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Tourist and Rude-Tourist Prices
One thing that I never get used to about travelling is the ever-changing prices. Here in North America, prices are clearly outlined everywhere -- on signs, price tags, ads. They typically stay the same throughout the year. But almost everyone I've travelled to outside of North America has a special kind of pricing -- I call it "I charge what I feel like charging" pricing." Vendors often don't post their pricing; they eye you up before they figure out what they're going to charge. This is both good and bad -- on one hand, it allows you to barter with the vendor, but on the other hand, it usually means you're getting ripped off, just by virtue of being a foreigner. Prices also vary by season. Summer prices can be double what you would be paying if you went a few months before or after.
Truth be told, it's quite common for prices of food, accommodation and souvenirs to be raised drastically according to not only the season but where you're from. But here's an instance of seasonal prices being taken to whole new level -- Merchants in Venice are charging 3 different prices: Low (for locals), High (for tourists) and super-high (for rude tourists.)
I think this is amusing (certainly nobody in Canada would have the gall to charge rude people more) but actually, I kind of like the idea. There's nothing more annoying than the ignorant tourist who goes to another country to do little more than act like a jerk and insist that everyone speak English to him. He makes everyone else look bad. Word to the wise: when you're a guest in someone else's country, the least you can do is maintain some sort of polite dignity for the language and customs, and if you can't do that much, perhaps you deserve to get treated less hospitably.
(via Intelligent Traveler)
Filed under: Food and Drink
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Willy Volk Aug 17th 2007 9:23AM
When I first went to Zambia, I bartered bitterly with everyone and was frequently offended when the price didn't come down much. One day, it occurred to me that the few pennies I was saving was probably a week's worth of food for this person, so I relaxed a bit.
Later, it dawned on me that the vendors don't really want to waste time haggling with an obnoxious person any more than I want to BE that obnoxious person, so I decided to just go in, make a fair offer, and if it was refused, I'd leave. This worked 9 times out of 10. The vendor almost always chased after me, saying my price was ok.
Being rude never helped the situation, and the loud, nasty tourists were making it worse for everyone. Be quiet, be polite, and -- above all -- be respectful. It goes waaaaay farther. If you're a snot, you deserve to pay a "fee" for being that snot.