imigrants driving tourists away

fly_agaric

Gurgle wrote:

Incidentally, if we have all this cheap labour in the form of exploited immigrants, how come we can't keep these low margin manufacturing plants going?

Interesting question (to me anyway). Maybe it is not as easy for them to fiddle the paypacket to come to less than min. wage because the low-skill manufacturing workers would be PAYEpeople?
Of course, on the other hand - if low skilled service jobs could be outsourced to E. Europe or China somehow they would be going too!

Gotta say I feel sorry for the misty-eyed US tourists expecting gabby barmen and flame-haired cailíní dancing all over the shop. "Unwanted", "dumb fúcks", doting "nursing home patients"! Seems they almost get more abuse than the immigrants.:D

But it's downright fashionable to heap abuse on the "stupid yanks" now anyway. WTF do we need them for now we are so stinking rich!

constitutionus

Hobbes wrote:

The price hikes have nothing to do with immigrants either working here or working in the tourist industry.

For starters Ireland has been fleecing tourists for years. Don't believe me? Try actually going on some Irish tours that tourists come on. I did it a couple of years ago when my in-laws where here.

The Dublin city tour bus for example. For the price of 4 people you could hire a taxi driver for a day who would get you to the same places, tell you probably more factual sh!te then you get on the bus.

Newgrange? A fricken hole in the ground that you have to pay through the nose to see, they locked off the roads to it so you have to pay to even get close to it and you have to via a tourist center that charges prices that make Dublin prices look cheap.

We have various touristy spots where prices are magically disappeared from menus/items.

We have tour guides who knowledge of Ireland probably wouldn't even be half that of a polish person who couldn't point out Ireland on a map.

I sat through one tour guide one time who went on how Ireland was full of pedophile priests and fake disabled people who are scrounging off the state. (I'm not kidding, you might find my earlier post on it some years back).

Add to that American tourists are getting screwed because of the currency and most on package tours sit in their hotel in the evening because they can't afford to do anything at all.

when did i say the immigrants were responsible for the prices?:rolleyes:

Shellie13

actually the irish themselfs are much less accomidatin in the last few years!
Greated with grunts in most shops/pubs restarants as if theyre doin u a favor relievin u of hard earned cash in exchange for half baked service!

In the states in general they fall all over the customer (to a sick degree sometimes but what can ya do?!)

walrusgumble

Hagar wrote:

Statistics are notoriously unreliable, no offence.

I wonder how many of the immigrants put themselves down as "Holiday" or "Visiting Family"? We seem to count tourists coming into the country, but does anyone count them going back out?

Now that would be an interesting statistic.;)

true but you could also question how many irish citizens put themselves down as holiday or visiting family when they go to the us (unless you are talking about immigrants in general)

Gurgle

fly_agaric wrote:

Gotta say I feel sorry for the misty-eyed US tourists expecting gabby barmen and flame-haired cailíní dancing all over the shop. "Unwanted", "dumb fúcks", doting "nursing home patients"! Seems they almost get more abuse than the immigrants.:D

I've met lots of Yanks here on holiday, and they all loved the country. I think the OP made up his encounter to find Americans who were dismayed at modern Ireland.

They're not here for leprechauns and dancing maidens. Nobody is that stupid, expecting to find a lord of the rings set in the 21st century.
What shocked me when I talked to americans in california was the perception of a war-torn country where they would as likely as not be blown up on their holidays. They would as soon visit here as the Lebanon.

The ones who get this far are here to see historical sites from centuries before their country existed, the places their great grandparents grew up, 40 shades of green. They're here for the craic, the laid back lifestyle, chilling out in an Irish pub.

Unfortunately some of them think they'll find all that in Dublin. I take every opportunity to send them to the west coast.

Of course some things have changed - the most offputting aspect of modern Ireland is the casual racism you get in many places these days.

Victor

gary9112 wrote:

was talking to some american tourists the other day and they could not believe the amount of non irish in the country they were in shock

Imagine going to Hawaii, is the place full of Aloha girls wearing flowers and grass skirts? No, its full of Americans.

Shellie13 wrote:

In the states in general they fall all over the customer (to a sick degree sometimes but what can ya do?!)

Yeah, it can make the ordinary decent shopper feel like a shoplifting suspect.

mayhem#

I suggest that you look at your own comprehension of English before you comment on other people....

E.

Terry

Victor wrote:

Imagine going to Hawaii, is the place full of Aloha girls wearing flowers and grass skirts? No, its full of Americans.

can i state the obvious here, or does someone else want to do it?

Gurgle

julep wrote:

can i state the obvious here, or does someone else want to do it?

Its as reasonable to expect aloha girls in grass skirts in Hawaii as 19th century Ireland in the 21st century.

Actually, you would probably see more Aloha girls than Ceilis.

Terry

my point is that hawaiins are american.
semantics really, but there you go.

Talliesin

gary9112 wrote:

was talking to some american tourists the other day and they could not believe the amount of non irish in the country they were in shock

It would be lovely to think that the increase in immigration would reduce our attraction as a tourist site to assholes as you suggest.

I doubt it tbh, but maybe we should have tax-breaks for people in the tourist industry hiring non-nationals just in case it does work.

fly_agaric

Gurgle wrote:

Of course some things have changed - the most offputting aspect of modern Ireland is the casual racism you get in many places these days.

Are you really sure that's the most offputting?

It's a strange statement. Is Ireland way way worse than anywhere else (worldwide or just in Europe?) or was it somehow a racist-free zone before and now it's full of racists and bigots...?

Ste.phen

No, it was a 'foreigner free zone' until recently so the people who had racist views were fairly quiet about the whole thing. Now that there's higher immigration the whingers can wander away from the dole queue long enough to complain about the it, so the rest of us notice it more.
"Dey Tuk Urr JERBS!"

senordingdong

Karl Hungus wrote:

I was about to reitterate that not driving away potential customers (Not just yanks, but everyone who comes here) has nothing to do with the importance of the current workforce, that they are unrelated... But I think I've found your logical strand.

(Stop me if I'm wrong now) You're assuming that I agree with the OP's assertion that it is eastern europeans that are turning away tourists. Correct? That the current workforce should be sacrificed in trade-off with potential tourism money.

Anyway, if that's what you think, you're completely wrong. Infact, if you had read my first posts on this issue, here and here, you would realise my take on the issue of immigrants driving away tourism was that the Americans the OP spoke of had an unrealistic view of Ireland, and would've been dissapointed either way.

With that firmly in mind, let us backtrack then to this post, and my concurrent reply. I can understand where lines may have been crossed, but in my reply I mean to say that it's a sad attitude to have that "We don't need 'em" and calling them "Dumb fvcks" when it's people like that who want to come to visit us in good will and spend their money here, money we may well need some day.

So, in summary, my reply to julep's comment about not needing dumb fvcks spending their money is not in agreance with the OP's assertion about immigrants turning away tourism.

Excellent, thanks for clearing that up but for the record, I never assumed you ahd ill feelings towards any group of people.
My contribution to what Julep said was that it is the 'dumb fvcks' that I don't want. I don't care if someoen is American or Eastern European, it's just the dumb fvcks that I don't like.

Oh...and I thought you were saying you would welcome all tourists regardless of their manners etc...because their 'donations' will be needed in the future.

Victor

julep wrote:

my point is that hawaiins are american. semantics really, but there you go.

I don't recognise the annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii by the United States and the overthrow of its legal government.

Native Hawaiians are Pacific Islanders, not Americans.

Gurgle

fly_agaric wrote:

It's a strange statement. Is Ireland way way worse than anywhere else (worldwide or just in Europe?) or was it somehow a racist-free zone before and now it's full of racists and bigots...?

Lets take a look at a microcosm of Irish society - boards.

After a record year for visitor numbers to Ireland, the OP starts a thread claiming that immigrants are driving tourists away

Nearly every thread is swamped with people blaming the foreigners for everything. Whether its car insurance, house prices, salarys, jobs, social welfare etc, theres a dozen posters to tell us we can't get a fair deal because of all the damn foreigners.

fly_agaric

Gurgle wrote:

Lets take a look at a microcosm of Irish society - boards.

Okay, but Boards is far from representative of Ireland. I'd guess the general membership of the site is younger, more computer/internet savvy and certainly more up-its-own árse (...<<ducks>>) and wealthier than average.

Gurgle wrote:

Nearly every thread is swamped with people blaming the foreigners for everything. Whether its car insurance, house prices, salarys, jobs, social welfare etc, theres a dozen posters to tell us we can't get a fair deal because of all the damn foreigners.

1 - that is an exaggeration IMO. (However I don't read after hours much so maybe it does apply here??)

2 - see above about Boards not being
Ireland.

3 - Casual "racism" may be too strong a word for anonymous píssing and moaning about foriegners/immigrants on the internet anyway.

4 - In such threads there are far more people defending the "foriegners" than blaming x y or z on them or coming to support the gripers.
If the "blamers" (often characterised as racist bigots letting their kkk hoods slip a bit) do have a case about some particular issue it is also pointed out to them that the ultimate responsibility lies with our shítty govt. and politicians and their failure to govern properly and ourselves for letting them get away with it rather than foriegners/immigrants.