Double pricing in Ethiopia

{quote}For instance, according to one post here a church in Lalibela is charging the equivalent of 13 GBP for entry! {quote}

It's not A church in Lalibela...this entry fee covers ALL the churches in Lalibela.

I'm actually surprised to see such outrage over this. No, you are not "rich", and people in these countries don't understand that while you might earn a shocking-to-them xxx at home, you also have to pay xxx for rent and transport and groceries, etc, higher costs than they could imagine either. But even so...it's hard to consider a 8-birr minibus ride or 15 birr for more food than I can handle a rip-off, even for unemployed people who have been traveling for 8 months...something that boggles the mind of any Ethiopian.

I believe most countries I visit practice tiered pricing...there's no way locals could afford what I'm paying. It's normal. I was never charged double for food in Ethiopia, at least not in a way that's noticeable... if the locals were really getting the same food for half my price, they were getting it practically for free. I definitely never had a price on the menu not be the actual price paid. Now, whether there was a separately-printed menu for locals...I don't know. But I'd also gone to 2 restaurants in Lalibela with a local friend and he paid the price I saw on the menu.

Thats the problem with LP forum, we rely upon other people disseminating their info properly and thoroughly! Perhaps we should start asking for sources and photos as evidence??

Well its not bad for all the churches then...

So folks, please reference your experience with a date, time and a second witness, photo documentation required as secondary evidence. Please send in scans of all dodgy, overpriced receipts as proof.

Unfortunately, we do use LP forum as an information site, which can be dangerous, its kind of like chinese whispers.. Beware!!!!!

I live in Egypt--I'm a white American expat--and formally and regularly pay less than white American tourists to Egypt. This is a standard practice: one rate for tourists and another rate for citizens and residents. As a tourist you won't know I'm paying less, but I am. You also won't know I'm paying less because in general I have an idea of the prices of things and it's harder to rip me off (but not impossible!). I've also heard tourists insist you have to pay baksheesh to everyone here, including police, but you don't.

I was never asked to pay more than what the menu said while in Ethiopia in December. Sounds like a scam for the gullible.

Indeed, my son and I went to one local place in Bahir Dar, where I was the only non-Ethiopian (my son is actually Ethiopian), and everyone stared at us, the American mom and her adopted Ethiopian kid... but we paid pennies for our meal. We had a huge platter of fasting food plus extra kik alitcha plus two sodas and it came to something like 15birr, about $1.50.

In response to msfour in post 12: "I was never asked to pay more than what the menu said while in Ethiopia in December. Sounds like a scam for the gullible."

Typically, the issue is not that you pay more than what the menu says. Rather, in some places the prices listed on the English menu are higher than what locals pay. This practice is quite common in the south, much less so in the north.

I know enough Amharic to order off an Amharic menu, and it drives me crazy when a higher priced English menu is produced post hoc in order to justify a higher bill. Like the OP says, the differences are usually trivial--which actually makes this more annoying. The Ethiopians are not getting rich off this practice, but they are showing their xenophobia and making me feel less welcome.

I also want to respond to Stefo's comment that "people trying to overcharge me in a stupid and dishonest way (because wazungu are stupid) insult my intelligence, and that pisses me off a lot more than the money."

Sure this can be hurtful. But at least in Tanzania you can demonstrate that you are not a stupid mzungu and negotiate a more reasonable exchange. You may still end up paying more than a local, but at least you can save face.

In contrast, the faranji prices in Ethiopia are institutionalized and often non-negotiable. Even if the seller is aware that I know the real price, I am stilled charged a higher price merely because of the color of my skin. This offends my sense of fairness much more greatly.

It is good to know that there are many hotels and restaurants in Ethiopia that charge the same prices for all. When possible, I seek to give my business to these establishments.

Peace,

BB

I

BB, the same thing happens in Egypt--one price in English, the other in Arabic. It's even easier here because the numbers are different characters.

Thanks msfour.

So here is my question. In Egypt if you could read and order from the Arabic menu, then wouldn't you be treated like a local and given the Arabic pricing?

In some Ethiopian establishments such knowledge is irrelevant. The different pricing is not based upon a resident versus tourist difference either. It is strictly based on the fact that you are not ethnically Ethiopian.

By the way, this discrimination works against Ethiopians too. I have a European friend with an Ethiopian wife. When she went into a hotel she was told that no rooms were available. But when he inquired a few minutes later, the owner said they had a room. This is because Europeans pay more than three times as much for a room at this hotel. The owner was trying to maximize his profits at the expense of providing for his own people.

Anecdotal evidence must be taken with a grain of salt, but I had the same experience on my last trip. Some hotel owners with only a small number of rooms would save some until the afternoon (when triple-paying tourists typically arrive) turning away nationals to do so. This actually worked in my favor, but I certainly would not be happy about this if I were a national.

Peace,

BB

Why do so many people feel so bad about being treated like fools ??? You are bumbling around in another country, of course you are a fool. And being treated differently because of the colour of your skin - come on, that's why you get the sweet deals most of the time. So sometimes you have to pay extra - as someone said - just don't do it and the you won't have to pay.

It all sounds a little self interested to me - where are people complaining about first world governments discriminating against residents of the third world - try asking an Ethiopian about what it is like to get a visa to the US or Australia.

It is also important to note that in some countries, eg Cuba, the government subsidies the cost of goods and services for the public. It is difficult to see why Traveler Joe should get the benefit of this subsidy when that money could be spent on locals.

Sure when you travel you get tired and things piss you off, but it seems a bit strange to carry around paying extra for a meal (however the con was carried out) as a memory about a trip.