Visitor Fee And Discrimination

[DOMINCAN BOY]

AmericanSentiment All done for the people with no money High school students

YouTube - Balcony in the Dominican Republic (2006) A/S Have you ever been to a camp where domincan,s live, no carpet,s just earth on the floor. No running water not a nice way to live i have two sister in law,s who live like this, some people dont now they are born

[2LeftFeet]

Umm... you haven't travelled very much outside of the US have you?

Americans /foreigners are constantly charged more. I've been to China, Thailand, Mali, Senegal, Mexico, and Argentina, India, Nepal...blah, blah, blah.

In China, there is or was when I was there, a different currency for foreigners altogether. So, it's not just the DR. It's countries that are poor.

Most poor countries you negociate for things. So... we always get ripped off because we don't know what the standard THERE is. It's how business is done.

Do I like it.Nope but that's how it is.

If you don't like it go to Europe, Canada, Japan, The Virgin Islands, PR or Florida. They have set prices.

[AmericanSentiment]

Originally Posted by drloca

Since you were unhappy with the experience, may I strongly suggest you vacation in the US only from now as this would most certainly never happen there. This way you could spare yourself further disappointment.

You are probably the same poor person that over charges. I vacation anywhere I want.
I can express my vacation experience here as anyone else. Everybody that vacations in DR is not always good so learn to accept the bad with good OK.
I am poor does that give me a right to charge you more money to come here?

[AmericanSentiment]

Originally Posted by 2LeftFeet

Umm... you haven't travelled very much outside of the US have you?

Americans /foreigners are constantly charged more. I've been to China, Thailand, Mali, Senegal, Mexico, and Argentina, India, Nepal...blah, blah, blah.

In China, there is or was when I was there, a different currency for foreigners altogether. So, it's not just the DR. It's countries that are poor.

Most poor countries you negociate for things. So... we always get ripped off because we don't know what the standard THERE is. It's how business is done.

Do I like it.Nope but that's how it is.

If you don't like it go to Europe, Canada, Japan, The Virgin Islands, PR or Florida. They have set prices.

No I really have not been anywhere too much except europe, maybe I need to get out more, but I don't like how the people in the message boards get very uptight because I had a bad experience there. Not all vacation experiences will be good for everyone. People have to accept good with bad. But i do need to travel more and get an understanding of why I am being charge more because i am a non resident. Thanks for the info , appreciate it!!!!!

[2LeftFeet]

Just because you are poor doesn't give you the right to do that but.... it happens. We don't live in a perfect world. People are greedy. Foreigners are seen in many places as the cash cow.

I went to St. Lucia. Hated it. I found the people to always have their hand out. I will never go back. You couldn't give me a free trip there.

I understand that certain things go on. You accept them or you don't. If you don't want to accept them don't go back. I can understand that.

As I said I will never go back to St. Lucia.

[drloca]

Originally Posted by AmericanSentiment

You are probably the same poor person that over charges. I vacation anywhere I want.
I can express my vacation experience here as anyone else. Everybody that vacations in DR is not always good so learn to accept the bad with good OK.
I am poor does that give me a right to charge you more money to come here?

One thing I dont do is begrudge anyone anywhere to make an honest living. Ultimately, we have choices in all that we do.

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by AmericanSentiment

No I really have not been anywhere too much except europe, maybe I need to get out more, but I don't like how the people in the message boards get very uptight because I had a bad experience there. Not all vacation experiences will be good for everyone. People have to accept good with bad.

I don't know that people are uptight about it, AmericanSentiment, just not overly concerned about your experience, probably. I don't think, for example, that I would define your experience as 'bad'. Getting mugged, being in a bad accident etc would be a 'bad' holiday experience in my view. Your view is different. So please don't go anywhere where you can get mugged.

Originally Posted by AmericanSentiment

But i do need to travel more and get an understanding of why I am being charge more because i am a non resident.

This is the purpose of travel is it? Silly me, I thought it was about broadening the mind............. Allow me to wish you bon voyage & share with you that Ulan Bator does not have a different rate for tourists (at least it didn't when I was there, although that's 18 years ago).

[Chris]

Originally Posted by DOMINCAN BOY

Anti-American sentiment is opposition or hostility to the people, culture, or policies of the United States. In practice, a broad range of attitudes and actions critical of or opposed to the United States have been labeled anti-Americanism and the applicability of the term is often disputed.[1] Contemporary examples typically focus on opposition to United States policy, though historically the term has been applied to a variety of concepts.

Interpretations of anti-Americanism have often been polarised. Anti-Americanism has been described as a belief[2] that configures the United States and the American way of life as threatening at their core Noticed the op never came back

HUH? Anti ... opposed[1] ... anti .. applicable[2] .. interpretations ... polarised[3]. If you continue this way, I guess I'm gonna need to follow the op and never come back....

[qgrande]

Originally Posted by AmericanSentiment

I have a few of the arguments posted and quite a few agree with me. It should not be about money. I am sure there are wealthy Dominicans that live in the Dominican Republic. Everyone there is not working class, but I am sure they pay the same price. I was very unhappy with this experience there. The only way I can see it as maybe racist or discrimination. There are dominicans that come to the U.S and other visitors from different countries that come here, and we would never do that. Some visitors that come to the U.S make 5x's as much as some citizens that live here. I don't see the point of over charging a visitor to a country. No one has made a valid argument of why someone should be over charge because they are not a resident.
Even as someone who has live in the U.S and when I go to tourist attractions here I am charge the same as a visitor.
I am still not happy about that during my first visit. I did not let it ruin my time, but I felt discriminated by Dominican citizens.

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.

[AmericanSentiment]

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.

Thanks for the insight. I was just shock at first to see this as I never seen this before. I thought at first they were just looking at people and seeing who they want to charge more on. And I know worse can happen like getting mug but as far as my trip there were some people that were helpful while I found that others were not helpful, which is the same here, but that was the only thing that shock me as part of the culture, of over charging