A visit to the world’s most-visited museum is about to cost Canadians significantly more.
France has hiked ticket prices on the Louvre by 45 per cent for visitors from outside the European Union, a move that’s fuelling debate over so-called dual pricing and the growing backlash against overtourism.
Starting this week, adult visitors from non-EU countries, including Canada, must pay €32 to enter the Paris landmark, up from €22. That’s a rise from about $35 to $52 Canadian.
Visitors from EU countries, in addition to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, will proceed to pay the lower rate.
The worth hike comes because the Louvre grapples with repeated labour strikes, a high-profile daylight jewel heist last October that prompted a costly security overhaul, and years of chronic overcrowding. The museum attracts roughly nine million visitors annually.
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Some Canadian tourists told Global News they feel unfairly targeted.
“We didn’t cause the robberies or among the other issues that happened and we’re paying the results,” said Allison Moore, visiting Paris from Newfoundland together with her daughter. “[In] Canada we don’t discriminate over pricing like that.”
Others argue tourists already shoulder higher costs just by travelling long distances.
“Usually for tourists, I feel things needs to be a bit cheaper than for local people, because we have now to travel to return all the way in which here,” said Darla Daniela Quiroz, one other Canadian visitor. “It needs to be equal pricing, or a bit bit cheaper.”
Even some Europeans query the two-tiered system. A French tourist interviewed outside the museum said there was “no reason” to charge non-Europeans more and that the fee needs to be the identical for everybody.
Tourism experts say the Louvre’s financial pressures help explain the choice.
“The Louvre is actually cash-strapped without delay and wishes to do something,” said Marion Joppe, a professor on the University of Guelph. “It could actually’t really look to the federal government, which is already scuffling with its own budget.”
The move also reflects a broader global pushback against mass tourism. Anti-tourism protests have spread across parts of Spain, Recent Zealand has increased its entry tax, and the USA recently raised national park fees for foreign visitors.
“You are taking Paris — it gets about 50 million tourists a 12 months,” said Julian Karaguesian, an economist at McGill University. “That’s roughly 1,000,000 per week. The town simply wasn’t built for those sorts of numbers.”
Despite the upper price, many visitors say they are going to still line as much as see the Mona Lisa and other of the museum’s famous artworks.
“It’s one in every of the major attractions. It’s on everybody’s list,” Moore said. “We’re still going to go, and hopefully it can be value it ultimately.”
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