The recent incidents where an ‘ulundu’ (a bean) wade and a plain tea were sold at Rs. 800 and a kottu was offered at Rs. 1,900 to foreign tourists in Sri Lanka raised many eyebrows. Based on these two incidents, of which the videos went viral on social media, prompt legal action was taken against the respective vendors, and the Government vowed to take strict action against the overcharging of tourists.

However, overcharging and scamming foreign tourists is not at all a new trend in Sri Lanka and has always remained an issue everyone knew existed but was never resolved. The recent incidents attracted more attention because the videos of these incidents were widely shared, resulting in many parties coming forward to talk about how Sri Lanka should treat foreign tourists in order to protect the much needed tourism sector.

Setting an example

The Government’s promises to end the overcharging and scamming of foreign tourists was welcomed by those who want to see reasonable prices and charges being offered to foreign tourists, which, in the long run, could be more economically beneficial rather than short-term high profits.

However, with the Government’s statements that it will take action against the vendors in the above-mentioned situations, people pointed out how the Government has failed to set an example. Many pointed out that before addressing the overcharging of foreign tourists at the national level, the Government should first introduce fair charges to foreign tourists who visit tourist destinations managed by Government agencies, especially historical places such as Sigiriya. At present, the Government charges higher charges, which can sometimes go as high as 90 times the price charged from a local, and this has been criticised by both local and foreign tourists. What is more concerning is that many have also pointed out that despite these exorbitant charges, visitors do not receive access even to properly maintained sanitation facilities.

“At the very least, what the authorities can do is give visitors a bottle of water,” one person told the media regarding the lack of facilities to justify the charges.

The social media discourse regarding the recent incidents that went viral, which took place in Kalutara and Colombo, poses a question to the Government as to that overcharging foreign tourists is unethical, and whether the Government has a moral right to take legal action against such acts while it is also engaged in the same. In a context where these matters are no longer a secret and are discussed widely on social media, in the long run, they could affect the country’s reputation as a tourist destination and send a message to the international community that the exploitation of foreign tourists in Sri Lanka is endorsed and committed by none other than the Government.

How much is too much?

This social discourse does not entirely support foreign tourists and nor is it against the overcharging of tourists. 

While many think that foreigners should be offered goods and services at the same prices offered to locals, some think that overcharging tourists is something that happens all around the world and is therefore not an issue that requires rigorous action. At the same time, many claim that overcharging foreign tourists is not an issue at all because what is a couple of hundreds of Sri Lankan Rupees is just a few United States Dollars to tourists. Selling goods and services to foreign tourists at higher charges than the usual charges which are known as ‘local prices and charges’ is a debatable matter. That is because even if we justified overcharging in that manner, to what extent is a question. When a certain good is 10% more expensive for foreign tourists at one place and 90% more expensive at another place, where do we draw the line between reasonable or harmless overcharging and unjustifiable overcharging?

This matter was discussed extensively with regard to another video that was circulated on TikTok and YouTube which showed two tea buns being offered to a foreign couple for Rs. 800. While many who commented on the video were of the opinion that Rs. 800 for two tea buns was a rip off, however, based on a more in-depth analysis of the video that only a few cared to do – which took into account the fact that jam and butter were provided with the buns, that the buns were presented and served in a professional manner, and that cutlery was also provided – some had pointed out that value for money should be the key factor in this discussion and not necessarily the price.

In another video, when a foreign couple asked a local man in the Southern part of the island about the charges applicable to engage in stilt fishing (for entertainment purposes) and to take a photograph with the tourists on a stilt, the local man says that Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 3,000 are charged for the two activities, respectively. The discussion surrounding this video also pointed out that while it would be reasonable for the local man to charge more than Rs. 1,000 to allow the tourists to engage in stilt fishing for some time, taking a photo should not cost Rs. 3,000 and that it is grossly unreasonable.

Quality versus prices

In fact, the aspect of value for money concerning goods and services received the attention of the consumer safety authorities as well. The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) noted that while what it can do to control the prices of goods which are not subjected to legally stipulated prices is limited, what it can do is ensure the quality of goods.

Last week, the CAA told The Daily Morning that the CAA has the authority to act according to the situation and launch raids as and when necessary. Noting that the CAA has no capacity to settle prices for street vendors, an official explained that the CAA is monitoring street vendors in terms of the prices and the quality of what they are selling. Although the CAA has no power to make rules and regulations to regulate these street vendors, he added, it has the authority to issue directions regarding particular matters.

While gauging what a reasonable price and charge is, based on the quality of a good or a service, is an exceedingly subjective exercise, perhaps, this could be one of the ways to deal with this issue. For example, although we all can agree that Rs. 800 for two tea buns is an unfair price, as was seen in the aforementioned video, the majority of the people, including tourists and locals who think that foreigners do not deserve ‘foreigners’ prices, agree that a little value addition and creativity could help justify a price increase without causing a burden on tourists. While it is an impossible task to impose maximum retail prices for all sorts of goods that foreigners may buy, a social change where foreigners are sold goods at local prices or at an increased price which comes with an added value may be acceptable in the short run.

However, to discourage overcharging to some extent, the Government can make it mandatory for all goods and service providers to publicly display their prices.

However, that is not the long term, sustainable solution. Despite the common notion that foreigners are overcharged almost everywhere in the world, there are so many countries and markets where prices and charges are not dependent on one’s nationality. What is necessary and will last is an attitudinal change that overcharging foreign tourists is an unethical business practice which can have long-term impacts on a business and on the country’s tourism sector. In this day and age where almost everyone has access to the technology to record incidents and also to share one’s experiences and build a discussion around it within a very short period of time, overcharging vendors simply cannot overcharge or scam a tourist and not get noticed.