To experience the ‘real’ Australia – a liminal authentic cultural experience

Johan Edelheim, Southern Cross University

Abstract

This paper will pose the question: If a nation’s icons are not true representations of that society’s culture – then what are true descriptors of that culture?

Australia as a Tourist Destination Region (TDR) is defined as having 4 R’s; the Roo, the Roof, the Reef and the Rock, as its main attractions. The Roo - the marsupial family of kangaroos and wallabies. The Roof –the exterior areas of the Sydney Opera House. The Reef – refers to the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, the Rock – Uluru, the world’s largest monolith remotely situated in the middle of the great continent. All the 4 R’s are icons, and recognised worldwide as being images/pictures that describe Australia. Visitors are, through their gaze, to a certain degree, focused on gazing upon these icons, and the inbound tourism industry of Australia is focused on serving inbound tourists these attractions.

An Australian is likely to laugh at the images as being too simplified descriptors. A normal response includes suggestions of visits to the outback to experience ‘the real Australia’, to sit in pubs talking to ‘locals’ about ‘real Australian’ professions such as mining or farming. The picture is painted as to say that the tourist would not have experienced more than an overtly staged front-stage if they have not seen more than some of the 4 R’s.

This paper will claim that neither frontstage nor backstage icons are authentic. If no culture is ultimately authentic then no description of real Australia can have a final value as correct. An alternative definition of the facts is that everything is authentic, as the tourists are the persons who experience the phenomena, if they would not be where they are, those very experiences would not happen. It is therefore the tourists that make the experience authentic. If the latter definition is accepted then all descriptors found in Australia can be seen as ‘real’ cultural symbols.

A suggestion is made that phenomenology as a methodology, might be a tool for researchers and industry practitioners, to take a ‘step back’ from their normal thoughts and reflect upon the phenomena they are a part of, and how their actions involuntarily form that experience.

A brief description of tourism in Australia is made and a media analysis conducted in an attempt to prove the validity of the concepts proposed.

It seems to be that true descriptors of the Australian culture are an amalgam of interconnected symbols, each from different settings, but together constituting Australia. Based on that, it seems correct to classify an experience of the ‘real’ Australia as a fairly liminal one. Every time something is experienced which is determined ‘real’ by some source, another source is questioning that reality.

This is a preliminary work of a larger thesis investigating special interest tourism as a contributor to the formation of cultural identity.