Different prices for visitors?

Stella

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My husband's cousin in BA told him there is now a city bus tour and that the charge is double for visitors than Argentines. He also said that when you book a trip in BA that visitors are charged a different price than Argentines.

Does anyone know of an honest travel agency that does not practice this? Thank you.
 
This practice is not uncommon (Aerolineas Argentinas has lower pricing for domestic flights for Argentinos) and I have mixed feelings about the practice.

The town I lived in in Florida (St. Augustine) offers substancial discounts to locals (with ID) and even Disneyworld offers serious discounts to Florida residents.

One the one hand it seems unfair, but if you think of it as a discount for residents rather then a surcharge for foreigners it feels less onerous.

My 2 centavos


David
 
Stella said:
Does anyone know of an honest travel agency that does not practice this? Thank you.


It isn't a matter of the honesty of the travel agency. All foreigners without residency are charged more for domestic air travel, entrance to parks, tours, etc. Any foreigner who has a DNI gets the same prices as the nationals. It's SOP.
 
It could be that government tax revenue funds help to subsidize the activity therefore residents get a break. This is common in the US as in certain counties will charge less or not charge residents of that county entrance into a park.
 
I could understand this happening after the 2001/2 economic situation, especially in relation to airline prices (being such a vast country) but I always thought that it would breed a level of complacency. Airlines would just live off the lucrative foreigner prices. It wasn't the best way to do things really. I don't know if I am explaining myself correctly. Essentially it was a good thing at first but not now. I wonder how it will be now with the large drop in tourist numbers happening.
 
The price-controlled airfares started in 2002 (after the crisis) by government decree (Decreto N° 1654/2002). The price-controlled fares only apply to Argentina residents, for national flights only, and each airline must offer at least 20% of their capacity under this program. This is more like a government enforced discount for the locals, rather than an airline price "hike" for foreigners. On the other hand....


When it comes to higher prices for foreigners by shops, restaurants, hired workers, etc, etc; That practice is very common here, and while it is price discrimination, the government and local culture in general does not seem to mind it. The belief is that as a foreigner "you have more money, so you can afford to pay more, and that's that." :(
 
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This is standard practice in many 2nd/3rd world countries.

When I was in Turkey back in '97, the price for the museum for foreigners was 10 TIMES the price for Turks. It was still only like US$5 or something. I hardly thought I was getting ripped off because they were trying to make the museum affordable for locals while still making enough money off of tourists to hopefully pay for its upkeep.
 
I want to thank all of you for the information. BA expats group is so informative for me. My husband does have a DNI card (his parents were in the Argentine consulate in Spain where he was born).So perhaps that will help us out. I will check out the travel agency mentioned.

Will be back to BA in a week and can hardly wait! I have hooked up with some expats and we plan on getting together.

Saludos,
 
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