Benefits of Tourism: Australian Experience

What is it becoming?

(Image from photosfan.com)

Community engagement beings domestically, but then improves with the international benefits. This is important for creating character and culture in a certain area and community. Creating history and tradition and giving people a sense of well-being in a place where they feel confident and safe.

                                            

However, tourism brings a different vein of light into a place. It creates employment opportunities mainly with tourism officers needed to host new arrivals into a country. Tourists will be likely to also spend more money than the average consumer of a country because they are visiting only for a short while, and cherished memories are placed into physical objects of such. Therefore financially it is incredibly rewarding for a variety of outlets such as national tourist shops and even retailers. The largest, and also most controversial, factor of new people visiting a country can be the new cultures joining original ones. A new flavour in a recipe and a chance to learn about how other people see the world and react to different actions.

In Australia, the acceptance of someone new coming into the country is 50/50. A big divide of patriots who don’t want new people coming to live in Australia, and another of people who accept the new cultures. Australia is now becoming built primarily on its multiculturalism and the acceptance and willing to learn from each other. That was my own understanding of Australia when I first arrived, a place with such a mix of culture it was interesting to see how people reacted.

Of course Australia never used to be multiculturalist and only a couple of decades ago as it only became Foreign Policy then, it were never something that sat comfortably with the country.  Journalist John Menadue described the diversity of Australian’s born overseas to be over 50% of the population now, meaning Australia has no choice but to engage in multiculturalist activities to suit more people coming from overseas. The Sydney Herald described the main way multiculturalism works is through mutual respect for each other’s ideas and perspectives.

From a personal perspective, I find the Australian people very rigid about bringing in people from overseas and allowing them to live here. Stereotypes rain down constantly, and other racial slurs are now being passed as being acceptable in society. Do we really accept new cultures with respect?