifestyle which are often under threat and can be easily eroded by the repeated presence of new-comers (or foreigners)?
But their way of communicating defense leaves much to be desired.
If the Gold Coast has been a prime holiday destination for a long time,
isn't "...chasing after tourist dollars..." their culture and lifestyle?
Generally speaking one could easily say that about Orlando, FL...
even thought Disney World was built in 1972. Before that it was orange-groves, small towns and swamps,
so 90+% of the city's residents would be made up of "non-natives" having limited-to-zero ties to "Old Florida."
If the Gold Coast has been a prime holiday destination for a long time,
isn't "...chasing after tourist dollars..." their culture and lifestyle?
Generally speaking one could easily say that about Orlando, FL...
even thought Disney World was built in 1972. Before that it was orange-groves, small towns and swamps,
so 90+% of the city's residents would be made up of "non-natives" having limited-to-zero ties to "Old Florida."
And despite all the tourists, Orlando remains a friendly city to visitors; they know what pays their bills.
If the Gold Coast has been a prime holiday destination for a long time,
isn't "...chasing after tourist dollars..." their culture and lifestyle?
Generally speaking one could easily say that about Orlando, FL...
even thought Disney World was built in 1972. Before that it was orange-groves, small towns and swamps,
so 90+% of the city's residents would be made up of "non-natives" having limited-to-zero ties to "Old Florida."
"...chasing after the tourist dollars..." was not necessarily the prime reason for many who migrated there from other parts of the country. In fact, many of the local residents don't even have to work. You will find that a large portion of the workers engaged in the "tourist market" are not from GC.
One of the reasons cited for the lack of civilised behaviour towards tourists is the mismanagement of the area as a holiday destination. Many of the tourist operators were of Asian background who directed the hordes of gullible tourists to where (and to whom) they derive the most income. They clearly didn't have the interest of the local area at heart. They probably didn't care if they could pronounce "Gold Coast" properly, let alone give something back to the local area. Had they co-implicated and integrated the locals in showcasing GC, the behaviour would have been very different.
Of course, this does not excuse the uncivilised behaviour towards tourists but the "chase after the tourist dollars" by the non-locals has far-reaching implications.
Perhaps, we need to learn from the residents of Orlando.
"...chasing after the tourist dollars..." was not necessarily the prime reason for many who migrated there from other parts of the country. In fact, many of the local residents don't even have to work. You will find that a large portion of the workers engaged in the "tourist market" are not from GC.
One of the reasons cited for the lack of civilised behaviour towards tourists is the mismanagement of the area as a holiday destination. Many of the tourist operators were of Asian background who directed the hordes of gullible tourists to where (and to whom) they derive the most income. They clearly didn't have the interest of the local area at heart. They probably didn't care if they could pronounce "Gold Coast" properly, let alone give something back to the local area. Had they co-implicated and integrated the locals in showcasing GC, the behaviour would have been very different.
Of course, this does not excuse the uncivilised behaviour towards tourists but the "chase after the tourist dollars" by the non-locals has far-reaching implications.
Perhaps, we need to learn from the residents of Orlando.
That is also what the settlement patterns of Orlando is like.
Many people aren't in tourism, but probably everyone knows somebody tied to the tourism/service industry.
I fail to see how being able to speak English affects the Gold Coast.
If they're happy and bringing in money, who cares if they need an interpreter?
Orlando the city scarcely-resembles it's "Deep South" roots in almost every way; it used to be like Alabama or Louisiana.
Once in a while you bump into native-Floridians (there before the 20th century)
and they just accept their city has changed, while retaining some of their cultural customs on a personal level.
(it's obvious they sound like Southerners )
Actually, the Orlando area is known to have some of "the most angry residents per capita."
however outside of driving, this hostility is probably mostly directed towards each other. I've always felt good being there.
The locals treat tourists (and anyone else buying something) very well.
There may be a degree of "coldness" or "soulessness" expressed towards others,
but it's never worse than the coldness I feel in the Toronto area.
*It seems likely that most Orlando residents would be cautious about being rude to tourists,
because like I said "...everyone knows someone working in tourism..."
so their outbursts could indirectly affect the jobs of family or friends.
That is also what the settlement patterns of Orlando is like.
Many people aren't in tourism, but probably everyone knows somebody tied to the tourism/service industry.
I fail to see how being able to speak English affects the Gold Coast. If they're happy and bringing in money, who cares if they need an interpreter?
Orlando the city scarcely-resembles it's "Deep South" roots in almost every way; it used to be like Alabama or Louisiana.
Once in a while you bump into native-Floridians (there before the 20th century)
and they just accept their city has changed, while retaining some of their cultural customs on a personal level.
(it's obvious they sound like Southerners )
Actually, the Orlando area is known to have some of "the most angry residents per capita."
however outside of driving, this hostility is probably mostly directed towards each other. I've always felt good being there.
The locals treat tourists (and anyone else buying something) very well.
There may be a degree of "coldness" or "soulessness" expressed towards others,
but it's never worse than the coldness I feel in the Toronto area.
*It seems likely that most Orlando residents would be cautious about being rude to tourists,
because like I said "...everyone knows someone working in tourism..."
so their outbursts could indirectly affect the jobs of family or friends.
If the Asian tourists are being guided by Asian tourist guides, assisted by Asian shop assistants, buy Asian-made goods, eat at Asian restaurants....what's the point of leaving Asia?
When I was in Vancouver, Toronto and San Francisco I visited their "Chinatown" and spent only half a day at each location. What's the point of spending all my time in "Chinatown" when I'm of Asian extraction...and there's one in Sydney where I reside?
They're over here to see and experience a way of life that's clearly different to their own....and one of the stark differences is the relaxed and care-free way of living; one that's not necessarily guided and couched in "happy and bringing in the money". For some of the GC's residents, the condition of the surf dicates if it's worth getting out of bed early some mornings
Regardless, pursuing some education towards better treatment to our tourists should be a good enough reason to get out of bed (and continue the surf later)
Part of it I think is a lot of Australians don't have a sense of customer service because in many areas competition is lacking and partly I think is due to the lack of a tip/gratuity culture.
For the company I used to work for in the USA with the 150 aussies and kiwis we used to get every year, I actually taught an hour long class to them about customer service. Frankly I was shocked at some of the attitudes which revolved around getting an hourly wage and therefore a lack of desire for any level of personal service for their customers. I had to teach them the American way as well as how to receive tips and why we do that here.
Once they were on the job, I had extensive conversations about what had changed for them in the interim and almost all always said the tip system gave them an incentive to provide good customer service and to help their customers. A few thought that no matter what they would do a good job regardless, but for most they felt it had changed their perspective.
To be honest I despise dining out down under. They go on about the nice hourly wage they get, but the service is almost always terrible. Sad really but there is no incentive to provide good personal service. Especially in a place with such a high turnover of tourists like GC I found it totally appalling. The week I spent there I ended up cooking for myself in my condo instead of going out. I'd never go back to the Gold Coast unless I had specific business there.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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That's weird Wanneroo, maybe we have different standards but I find the service generally quite good, with the exception of them making you wait too long before they take your order. They're usually friendly and helpful at least. I don't want to say it or bring this up but I find the service in Chinese restaurants in particular not very good.
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