Australian travellers poor at tipping, Galaxy poll shows

AUSTRALIANS are notorious for not tipping while travelling - and a new Galaxy poll has revealed just how tight we really are.

MOST Australians will not tip at the expected rate when travelling overseas.

A Galaxy Research study found only 40 per cent of Australians will tip at the accepted rate for the country they are visiting, and 38 per cent only tip for exceptional service.

Eight per cent do not consider it necessary to tip at all when overseas.

On home soil, 63 per cent of Australians only tip for exceptional service and 22 per cent do not think it is necessary to tip at all.

Do you think Australians should tip? Scroll down to vote in our poll or post a comment.

Visit USA Australia president Geoffrey Hutton said Australians should factor the cost of tipping in when planning a holiday in America.

He said it was customary to tip 20 per cent in restaurants and bars there, and taxi drivers also expected to receive a tip.

"It's something that is part of their culture and if you're travelling in another country you normally try to fit in with the culture of another country, even though it may be a little bit out of the norm for Australians,'' he said.

"Most people working in the service industry in the US don't get the same sort of hourly pay rates or benefits Australian workers get so they are looking to make additional money with tips.

"There's plenty of other places in the world that we go that we have to conform to other customs or standards.

"You're having a holiday to relax so by not tipping you are just creating grief for yourself.''

Carnival Cruise Lines removed tipping from the American ship Carnival Spirit when it began sailing in Australia last year and it will also remove tipping from the Carnival Legend when it arrives Down Under next September.

In the US $11.50 gratuities per person per day is automatically added to each guest's account.

Carnival Cruise Lines Australia vice-president Jennifer Vandekreeke said changes were made to the compensation structure for crew and pricing for its cruises was different in Australia.

Celebrity Cruises chose to try to educate passengers on how to tip when it launched Celebrity Solstice into the market last year.

Tourism Accommodation Australia managing director Rodger Powell said he believed more Australians tipped than they did 10 years ago, partly because a record number of Australians were travelling overseas each year and they have become more used to the idea.

"We have an expectation that service will be good and in part that's driven by the fact that because our wages are high restaurant prices are high," he said.

"There's no doubt tips are a good motivator and a good measure for staff to know how they have performed.

"You could argue that if there was more of a culture of tipping our service would improve.''

More than 1000 Australians aged 18 to 64 participated in the online survey.

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