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I recently travelled to Thailand and Taiwan for a summer trip, and was apalled to learn that they the majority of attractions in the main tourist areas all had separate pricing for non-Taiwanese as well as non-Thai people.

Most often the prices turned out to be x4 - x6 the amount charged for residents of that area.

Is there a list of countries that follow this same pricing scheme so that I know which countries to avoid if I am on a budget?

yuritsuki
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  • In Mexico, it's common that many attractions offer discounts to Mexican citizens (although there are a few places where foreigners get the discount). In Guatemala, I visited attractions where anyone from a Central American country received a discount. I've also been to places, for instance in Portugal, where citizens of former Portuguese territories (notably Brazil) received discounts. At least one US Zoo offers admission discounts to local county residents. A complete answer would undoubtedly fill a phone-directory sized volume. – Flimzy Jan 20 '15 at 06:20
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    If the admission price to attractions can make or break your vacation, the only reasonable advice is simply: Check the prices before you book your ticket! This advice is equally applicable in all countries, regardless of local citizen discounts. – Flimzy Jan 20 '15 at 06:25
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    Flimzy is quite correct. Disneyland offers discounts to people with Southern California ZIP codes. The Smithsonian offered discounted tickets for Resident Associates. The U.S. National Parks senior citizens pass is only available for citizens and permanent residents. Where do you draw the line? Besides, while I haven't attended a muay thai tournament in a long time, even at 6× the local rate it was still a bargain compared to an NFL game. – choster Jan 20 '15 at 06:45
  • I went to a Thai zoo that was not listed online so I could not contact them, and found out that foreigners were charged around 600 baht for entry, but locals were charged a mere 50 baht. – yuritsuki Jan 20 '15 at 07:01
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    Does it help if you think about it as a discount for locals (whose taxes do contribute to many attractions as John Zwinck says in his answer) rather than a price hike for tourists? No link but I'm pretty sure I remember places in the UK that operate similar dual-pricing schemes. Even if a place doesn't have a website you could always ask here to see if people know the prices. :) And 600 baht is, what, $20 -- it's a bit steep for a zoo but it depends on what it's like inside. – SpaceDog Jan 20 '15 at 09:56
  • Egypt has different pricing for locals and tourists. – Nean Der Thal Jan 20 '15 at 13:59
  • Russia uses this approach. Their rationale is that residents pay for the attraction with taxes anyway and tourists can afford the meagre difference. It's a fair system. – Gayot Fow Jan 20 '15 at 18:18
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    In France (especially in Paris), some places are free for French citizens (maybe also for other EU citizens as well, I don(t remember), for example the Panthéon, which I recently visited with an American friend. It makes sense IMO since they are also funded by taxpayer money. – fkraiem Jan 20 '15 at 21:35
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    Apologies but my own country Sri Lanka practices this quite a lot. There are many places that locals can enter free, but tourists are charged $10-30. Where locals pay about $1-2, the prices for tourist is about $5. Overall, it's 5x-10x of locals price. Counting the scams and high-demand begets, it really does take a large part of your budget. On the plus side, most of the bars, clubs, markets, and almost everywhere the private sector handles has equal pricing, usually the price suitable for locals. – AKS Jan 21 '15 at 02:14
  • Off topic: On the other hand, foreigners may visit casinos in Singapore for free, while locals have to pay a levy before entering. :-) – Heng-Cheong Leong Jan 22 '15 at 07:25

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If you're on a budget, travel in your home region. This sort of "foreigners pay more" thing matters little in the overall budget for most trips. There are exceptions: Indonesia recently increased the charges rather massively for foreigners visiting national parks.

There are places all over the world with different prices depending on where you come from. Museums in all sorts of countries do it, including Singapore, Russia, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, and more. This is hardly surprising, since without such a scheme many local residents would be unable to afford their own country's attractions! Plus, locals may pay in the form of taxes (which partially fund many public museums), which you as a foreigner do not pay.

John Zwinck
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  • Thanks for the clarification, did not know about this. I'll figure out how to reword my question to make it less broad. But thanks for the insight. – yuritsuki Jan 20 '15 at 07:02
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Most countries actually. In some places, especially in developing nations, merchants will bluntly quote inflated prices based on your appearance but even in places where prices are displayed publicly and ostensibly non-negotiable, there are many strategies to practice what economists call “price discrimination”: things like coupons, discount cards, weekdays discount, yearly “free entrance” days, etc.

Relaxed
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