One Price for Locals … 6x for Tourists? When Foreigners Pay More

20.06.2024 - 15:41 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia

Hideyasu Kiyomoto, the mayor of Himeji City in Japan, this week proposed a significant price hike for foreign tourists visiting Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Currently, the entry fee is JPY 1,000 (about $6) for all, but the mayor suggested increasing it to around $30 for foreigners, while locals would pay $5. 

The extra revenue would help with maintenance and to counter overtourism.

A restaurant in Tokyo is already testing two-tier pricing. Tamatebako in the city’s Shibuya neighborhood charges locals JPY 5,478 ($36) for a weekday lunch buffet, while foreigners pay JPY 6,578 ($42). For dinner, locals pay JPY 6,578 ($42), and foreigners JPY 7,678 ($49).

The higher price for foreigners is considered the official rate, with a “discount” for “Japanese and foreign residents in Japan.” To get the discount, customers must show proof of Japanese nationality or residency.

Earlier this year, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura proposed a special tourist tax ahead of the 2025 World Exposition. The amount has not yet been discussed.

The goal of these ideas is to limit over-tourism and help locals who are getting priced out. 

In Japan, citizens need to contend with a weak yen and sluggish wage growth even as there is an inbound tourism boom: On Wednesday, the country announced that it had its third straight month with more than 3 million tourists in May. 

While restaurants charging two-tier pricing may be unique, there are several examples of foreigners paying higher prices at popular attractions.

The entry fee in India’s Taj Mahal is INR 50 for domestic tourists, INR 540 for citizens of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand and INR 1100 for other foreign tourists.

In Jordan’s Petra, the entry fees for locals is JD 10 while foreigners pay JD70. The Kinabalu Park in Malaysia charges RM 10 from Malaysians while foreigners pay RM 50. Machu Pichu too charges $75 from foreigners while those from Andrean countries like Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador pay $47.

Egypt’s Great Pyramids, St Petersburg in Russia, Angkor Wat in Cambodia are all places where foreigners pay more than locals.

In Asia, the Malaysian Budget and Business Hotel Association in 2022 had called for a two-tier system for room rates, with foreigners paying more for accommodation than locals. But that didn’t happen.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, admission is $30 for all but New York State residents can choose the amount they pay, as long as it’s “something.”

Asked if something like this would deter budget travelers, Gary Bowerman, director of travel intelligence firm Check-in Asia, said it would depend on the price differences.

Bowerman noted that the initial fee