Dual-pricing in Thailand: Is it time to do away with the ‘farang tax’?

[fey]

Just drop your rubbish on the beach when you leave. Figure your extra baht pays for worker cleanup.

[mydee]

When I went to the Ancient City in Samut Prakan, the ticket lady noticed I was speaking Thai and asked me if I lived/worked here and I said yes, she said I could have Thai price! I was impressed at her pro-activeness in this situation, I hadn't even thought of asking, No proof was required either, my parents paid farang price though, which I didn't mind paying since they were tourists.

I guess I have gotten used to dual pricing.

I was also very surprised recently when another TV Member informed everyone about other countries dual pricing including my own, NZ, which absolutely shocked me to think that NZ has dual pricing. I had to track down the information and I found he was correct. I was so disappointed that NZ had done that :/ Although extremely rare in NZ (perhaps even the ONLY place in NZ) it is still a disappointment and makes me feel I cannot say anything about Thai dual pricing now or else label myself (my country) hypocritical :/

Not only that but do you know that if you a foreigner working in Australia you can be taxed at a higher rate than the Aussie working next to you. I think that this is discriminatory and shows how Xenephobic the Aussies are. This form of dual pricing is even worse than some pibbling entrance fee as it is Government sanctioned. I do hope that at least shuts the Aussies up.

[fabphil]

Yeh thai driving lic gets me in thai price...i just tell them i thai peapun...

[Fookhaht]

Phuket--about two km. north of Central Festival...

Quite a large tourist trap on the east side of the highway. Stopped there with a mixed group of more than 80 Thai and foreign teachers.

If you were Thai, you were slipped the below price list/coupon so you didn't have to pay the foreigner tax.

The coupons were inadvertently discovered by the foreign teachers and we simply returned to the buses rather than patronize the racist pricing. Thai teachers were embarrassed. Left a pretty bad taste in everyone's mouth.

[hawker9000]

When I went to the Ancient City in Samut Prakan, the ticket lady noticed I was speaking Thai and asked me if I lived/worked here and I said yes, she said I could have Thai price! I was impressed at her pro-activeness in this situation, I hadn't even thought of asking, No proof was required either, my parents paid farang price though, which I didn't mind paying since they were tourists.

I guess I have gotten used to dual pricing.

I was also very surprised recently when another TV Member informed everyone about other countries dual pricing including my own, NZ, which absolutely shocked me to think that NZ has dual pricing. I had to track down the information and I found he was correct. I was so disappointed that NZ had done that :/ Although extremely rare in NZ (perhaps even the ONLY place in NZ) it is still a disappointment and makes me feel I cannot say anything about Thai dual pricing now or else label myself (my country) hypocritical :/

Not only that but do you know that if you a foreigner working in Australia you can be taxed at a higher rate than the Aussie working next to you. I think that this is discriminatory and shows how Xenephobic the Aussies are. This form of dual pricing is even worse than some pibbling entrance fee as it is Government sanctioned. I do hope that at least shuts the Aussies up.

What you're referring to is protectionism; controversial and free-traders will insist ill-advised, but not really xenophobic. Thailand's dual-pricing isn't some lofty "trade issue" (LOL), it's pure exploitation - they do it because they can and they don't care who thinks they're being greedy about it. If I thought that dual-pricing in Thailand was about "incentivizing" local patronage (like, say, a theme park somewhere in the west) rather than simply exploiting "rich foreigners", I'd find it less objectionable. But it's not the case - it's a money grab. At these public attractions, they'd probably do MUCH better offering concessions inside the attraction, that the foreigners will probably be better able to afford and likely to purchase of their own free will and without the resentment, than pickpocketing them at the ticket booth. But why go to the trouble of thinking things out, expending a little entrepreneurial effort, and possibly making even MORE money, when you can simply put your hand in the tourist's pocket? And even if someone DOES have the initiative to go the more productive route, why not keep the dual-pricing scam in place as well?? They're just farangs and TIT!

[nausea]

I would say that when "Farangs" are not looked upon as priviliged, rich, people, then we have a real problem. At the moment I'm quite happy to pay a bit extra for the assumed status it gives me. Not quite Hi-So, but on an assumed almost equivalent status

[Sawan Chan 7]

One way to lessen the outrage is to regard it as a 'Thai subsidy' rather than a 'farang tax'.

How many Thais would go to the parks and zoos and so on if they had to pay the outrageous sums we do?

And it happens all over the world. UK, USA, OZ. Locals get discount.

[impulse]

Getting rid of dual pricing falls into the category of "be careful what you ask for". (I probably posted this 10 or 20 pages and 9 months ago- too lazy to look)

I favor dual pricing. For selfish reasons. If everyone got the same price, a lot of the attractions I enjoy would either close down, or curtail their service level to the point that I doubt I'd enjoy going.

If they charged everyone the Thai price, the place would be jammed, and they'd go broke. If they charged everyone the white guy price, the place would look and feel deserted and they'd go broke.

It's about overhead absorption and incremental business, just like the spread on airline ticket prices for exactly the same seat and hotel rates for the exact same room. They just distribute the spread differently- by passport.

And not by race. It ain't racist. If they charged dark skin Thais or foreigners more than light skinned Thais or foreigners, that would be racist. But they don't.

Edit: BTW, "white guy" is a term we used in China to describe all foreigners, black, white, red or brown. In our vernacular, Michael Jordan and Pele were white guys. We all were.

[Nearlynam]

I have only once paid extra and that was at wat phra keow 24 years ago.

Once I refused entry to a museum, otherwise in all those years I've got in for the Thai price as I've shown my drivers license and spoken Thai.

Imho, if you can't speak the lingo you should pay more.

Disney world offer locals discount.

Golf courses in OZ charge fireigners more.

Thai students going to the UK pay way more than locals.

Foreign students in Thailand past the same.

Get over it, ascend learn to say, something funny and clever in Thai to make them turn a blind eye instead of moaning online.