{"id":19303,"date":"2017-07-05T21:13:01","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T20:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/?p=19303"},"modified":"2017-07-06T11:54:48","modified_gmt":"2017-07-06T10:54:48","slug":"why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/","title":{"rendered":"Why it\u2019s OK to charge tourists more for chips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Why<\/p>\n

I<\/span>t was recently reported that\u00a0cafes in Bruges charge tourists 10%<\/a>\u00a0more than locals for chips. Explained as \u201cdiscount for customer loyalty\u201d, tourists automatically end up in a higher price bracket.<\/p>\n

This reminded me of a conversation I overheard between two tourists in Sicily who felt they were regarded as \u201cwalking wallets\u201d by local shop owners, a sentiment I often hear hinted at by holidaymakers when walking foreign streets. As the summer holiday season fast approaches, it\u2019s perhaps timely to question the ethics behind inflated prices for tourists.<\/p>\n

Tourism has long been regarded as a vehicle of economic prosperity and source of increased revenue. It is one of the world\u2019s largest industries, with a global economic contribution of over\u00a0US$7.6 trillion<\/a>\u00a0(\u00a35.8 trillion). The United Nations World Tourism Organisation forecasts that by 2030, the number of international tourist arrivals will reach\u00a01.8 billion<\/a>. With one in ten jobs on the planet reliant on tourism (that\u2019s\u00a0292m people<\/a>) and an equivalent worth of\u00a010% global GDP<\/a>, there is little wonder that host communities want to make the most of the opportunities it brings.<\/p>\n

One of the most famous places for hiking prices up for visitors is Venice. The city\u2019s \u201ctwo-tier system<\/a>\u201d became so extreme that a complaint reached the European Commission in 2015 which claimed discriminatory practices against tourists \u2013 the complaint was rejected. And when Thailand planned to introduce national park fee increases in 2015 it was clear that the higher prices would fall on\u00a0holidaymakers rather than local people<\/a>. The increased fees for \u201cforeign adults and children<\/a>\u201d came into effect from February 2015.<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

Such differential pricing may seem unfair. But if locals had to start paying the same prices as tourists, it\u2019s likely that many of them would be prevented from enjoying heritage sites in their own communities. Many would be priced out of their own homes. Their wages are rarely anywhere close to the levels of their travelling guests.<\/p>\n

Travel guidebooks are the first to warn you \u201cnot to pay the price first given\u201d in local markets. I have to admit, I have often tried to \u201clook like a local\u201d by hiding my camera to avoid \u201ctourist prices\u201d. But this is a moral argument: a willingness to pay higher prices may actually represent a more responsible approach to travel.<\/p>\n

Paying our way<\/h2>\n

A two-tier tourism payment system, where locals are charged less for the same product, may be one way of implementing\u00a0sustainable tourism practices<\/a>\u00a0and protecting valuable resources. We should consider the longer-term impact on valuable resources caused by large numbers of people passing through a location for short intense periods of time, often simply to take a photo (before getting back on their large tour buses).<\/p>\n

Issues of sustainability<\/a>\u00a0must be coupled with increased awareness of local reliance on tourism where traditional industries have declined and natural resources are depleted. Expecting tourists to pay a little more to protect and maintain the sites they enjoy is morally defensible \u2013 whether this be Bruges, Venice or Thailand.<\/p>\n

A form of \u201ctourist tax\u201d on food, accommodation and attractions may seem unfair (even discriminatory), but tourism shouldn\u2019t be a one-way transaction. Foreign visitors often place significant pressure on scarce and limited resources at certain times of the year. We all need to recognise this impact. The concept of \u201cpro-poor tourism<\/a>\u201d is one approach. This strategy encourages us to view tourism as a tool of poverty alleviation, especially in some countries that have few other natural resources or export markets.<\/p>\n

The ability of tourist spending to bring about social, cultural and economic benefits should not be underestimated. A generous tip or willingness to pay more goes some way in acknowledging the strain (and damage) that tourists can put on fragile infrastructures and communities.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/i> Subscribe to our weekly newsletter<\/div>
[yikes-mailchimp form=”2″]<\/div><\/div>\n
\n

Ripped off<\/h2>\n

Recognising the positive contribution that tourists can make is important, but of course one needs to be aware when informal \u201ctourist taxes\u201d and inflationary practices become exploitative and fraudulent. When a family in Rome was\u00a0charged \u00a354 for four ice creams<\/a>, it made international newspapers, prompting concerns about the way some operators hike the price up for visitors.<\/p>\n

But the example is extreme \u2013 and a simple price check before purchase would have helped the family avoid this unfortunate situation. Perhaps more worrying has been the rise of\u00a0sophisticated scams<\/a>\u00a0involving switching goods, acts of deception and false stories of hardship to elicit money from unsuspecting visitors.<\/p>\n

There are inevitably going to be hidden and additional costs associated with being a tourist. Some are justified. A degree of sensitivity to local needs and social responsibility towards helping replenish resources and repair damage needs to be balanced against naivety (and sometimes stupidity) in our holiday transactions.<\/p>\n

This article was first published by The Conversation<\/em>. Read the original article here:\u00a0Why it\u2019s OK to charge tourists more for chips.\u00a0<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A two-tier tourism payment system, where locals are charged less for the same product, may be one way of implementing\u00a0sustainable tourism practices\u00a0and protecting valuable resources. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":19304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,534],"tags":[2000,1187,1250,1795],"yoast_head":"\nWhy it's OK to charge more for chips<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A two-tier tourism payment system, where locals pay less for the same product, may be a\u00a0sustainable tourism practice\u00a0that protects valuable resources.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why it's OK to charge more for chips\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A two-tier tourism payment system, where locals pay less for the same product, may be a\u00a0sustainable tourism practice\u00a0that protects valuable resources.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Travindy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-05T20:13:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-07-06T10:54:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/file-20170630-8187-6nqj3q.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"754\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"503\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Saskia Ruttkowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Travindy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Travindy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Conversation\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Saskia Ruttkowski\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/33f56f423d9b12c022d32b4603b4ea14\"},\"headline\":\"Why it\u2019s OK to charge tourists more for chips\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-05T20:13:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-07-06T10:54:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/\"},\"wordCount\":825,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Pro-Poor Tourism\",\"Responsible Travel\",\"Sustainable Tourism\",\"Sustainable Tourism Practices\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Destinations\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/\",\"name\":\"Why it's OK to charge more for chips\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-05T20:13:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-07-06T10:54:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"A two-tier tourism payment system, where locals pay less for the same product, may be a\u00a0sustainable tourism practice\u00a0that protects valuable resources.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why it\u2019s OK to charge tourists more for chips\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Travindy\",\"description\":\"sustainable tourism consulting, news and resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Travindy\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-travindy-logo-square.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-travindy-logo-square.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Travindy\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Travindy\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/33f56f423d9b12c022d32b4603b4ea14\",\"name\":\"Saskia Ruttkowski\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9672b92011c49002ebe1243e922a1a3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9672b92011c49002ebe1243e922a1a3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Saskia Ruttkowski\"},\"url\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why it's OK to charge more for chips","description":"A two-tier tourism payment system, where locals pay less for the same product, may be a\u00a0sustainable tourism practice\u00a0that protects valuable resources.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why it's OK to charge more for chips","og_description":"A two-tier tourism payment system, where locals pay less for the same product, may be a\u00a0sustainable tourism practice\u00a0that protects valuable resources.","og_url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/","og_site_name":"Travindy","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy","article_published_time":"2017-07-05T20:13:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-07-06T10:54:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":754,"height":503,"url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/file-20170630-8187-6nqj3q.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Saskia Ruttkowski","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Travindy","twitter_site":"@Travindy","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Conversation","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/"},"author":{"name":"Saskia Ruttkowski","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/33f56f423d9b12c022d32b4603b4ea14"},"headline":"Why it\u2019s OK to charge tourists more for chips","datePublished":"2017-07-05T20:13:01+00:00","dateModified":"2017-07-06T10:54:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/"},"wordCount":825,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization"},"keywords":["Pro-Poor Tourism","Responsible Travel","Sustainable Tourism","Sustainable Tourism Practices"],"articleSection":["Destinations","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/","url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/","name":"Why it's OK to charge more for chips","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-07-05T20:13:01+00:00","dateModified":"2017-07-06T10:54:48+00:00","description":"A two-tier tourism payment system, where locals pay less for the same product, may be a\u00a0sustainable tourism practice\u00a0that protects valuable resources.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2017\/07\/why-its-ok-to-charge-tourists-more-for-chips\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why it\u2019s OK to charge tourists more for chips"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/","name":"Travindy","description":"sustainable tourism consulting, news and resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Travindy","url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-travindy-logo-square.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-travindy-logo-square.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Travindy"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/travindy","https:\/\/twitter.com\/Travindy"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/33f56f423d9b12c022d32b4603b4ea14","name":"Saskia Ruttkowski","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9672b92011c49002ebe1243e922a1a3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9672b92011c49002ebe1243e922a1a3b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Saskia Ruttkowski"},"url":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19303"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}