Dual Pricing in Tourism: Thoroughly Explain System’s Necessity and Rationale

Editorial

16:39 JST, March 16, 2026

A dual pricing system, in which foreign tourists and visitors from outside the local area are charged higher fees, has been increasingly introduced at tourist facilities nationwide.

To prevent this move from being perceived as discriminatory, it is important to carefully design the system and thoroughly explain its necessity and rationale.

The number of visitors to Japan exceeded 40 million in 2025, setting a new record high. However, overtourism issues, such as overcrowding at facilities and on transportation as well as some visitors’ lack of etiquette, have become problematic. Costs for creating multilingual brochures and information boards, among other items, have also been rising.

The introduction of dual pricing is expected to help tackle issues associated with overtourism, improve readiness to accept foreign visitors and secure funds to maintain tourism resources, among other challenges. The government is also encouraging national museums and art galleries to adopt dual pricing to reduce public funding for these institutions.

Outside Japan, it is not rare for tourist sites, such as Egypt’s pyramids or India’s Taj Mahal, to set significantly higher admission prices for foreign visitors than for the country’s own nationals. Earlier this year, the Louvre museum in France also raised admission for non-European Union visitors.

However, many people in Japan have voiced opposition to differentiating fees based on visitors’ nationalities. Concerns likely include the risk of criticism for being exclusionary and the possibility of losing more visitors than anticipated. Some argue that if fee increases are absolutely necessary, the hikes should be applied uniformly to everyone.

The weak yen is also attributable to the increased number of visitors to Japan. It is not certain that this trend will continue at the same pace. Careful consideration is needed before implementing dual pricing.

The city government of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, initially considered raising admission prices only for foreign visitors to secure maintenance funds for Himeji Castle, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, following criticism, it revised the plan to differentiate prices between the city’s residents and nonresidents instead.

The municipality of Kitakyushu also plans to raise admission prices for tourist sites such as Kokura Castle starting in April, with discounted rates offered for its residents.

City taxes paid by residents are used to maintain these facilities. Given that, these municipalities appear to have determined that dual pricing would win understanding more easily. However, it is essential to clearly present the rationale for introducing such a pricing system and specify how the money from the increased fees will be used in order to ensure foreign visitors and other people accept the system.

It is also crucial to make efforts to increase independent revenue from donations, merchandise sales and other means without relying solely on price hikes through means including dual pricing. One idea could be avoiding differential admission prices and charging separately for value-added services such as multilingual guides.

What kind of pricing structure can simultaneously preserve tourism resources for the future and satisfy people, including foreign visitors? It is hoped that discussions will be deepened based on local circumstances.

 (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 15, 2026)