Originally Posted by qgrande
IMHO there are two sides to this that are intermingled but really need to be separated. On the one hand formal set pricing, which at some tourist attractions and monuments may be the set higher than for residents. On the other hand places without set prices where in the Dominican Republic like in many other countries the price is set in mutual agreement, sometimes through negotiation.
In the first case in the DR a higher official non-negotiable set price for attractions like the teleferico, etc. This is very normal practice in developing countries, where the attraction is financed mainly through tourist visits, and locals are given a discount so that they can afford to visit as well. There is no racism whatsoever here, as the discount applies to residents, so to US, German, Japanese, etc. citizens with residency in the DR too. The rationale is that the average tourist visitor in developing countries is a lot wealthier than the average local, and the average local could never afford the tickets. Of course there are very wealthy Dominicans and tourists visiting on a budget (although even being able to afford the flight puts you above the average Dominican in terms of wealth), but those are relative exceptions. This is very normal in countries in a similar situation; I just came back from Egypt, where locals pay of fraction of the price that foreign tourists pay for entry to monuments like the pyramids, museums, etc. And if course European and North American countries also make all sorts of public services available to citizens that are not available for non-citizens. The result of the same price for tourists and locals would simply be either huge loss and closure of the attraction, or none but a few wealthy locals being able to afford to enter.
The second, pricing through negotiation, is something completely different, and yes, both tourists, expats, wealthy Dominicans, people from out of town, locals, family, frequent visitors, etc. might all be charged differently, to different degrees and in different situations. But that's just the nature of the pricing system.
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