Japan could introduce higher charges for foreign visitors – and they aren’t the only ones

Destinations are experimenting with two-tier pricing to help control visitor numbers and balance local needs with those of tourists

Japanese tourist boards and businesses recently announced that they were considering a dual-pricing system in response to overtourism. 
Helping boost arrivals has been the decline of the yen, which recently hit a 34-year low of 161.2 against the dollar – and a nine-year record low of 200.3 against the pound. Japan’s decades-long reputation as one of the world’s most expensive destinations has finally been dashed, and tourists are flocking to the country in their droves. 
A range of measures to stem the flow is being considered. Kenji Koganezawa, the head of the Hokkaido Tourism Organization, has called on tourism-related businesses in Japan’s northernmost prefecture, known for its scenery and winter resorts, to set lower prices for domestic tourists and locals. Local media have reported Japanese visitors are feeling “priced out”. 
The mayor of Himeji in the Kansai region has said he is considering more than quadrupling entrance fees for foreign tourists at the most visited castle in Japan, where foreigners account for around a third of all arrivals.
Many countries have some form of dual pricing – with museums much cheaper or free for holders of national ID or residency cards across many parts of South America, for instance. In January, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia started to charge foreigners and even Turkish non-Muslims €25, while those visiting to pray can still enter free of charge. 
Thailand has a two-tier ticket policy for its entire national park network – the fee for international visitors is, across the board, five times higher than for nationals. Cuba created an entire parallel currency to ensure foreigners paid ten or 20 times more for meals, drinks, transport and cinema tickets than locals.
In these examples, average incomes are low. Yet Japan is one of the world’s wealthiest countries. The debate here has also widened to include dual pricing for food and drink. It’s been widely reported that the new seafood restaurant Tamatebako in Tokyo’s Shibuya district charges foreigners more. One source says a weekday lunch deal costs 5,478 yen (£29.53) for Japanese residents and passport holders, and 6,578 yen (£35.46) for everyone else. The argument across all these proposals is that this is fairer on locals.
“The fairness is debatable,” says Dr Asia Alder, reader in tourism management at Manchester Metropolitan University. “It seems more ethical in Nepal or Thailand where locals may not be able to afford international prices and as such receive free or discounted entry. [This] seems more an opportunity to make more money. And, where it may work for unique attractions, food, beverage and accommodation [providers] may price themselves out. Price-sensitive tourists will vote with their feet.”
Hotels, too, could introduce a two-tier price regime. Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura is currently in discussion to introduce a fixed fee for inbound tourists starting in spring 2025. Osaka already charges an accommodation tax of between 100 and 300 yen per hotel guest spending a night in the prefecture when the cost of the room exceeds 7,000 yen (£37.78) per person per night.
Dual pricing could open Japan up to accusations of broader anti-foreign sentiment, but it might also be viewed as socially progressive – if the extra charges are used to support resident communities – and egalitarian, if both Japanese and foreign diners, hotel guests and sightseers are seen to be paying what they can afford. 
The simple truth is: economies and currencies vary wildly. A £50 steak and chips meal in London would cost £30 in northern England and £15 in Buenos Aires. A latte in this county can cost a fiver, while coffee in the Algarve can be just 88p. 
Prof Dimitrios Buhalis, director of the eTourism Research Lab at Bournemouth University Business School, says: “Differentials in pricing take place everywhere, with one price for locals and another for tourists. If you feel you’re paying more than someone else it can leave a bad taste in the mouth. But companies can hide this by offering a discount through a loyalty card or voucher. Every week I get invites from Bournemouth restaurants and pubs to come and eat at a discount. The same happens in the supermarket. Tourists don’t receive these offers.”
Prof Buhalis challenges the very idea of overtourism. “It’s an oversimplification created by the media,” he says. “Where there are concentrations of tourists in honeypots, it just needs managing.” He points to better communication about seasonal variations and quieter times of the day at places like the Acropolis, Athens, and St Mark’s Square, Venice.
Could dual-pricing help control numbers? “No single blanket measure will work for a country. Prices need to be targeted according to the season and the specific place, and consequences have to be considered. Destinations need to use differential pricing, restrictions and planning to manage their tourism flows and impacts.”
Many destinations are experimenting with a range of measures to control visitor numbers and to balance local needs with those of tourists. Hotel taxes, pre-departure taxes at airports and national park discounts for locals are all long-established arrangements. Many of the Unesco World Heritage Sites we glowingly write about in these pages – Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, the Galapagos Islands, Victoria Falls, the Taj Mahal, Chichen Itza – impose a hefty extra charge on foreign tourists for entry. 
Informally, dual pricing operates across the world every time a tourist goes to a food market, hails a taxi or starts rifling through a pile of carpets.
But Japan’s planned trials and policy changes are arguably indicative of a new global attitude. Mass tourism is increasingly being viewed as a problem, even in less glamorous destinations. Manchester charges a £1 a night tourist tax on hotel guests. Wales is considering a visitor levy. HMRC’s promised clampdown on short-term lettings sites like Airbnb and increased council tax on second homes are also part of the ongoing battle between local and visitor interests.
But, eventually we all come home and have time to think and to compare. How long will – or should – the British Museum be free to all-comers? Will tourist taxes become a tit-for-tat soft war between the most popular destinations? Will “dynamic pricing” elsewhere – to use that irritating euphemism of the digital age – persuade some of us to stay at home for the long-haul?