Foreign tourists in Paris might have to pay extra! Two reporters conducted an undercover experiment: one disguised as a local resident, the other as an American tourist. Both ordered the same meal at a restaurant; the reporter posing as an American not only couldn't choose the drink size but also had to pay out of pocket for water, resulting in a bill that was 9.5 euros (about 47 ringgit) higher than the local's.
The New York Post reported that French media outlet Le Parisien recently received a large number of complaints about certain Parisian restaurants allegedly charging American tourists “hidden tourist taxes.” As a result, they sent two reporters undercover to restaurants near the Eiffel Tower, ordering identical meals to compare bills, and found the above discrepancies.
The investigation revealed that local customers could choose their Coke size, and water was provided for free; meanwhile, the reporter acting as an American could only select a medium Coke and had to pay for bottled water.
To verify if this was an isolated incident, the two reporters then went to another restaurant for further testing. They found that French customers’ bills had a 10% service charge automatically added, while the “American tourist” was misled into thinking the service charge was not included. When paying by card, the waiter even covered the screen and secretly increased the service fee to 15%.
Commenting on this, French Hotel and Restaurant Association representative Truhet strongly criticized, “These practices are simply an insult to the hospitality profession.”
He emphasized, “In France, water and bread should be provided free of charge, and guests have the right to refuse to buy bottled water; tipping is also not mandatory, but a voluntary gesture in response to good service.”
He pointed out that differential treatment towards foreign tourists is not a new phenomenon: in April this year, a restaurant was exposed for serving cheap wine to foreign guests but charging high prices, causing serious damage to Paris’s tourism image. (Source: Liberty Times)