"Great Aussie Walkabout" aimed at giving visitors and locals a more balanced view of San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO -- Members of the Australian American Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco have organized an event to give visitors and residents a more balanced view of the city amid the so-called "doom loop" narrative.
The Great Aussie Walkabout on Wednesday afternoon is aimed at helping members get a more complete picture of the city. Organizers said it's an acknowledgement that the negative headlines about San Francisco have traveled around the world and impacted international business relationships.
"We get a lot of feedback from our members -- outside the city and back at home in Australia -- that San Francisco looks like a war zone," said AACC Executive Director Melissa Zajic. "They ask every day if we feel safe just walking around our own neighborhood, my kids go to a local public school, I can't stress to them enough that life is really wonderful in many parts of the city."
That impression of the city not only comes from colleagues and clients of chamber members, but family members of Zajic and other Australia expatriates. They hope the tour will bring together a range of perspectives to talk about city hall and the role of local government and community leaders facing the challenges presented by the Tenderloin and how to go about improving that neighborhood.
There will also be a discussion about retail and real estate in the current economy around the Mid-Market neighborhood.
"My own sister was planning a visit over the summer with her family, and her husband genuinely expressed concern about whether they should come and stay with us," Zajic told KPIX. "They really got a much better sense of the city and some of the wonderful points about it."
She hopes the tour will have a similar impact, giving chamber members useful information to share with others internationally. The AACC is itself a reminder of how worldly San Francisco is as a city with a diverse population and organizations with foreign connections working locally to bring more business and culture to the region.
"Do you feel safe? Absolutely I do. I definitely am selective about the routes I take," Zajic said recalling a conversation with someone about using public transportation in San Francisco. "I'm not not going to do it."
Another challenge is the cost of living in San Francisco, which has sent some Australian businesses to other U.S. cities, according to Zajic. But she shared the example of one startup that decided to work out of San Francisco because it remains a hub for new ideas. A promising sign as the AACC works with other groups to celebrate the upcoming APEC Summit later this month, one more chance to showcase the positive side of San Francisco.
"It's totally unmatched definitely, when it comes to innovation," she said.