Double pricing system in Thailand

[allegria]

folks. wake up to reality. double pricing is normal practice in most countries all over the world. i can only give examples for the countries i've been living in, but i doubt that these are exeptions:
in italy you pay a lower entrance fee for monuments, museums etc. if you are a local.
in austria you pay a much lower fee in all skiing areas if you are a local.
the EU court has banned this practice: there must be the same pricing for all EU residents.
so it has been changed: to get the lower fees now you have to have a special permission. this permission you get only if you are a - yes you got it - local.
if you think you will get the same price on the german food market no matter if you from abroad or local: dream on.
same with buying land, houses. check the menue in german and in russian. no difference in price?
in the us i have seen the changes in green fees. group of japanese golfers are arriving - double the price.
yes. it is market all over the world. take it or leave it.
cheers

[punter]

Canada allows all foriegn students under the age of 25 to work. Income tax filings are treated in exactly the same way as locals. Becuase of the deductions for fees and personal exemptions 99.99999% of students pay zero income tax. The restaurants and ski slopes are full of foriegn students ( including Thai) working gainfully. No one gets differant treatment or has to ask for it. Big people stand on their own two legs and have some pride.

Double pricing farang just makes the Thai look xenphobic and 'small time'. It was excusable to watch Thailand pull these goofy stunts when they were developing as small Asian nation. As we all know Thailand was only put on the map by the GI's who came for R&R during Vietnam. For Thailand to have persisted in the same way and pretend to be desperate little dippers who need hand outs , claim poverty and steal from their house guests is getting pretty old in the eyes of the world. Grow up and let the women off their backs. Thai men just don't seem able to stand on their own two feet.

{edited typo...Mod 1}

[Ian]

Foreign students are allowed to work 20 hours per week in England, in reality there is nothing to stop them working 15 hours at one place and 15 hours at another. Or any other sort of combination.

[overhaul38]

It is amusing to read the Thais who try to justify the double pricing with the old bromide "Farangs make more money".
Income is not a test at the ticket counter, only a white face. The double billing in most cases is not applied to visitors from Korea, Japan, India, Malaysia but only to Europeans. The staff's training is limited to identifying white faces for the "premium ticket". To refute another lame justification I have paid as much taxes as many Thais. The 7 percent VAT is judiciously added to my purchases the same as Thais and is the only tax paid by most Thais.
The double pricing for Europeans is a thinly disguised slap in the face to the European/white colonial powers and a feeble attempt at payback.
The decline in tourism is well deserved. Let them keep their crowded, polluted, potholed country and I encourage them to stay in it.

[Voice]

Hi triptrip, United Kingdom is one of the countries in Europe that have free education and encouraged it young adult citizen for further education. The tax pay covers this free education if United Kingdom haven’t got this system of free education everyone probably have to pay for their schooling & university. So I don’t think it would any different whether or not where you came from. As you understand it triptrip the government grant is not enough so it have to find the balance to keep the university going. That is why they have bought out this £ 3000 tuition fee. Because you are not a UK citizen the system doesn’t apply to you or anyone else outside the Kingdom so it can’t have been double standard is it.

[Git]

Guys Tourist location's in general are going to be more expensive anywhere not just Thailand. A National policy as to parks I think that may be pushing it a bit. If I believe it's really worth I will pay, if not I vote with my feet. But I have been here severn years or so. Motorcycle touring is my hobby. There is so much to see here for the cost of fuel for the most part I don't see the value.


Living in Issan Udon to be specific we see very litle of that, even the Police treat us just like Thai's I got a ticket the other day I paid the same as a Thai and was issued a receipt. Our local foum has a section for double pricing. So in the end it really hurts a buisness to do that to us. We simply go elsewhere where we are treated fairly.

I employ Thia's to do wrok I treat them fairly and realize their vision may different then mind in the end. But for the most part they get me what I want pretty darn close and it does what it is supposed to do.

But, as a community member I do believe I owe to the community, that is difficult because you really never know exactly what is going to happen with your donation charity operation there are lots of scams around involving children. I found my answer that I feel comfortale with I have set up colleges fund for our housekeepers children. Her and her husband are hard working people. Maybe the next generation will have a bit better life then the current one. Same for my two Nephews. Take the Chariity rides I can get to.

But I will not knowingly give one stang to anyone trying to cheat me Farrang or Thai. Any big losse I have had in my education here has alwys been to Farrang not a Thai.

So if you go a tourist area expect to pay tourist prices, in the end you still have control walk away unless you see the value. I have never been charged anything to enter a Wat.

Just a side note: Disneyland in Caliornia has a discount for local residents not offered unless you have a California drivers license.

[Noel Landers]

Well, Pomme must be very comforted to know that, despite the fact that he pays four times the fees, he is not the victim of double pricing as a foreign student in the UK. Why? You see - it's not that he is charged more, but rather that nationals et al pay less, because they get discounts through grants etc. What wonderful double-dealing! Charge inflated fees so that it appears that everyone pays the same and then give massive discounts to your own people etc.. Why didn't the Thais think of that? Hike up the prices in Thailand so that Thais make plenty of money out of foreigners and then give huge discounts to Thai nationals.
I still think we'd call this double pricing, don't you?
Despite all the convoluted excuses and no matter how expertly the system is fixed to give the appearance of equality, Pomme is still very decidedly an unfortunate victim of double pricing.
Is he the only Thai person to here to post here? It would be good to hear from others of their experiences abroad.

[artisi]

Double pricing is double pricing which ever way you look at it. Saying that non-Thai's have or earn more money than Thia's is not an arguement - many Thai people earn far more a month than I will ever earn in Thailand - so why shouldn't they also pay inflated prices.

[mickpace]

I am a farang and when I lived in Thailand from '04-08, I simply had to show my school ID (which showed I was a taxpayer and not a tourist) in order to get the Thai rate at national parks, waterfalls, etc. Never paid the farang entrance fee to Koh Samet in probably 20 visits, so I don't know what all this fuss about waterfalls is. If you're not contributing to society, maybe they would like you to pay more to justify letting you in. Also, any place where they have the Thai price in Thai numerals - if you can read that you will usually get that rate. I got the Thai rate at the Chiang Mai night safari... the girl at the window was embarrassed when I teasingly (not loudly or drunkly) asked if I could get the Thai rate since I understood Thai. She laughed and said OK. The only place that really won't budge is the Muay Thai stadiums. They are strict and they do charge about 5 times more for farangs. I'd have gone a lot more if it wasn't 1000 Baht... but I paid the tourist price once and that's it.

The only compelling argument against this ("what if they did this to Thai people in Oklahoma?!") isn't really an adequate comparison. Thailand would probably like to be moving away from these practices which are common more in developing countries (including anywhere else in SE Asia) and will probably be doing so in the coming decades. Until then relax and enjoy yourself.

[elportoed]

I'm Thai but not living in Thailand. I have seen this practice for any non Thai speaking, myself included. I was visiting with a friend who was also a Thai living in the US, and we were talking in English while waiting in line getting into the palace. The girl asked us the the non-Thai price. Then we started talking Thai to her and told here that we were Thai, and we wouldn't go in if we didn't pay the Thai rate. The then price went back to the Thai rate.

Then again at Jatujak market, we were asked a higher price, just because. But when we refused to buy and walked away, then they caved in. So if you show them that you know what the going rate is, and you are willing to walk away without the goods. They usually give in.

I know the practice is not fair. I'd rather have the tourists get the same rate as local, and get to do more, see more, and as a result, spend more. It's a win win situation for everyone. I can understand the bad feeling that this practice creates. But I have to say this, if you know that you are overcharged and still pay for it, it's your own fault.