It is sometimes argued that tourists from overseas should be
charged more than local residents to visit important sites and monuments.
I completely disagree with this idea.
The argument in favor of higher prices for foreign tourists would be that
cultural or historical attractions often depend on state subsidies to keep them going,
which means that the resident population already pays money
to these sites through the tax system.
However, I believe this to be a very shortsighted view.
Foreign tourists contribute to the economy of the host country
with the money they spend on a wide range of goods and services,
including food, souvenirs, accommodation and travel.
The governments and inhabitants of every country should be happy
to subsidies important tourist sites and
encourage people from the rest of the world to visit them.
If travelers realized that they would have to pay more
to visit historical and cultural attractions
in a particular nation, they would perhaps decide not to go to that country on holiday.
To take the UK as an example,
the tourism industry and many related jobs rely on visitors coming to the country
to see places like Windsor Castle or Saint Paul’s Cathedral.
These two sites charge the same price regardless of nationality,
and this helps to promote the nation’s cultural heritage.
If overseas tourists stopped coming due to higher prices,
there would be a risk of insufficient funding for
the maintenance of these important buildings.
In conclusion,
I believe that every effort should be made to attract tourists from overseas,
and it would be counterproductive to make them pay more than local residents.