Italian hotel owner issues etiquette guide for 'uncouth' Russian tourists
As the summer tourist season approaches, Italians have a message for their rich Russian visitors – you may be minted, but you have no manners.
Big-spending Russians have proved a lifeline for the Italian tourist sector during the last few years of economic recession but they are often perceived as brash, boorish and rude.
Now a hotel owner in Tuscany – the Russians’ favourite destination – has produced a television commercial which aims to educate wealthy Muscovites and other Russian visitors about the finer points of Italian etiquette.
Salvatore Madonna runs luxury hotels in Forte dei Marmi, an upmarket resort on the Tuscan coast which caters to Russians with menus written in Cyrillic and plentiful designer outlets, and has been nicknamed “Moscow-on-Sea”.
The three-minute advertisement advises Russians to “smile more”, to say thank you more often and to be more pleasant in their dealings with waiters and hotel staff.
They are told that ordering a cappuccino after lunch is an unforgivable faux pas – in Italy the frothy coffee is seen as an exclusively morning drink.
Italians instead would order an espresso or a caffe macchiato – an espresso with a dash of milk
Nor should red wine be ordered with fish – for seafood, it has to be white wine every time. Cashed-up Russians are also warned that it is vulgar to choose the most expensive wine on the list.
The advert, which will be shown on television in Russia and on Russian social media networks, features Ljudmila Radcenko, a Russian model who lives in Italy.
“The first rule when you enter a hotel is to say hello, smile, and to look the person in the eye.
“In Russia we’re maybe not really used to doing that,” she says, speaking in Italian but with Russian subtitles on the screen.
Even showy Italians baulk at Russian women wearing barely-there, sequinned bikinis and swim costumes.
“Russian women who love to wear high heels and tiny bikinis should perhaps avoid those,” she says.
“When you leave the hotel, it’s nice to be communicative, to express your satisfaction for the service, to smile and say thank you,” Ms Radcenko concludes in her advice to her compatriots.
Mr Madonna, the head of a luxury hotel group called Soft Living Places, says he hopes the short film will help “better integrate” Russian tourists to Italy.
Teaching uncouth Russians how to behave in a more civil way should not be construed as Italian arrogance, he said, but a way of gently shepherding tourists towards more culturally acceptable behaviour.
“It is mortifying for the people who dedicate so much time and attention to preparing dishes when they are asked to serve them all at the same time, as the Russians often do,” Mr Madonna said.
“But we don’t want to give them instruction, just to offer advice on some of the peculiarities of the Italian way of life.”
DOS AND DON'TS FOR RUSSIAN TOURISTS IN ITALY
DO smile and say thank you
DO be nice to waiters and hotel staff, not just the manager of the hotel
DO leave tips but don’t go overboard, it will be regarded as nouveau-riche and vulgar
DO look people in the eye and greet them in a friendly way
DON’T order a cappuccino after lunch – in Italy it is regarded as a drink for the morning
DON’T expect all the food you have ordered to come at once, as in Russia – it will arrive course by course
DON’T wear high heels and glitzy, tiny bikinis around the swimming pool
DON’T show off by ordering the most expensive bottle of wine on the list
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10889446/Italian-hotel-owner-issues-etiquette-guide-for-uncouth-Russian-tourists.html
Image Source: http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-11-19-dodont.jpg
Vocabulary Words:
1. Minted - (adj.) (British English, informal) very rich
2. Brash - (adj.) confident in an aggressive way
3. Boorish - (adj.) (of people and their behaviour) very unpleasant and rude
4. Faux pas - (noun) an action or a remark that causes embarrassment because it is not socially correct
5. Vulgar - (adj.) not having or showing good taste not polite, elegant or well behaved
6. Baulk - (verb) to be unwilling to do something or become involved in something because it is difficult, dangerous, etc.
7. Nouveau riche - (adj.) typical of people who have recently become rich and like to show how rich they are in a very obvious way
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think the hotel owner has the right ot come up with etiquette guides for guests?
2. In your opinion, would you do the same? Why or why not?
3. Should guests or tourists follow a ｃountry's etiquette and cultural ways? Why do you think so?
4. As a hospitality worker, should you help a guest with proper etiquette and how to act when at the hotel?
5. In what ways can guests be educated about proper etiquette and manners?
