Role for Aboriginal People in Tourism

[Julia]

There has been some angry reaction amongst indigenous people to the suggestion that they should be used to increase interest in the tourism sector by being trained as front of house staff (reception/porters, concierges etc) in our five star hotels.

How do you see this suggestion?

Is it, as some indigenous people have suggested, akin to putting them in a cage like a monkey with a sign saying "roll up to see the native right on over here", or is it, as the broker of the suggestion explains, an opportunity for aboriginal people to be trained to do worthwhile jobs in an interesting and worthwhile environment?

What do you think and why?


Julia

 

[rederob]

Julia
What is your view?
My view is that the proponents are not very intelligent in that they have learned nothing about what tourists want, and remain ignorant of what the indigenous need.
If I went to Japan and saw a geisha girl in the lobby of a hotel I would hardly go back to Australia with the right view of their role or position in Japanese society/culture.
If tourists want to see and experience Australia, they need to do it away from 5 star hotels.

 

[Knobby22]

I agree 100% with you rederob.
They are the worst jobs in the hotel with awful pay.
My brother did it for a short while before realising what a poor career choice it was.

 

[mista200]

I remember a story where a tourist shop had to hire a korean born didgeridoo player because he couldn't find an aboriginal that would turn up on time.. lol

 

[2020hindsight]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/11/2185739.htm?section=justin
Don't know about for tourism,
but these Abs are trying to train as lifeguards, and finding some discrimination it seems

Hostel faces lawsuit after telling Aboriginal women to leave
Posted 48 minutes ago
Updated 29 minutes ago

An Alice Springs backpacker hostel may face legal action after it turned away a group of Indigenous women because of their skin colour.

The 16 women and children had travelled 300 kilometres from Yuendumu to Alice Springs to train as lifeguards for their community's new swimming pool.

They checked into the Haven Backpackers resort, but a short time later the manager approached Bethany Langdon and told her the group would have to leave.

"The manager came out and told me that we weren't suitable to stay there," she said.

 

[disarray]

My view is that the proponents are not very intelligent in that they have learned nothing about what tourists want, and remain ignorant of what the indigenous need.

what do the tourists want? what do the indigenous need?

obviously offering aborigines the opportunity to expand their skill base and take part in employment that is relevant to the area they inhabit is a stupid thing to do, and any attempts to increase aboriginal participation in the workforce is solely to create a freak show for the tourists amusement

If tourists want to see and experience Australia, they need to do it away from 5 star hotels.

yeah the can see the "real australia" by driving a short way to one of the aboriginal encampments on the outskirts of alice springs. what an awesome tourist experience that would be.

 

[--B--]

Julia
What is your view?
My view is that the proponents are not very intelligent in that they have learned nothing about what tourists want, and remain ignorant of what the indigenous need.
If I went to Japan and saw a geisha girl in the lobby of a hotel I would hardly go back to Australia with the right view of their role or position in Japanese society/culture.
If tourists want to see and experience Australia, they need to do it away from 5 star hotels.

lol.

whats wrong with encouraging aboriginal people to become involved in our tourism industry? despite your rather strange view many thousands of tourists will travel around australia and stay in 5 star hotels.

rather than being thought of as 'trained monkeys' perhaps these aboriginals should consider this an opportunity to get involved in the industry and present a positive image to everyone, not just the tourists. what on earth would happen in other countries with indigenous populations if they behaved like this and reacted in this way when given opportunities??

this is a disgraceful reaction from the aboriginals concerned and simply further demonstrates the victim mentality so present among them.

 

[Nyden]

what do the tourists want? what do the indigenous need?

obviously offering aborigines the opportunity to expand their skill base and take part in employment that is relevant to the area they inhabit is a stupid thing to do, and any attempts to increase aboriginal participation in the workforce is solely to create a freak show for the tourists amusement



yeah the can see the "real australia" by driving a short way to one of the aboriginal encampments on the outskirts of alice springs. what an awesome tourist experience that would be.

Something about this, just makes me chuckle!
The way Aborigines are talked about (myself, included); just seems as if we look down on them; or speak about them as if they are wild animals / of less importance.

For example; "Places they inhabit" - why not places they live? Even the term Aborigines ... they're as guilty as we are for maintain this though, but why doesn't Australia start simply calling them Australians? Not Indigenous Australians, or Natives, or Aborigines; but just Australians? As if they're their own species, or something of the likes.

Do we refer to other cultures that live here by their past ethnicity's? On occasion, yes; but usually in a derogatory manner.

There are a few towns in states, where many people of the same culture do live, for instances; in South Australia - there are a few German settlement towns (Handorf? Spelling might be off), we don't have any unique names for those people, do we? No. They're Australians. With no special entitlements, no special aid from the government, they work, they earn money, & they live.

Simply because a group of people live isolated, doesn't earn them special privileges for doing so. If I were to set up a shack in the middle of the desert, would the government go out of their way to create a job for me out there? No. They're Australians, nothing more, nothing less - and they should have the same rights / duties as we do. Nothing, I repeat - nothing is stopping them from moving to the city, getting an education, getting a job, & living life.

Yes, they've been treated wrongly ... So have the African-Americans been treated wrongly in America. So have many others. Do the African-Americans get special job placements? Not as far as I know.

I hate their special treatment, I hate their mentality, I hate their self-victimisation, I hate the way many Australians do treat them; & I hate the entire situation.

Thread title should read; Role for Australians in tourism
When one race gets different treatment than another; either positive, or negative - this is simple, blatant, racism. And it is disgraceful that our government practice this.

 

[niknah]

You need to be well presented to do customer service in 5 star hotels, you wouldn't get an average bogan to do it, it takes some tolerance to deal with fussy high society types. This idea is probably not to solve an employment issue but rather an image issue.

Yes, they've been treated wrongly ... So have the African-Americans been treated wrongly in America. So have many others. Do the African-Americans get special job placements? Not as far as I know.

Look up "Affirmative Action"

They temporarily changed the hahndorf name to something else during the world wars cause Germans weren't popular then.

 

[nioka]

This idea is probably not to solve an employment issue but rather an image issue..

Very, very true. I once worked for a very demanding boss. When we had a similar staff problem I said to him "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".
His reply " Make me the best sows ear you can and at the end of the day I don't want to know that it is actually is a sow's ear."

 

[2020hindsight]

gee whiz lol,
Maybe I shouldn't have used this thread - References to a "tourism incident" are way out of date, and I doubt the same opinion is still held by the Ab leaders (whom Julia doesn't identify).

I just picked this thread because the others (on saying sorry etc) have probably gone past their use-by date. - Time to start thinking about the future. (imo)

I just posted that bit about the Abs being turned out of the Youth Hostel in Alice. Maybe the manager was justified, who knows? - but sounds like discrimination to me. (more details to come out maybe)

 

[2020hindsight]

NT is caught up in a case of "anti-this-establishment-arianism"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/11/2186784.htm?section=justin

Anti-discrimination office being considered for Alice Springs
Posted 2 hours 14 minutes ago

Map: Alice Springs 0870
The Northern Territory's anti-discrimination commissioner says some parts of the hospitality industry believe they can treat Aboriginal people as second class citizens.

A group of Indigenous people say they were asked to leave The Haven backpacker resort in Alice Springs last weekend because other tourists were scared.

The hostel isn't returning phone calls but released a statement saying it offered to arrange for the group to stay somewhere else.

The Territory's anti-discrimination commissioner Tony Fitzgerald says it's not an isolated incident, but most never get investigated because people don't feel comfortable enough to report them.

"I've got to have the complaint from the actual person who's aggrieved, the person who suffers the injury.

"Most of the stories that we hear are from people third hand, representatives or people who are complaining about something that they've seen happen to someone else."

He says the only way to change the situation is to set up an anti-discrimination office in Alice Springs.

"At the moment, the Government won't fund us to run a branch. But we need people on the ground in Alice to promote the issues, promote tolerance, promote respect, talk about what people's rights and responsibilities are.

"We can't do it on the phone from Darwin."

Alice Springs mayor Fran Kilgariff says she doesn't accept the manager's claim the hostel is only for international backpackers.

"I could think of a dozen ways that this situation could have been dealt with other than the way that it was. If these are international visitors, international backpackers, what more authentic experience could they have than meeting these young women from Yuendumu?"

The Government says it is considering setting up an anti-discrimination office in Alice Springs.