What do visitors think of our place?

Until about 40 years ago the international airport terminal in Sydney was like a gigantic shearing shed. This was perhaps appropriate as in the early 20th century Australia was said to ride on the sheep’s back because wool was the major export. Visitors to Australia were a rare thing. Most arrivals in Australia were immigrants - here to stay - and they mostly came by sea. Celebrity visitors such as actors and singers were revered, and it was very important to make a good impression.
Embarrassingly, it was common for these foreign celebrities to be swarmed by jounalists in the arrivals lounge at Sydney Airport. And wincingly predictable was the question “What do you think of Australia?”. Vivian Leigh in 1948 famously replied "I can't see it, you're standing in my way." (Frank Sinatra’s visit in 1974 was somewhat of an exception as he was subjected to more hostile questioning. In response he called the reporters bums and hookers.)
Australians have always cared what visitors think of our country. However, the world has changed, international tourism has boomed and the number of visitors to our country continues to grow every year. Australia no longer rides on the sheep’s back and tourism has become a major source of national income. Consequently an attitude is arising that visitors are now customers. This view presents our ‘place’ as a ‘resource’ to be exploited as if it were a seam of coal. Visitors/customers need to be treated well so they will spend their money here and then encourage others to follow. It is now the economists who care the most what foreign visitors think of our country, and they measure the answer in dollars.
Our 1981 edition Macquarie Dictionary gives this meaning for the word hospitality: “the reception and entertainment of guests or strangers with liberality and kindness”. But now we have the Hospitality Industry. Isn’t it good to know all those Hospitality Industry trainees are learning to treat visitors with liberality and kindness?

This essay for Ecotone Wiki's biweekly topic Ecotone: Writing About Place - HowVisitorsAffectYourViewOfPlace

Comments

[Tvindy]

I think Western Civilization is probably one of a very few cultures in the world where its members need special training to know how to be hospitable to visitors.