Something that comes as a huge shock and topic of contempt to people entering Nepal for the first time is the “Nepali Price.” Most tourist attractions, hotels, and even some restaurants offer a “Nepali Price” versus a “Tourist Price.” So why the mass outrage over this? Usually the “Nepali Price” is more than half the amount of the “Tourist Price.” It’s infuriating. In fact, everyone should throw a fit because it’s insanely unfair. Here’s why…
Oh, and in case you don’t know me, you can go ahead and read this entire article with as much sarcasm as you can muster.
The Average Income in Nepal
Of course you shouldn’t pay more than someone else for the same service. Especially when the average salary in a Nepali fiscal year is $862 (according to myRepublica). Meanwhile, the average weekly income of an American is $857 (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics). That’s right. What the average American makes in a week, is an entire salary for the average Nepali person. So paying $2 for entry to a tourist attraction rather than the $.50 a Nepali person pays is preposterous! Why should a local person be able to afford visiting places in their own country?
The fact is, we have local pricing at tons of places in the U.S., but we call it a “local discount.” Oddly, tourists rarely complain when they are from out of the country or even from out of town. I know a lot of the restaurants in Myrtle Beach have local discounts to encourage year round customers who live in the area. The Ripley’s Aquarium also has local days where tickets are $5 compared to the usual $30 as long as you show your ID.
Paying Taxes
I know all tourists pay Nepali taxes which go towards rebuilding the country, right? Locals do, but that doesn’t mean they should get special treatment. Why should they get to enjoy the things that their government actually spends their tax dollars on?
I used to go to museums for free in NYC because I paid the taxes there, but that’s totally different. And Europeans get free access to some tourist attractions within the EU, but that’s different as well. Why should Nepali people get special treatment just because they pay year round for these places to be maintained?
Charging for Religion
For us, places like Durbar Square, Boudhanath Temple, and other popular sites are tourist attractions. For locals, these are places of worship. You pay $10 to go to church every Sunday right? And, I’m sure hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists walk through said church each day to take photos while you are trying to have a private moment and pray. Obviously, we shouldn’t have to pay to enter these places when a local gets to go for free. It’s unfair.
I’m not Privileged
“I’m a broke backpacker, so I make less than a Nepali person. So, it’s unfair to say that they can’t afford it. Neither can I.”
The fact that I was able to quit my job and travel the world for fun doesn’t mean I’m privileged. So what? They work all year round (mostly doing hard labor in fields) to support their families just to scrape by. If we’re both broke, we are totally the same. Right?
Just because you choose not to make money and are traveling, does not mean that you’re the same as a local who is working hard to make ends meet. They should be able to enjoy and explore Nepal. It is their country after all. Not yours. You’re a guest.
More for the Same Service
“Why should we have to pay more for the same exact bus a local is taking?”
What’s interesting is that most Nepalese do pay the same as tourists for the tourist bus. The only time they don’t is if they aren’t going to the end destination. Those getting dropped off halfway only pay for the price of where they get dropped off. When my boyfriend (who is Nepali) and I take the bus, he pays the same fare I do. If the tourist bus is too expensive for you, there’s a local bus that’s almost half the price. It’s just not comfortable. You’ll get charged the same as a Nepali person on that bus too.
The Nepali Passport
“I could visit anywhere in the world, and I choose to spend my money here! It’s wrong to charge me more when I’m helping their economy!”
How dare the government charge us more when we should be honored guests! I wonder why the government of Nepal encourages Nepali people to travel within their own country by offering discounts. Seems silly. Why don’t they just go somewhere else?
It doesn’t matter that the Nepali passport is one of the weakest in the world, and it’s extremely difficult for Nepalese people to travel outside their own country. In fact, the U.S. makes it difficult just to apply for a tourist visa by charging $175 for an interview, and that’s without a guarantee that they’ll be granted a visa.
Conclusion on the “Nepali Price”
Yes, there is a “Tourist Price” and a “Nepali Price,” but if you think about it, it’s really not unfair. There’s actually a local price in a lot of countries, we just refer to it as a “local discount”. While I’m sure this can be upsetting at first, try to look at it from a local’s point of view. Surviving in Nepal is tough, and the cost of living there is surprisingly high. Local’s should be able to afford traveling within their own country and have the ability to experience their own culture. That shouldn’t be a privilege. It should be a right. So, let’s stop arguing over the extra $.50 we have to pay as tourists. It’s really not that big of a deal.
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Michelle Della Giovanna
Writer at Full Time Explorer
I’m just your average New Yorker who quit her job in the fashion industry to explore the world. Come find out what it’s like to trade in five-inch heels for squat toilets.
Well said. I agree it’s not that big a deal in Nepal but there are a few countries in Asia where the difference in pricing is quite extraordinary, and in those cases tourists do feel they are being “ripped off”. In the Philippines where I live, entrance prices to tourist attractions are usually one price for all, but there is definitely a local price and a ‘foreigner’ price in the markets, or anywhere where prices are not fixed. That foreigner price can be anything between two and three times the local price, and can usually be reduced with some bargaining, but rarely down to the local price unless you can convince the vendor that you are a broke backpacker – in which case they might take pity on you 😉
Well put David! Yes, there’s definitely a tourist price in markets as well in Nepal. Same goes for taxi’s. But my local friends also get ripped off by taxis and in markets. They are just better at haggling because they speak the language and know the price items should be. I’ve definitely had a few venders take pity on my for being a broke backpacker
Those are some of the same points I make and where I live, near Bhaktapur, a large percentage of tourists slip in without paying anything. I get so angry about that. If you go to another country and don’t have enough money to pay for food and lodging, or sightseeing/tourist attractions you really are not a tourist. You are an immigrant.
Although I am from the US, I consider myself an immigrant, too. But I hire people to work for me and I pay my way, so maybe I’m more of an economic refugee. I love living in Nepal. I am retired and spending my days here is like already being in heaven.
I absolutely love the country too so I can understand how you feel! It’s important to pay especially with the rebuilding process going on, but if you can’t afford something, then there are so many other cool things you can do instead.
Where as I can see where you are coming from…..and I agree with you on a lot of what was mentioned! ESPECIALLY invading upon a place of worship! However, I am here in Nepal currently as I type this, and it gets rather frustrating when I am here as a family member and not a tourist and viewed as a tourist because of my skin and accent. I know how much it should cost to get from my family home to the market or the river by tuk tuk or magic bus, yet I still have to fight! And when I was here 10 years ago and weighed 250lbs, the magic bus drivers were trying to charge my family double fee because of my weight. Trust me, that gave encouragment to lose weight, as well as health issues. So some of this REALLY isnt fair. We may get paid weekly what their annual salary is, but our cost of living back home matches that difference. I’m here now because I had a 3 weeks worth of PTO saved up. I’m here because of credit cards, a debt I will be paying for a few years to come. I’m here because it’s festival season and we haven’t seen family in 5 years. And I’m not just here for fun and vacation. Our hard earned money from back home is being used to repair damages caused by Earthquakes in the past 5 years….. as we are currently rolling through Earthquakes now. 3 in the past month! So as a foreigner here visiting family, repairing damages and celebrating religious festivals….. yeah, the foreigner fee REALLY isn’t fair for all! And trust me, Nepal is the only country I’ve visited in the my 40 years of life. And what constitutes as a vacation to me is going home to my home state for a week once about every 5 years as well. So because I have white skin and carry an American accent, doesn’t mean I’m a foreigner here on vacation or here to trek the mountains, I’m making the same voyages that Nepali people make down the treacherous mountains in the beat up buses, that are packed full of people. It’s just not the same journey for all foreigners, so again I will say, It’s not fair, and I stand firm on that!
I would like to follow up my comment with….. This website and your attention to detail is OUTSTANDING! I have read many of your sub-articles, and they are very detail oriented! I can’t say that there isn’t anything that I didn’t come across that I didnt already l know, but I count that as a good thing. We both carry the same knowledge of customs and traditions of this wonderful and beautiful country. I only wish I had run into this article 10 years ago when I first encountered my first squat toilet! Lol
Thank you Katie!
I can totally understand where you’re coming from. My husband is Nepali and I’ve been living here for 3 years and I ALWAYS get asked to pay the tourist price even though I live here.
This article is really meant more for tourists and was written when I was a tourist backpacking through the country 4-5 years ago. I’d hear so many people complain about paying 50 cents extra and then they’d talk about their high paying jobs back home and these incredible trips they took all over the world. Many of them were taking months off to travel the world. I had quit my job to travel after saving up. I certainly wasn’t rich, but I felt if I could afford to travel for months on a budget then it was really rude for me to pretend I was too broke to pay an extra dollar.
Anyway, now that I live here, I find that if I simply speak to the person in Nepali and say “Ma Kathmanduma busne. Mero shriman Nepali ho. Marriage visa cha.” I am always given the local price once I show my marriage visa which proves I live here and am not a tourist. If that doesn’t work, I smile and say in Nepali, “Mero passport American cha tara mero mutu Nepali ho.” That makes them giggle and they let me through.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your stay here with family and enjoy the holidays <3