Price discrimination based on race is ugliest – just ask the Chinese at Heathrow Airport

Luisa Tam asks where we should draw the line when it comes to pricing centred on ethnicity, and do people only care if they are disadvantaged?

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World Duty Free said it would take steps to correct the situation after the fiasco at its Heathrow Airport outlet. Photo: Handout

Published: 3:00pm, 26 Feb 2018Updated: 9:49pm, 26 Feb 2018

I wasn’t shocked at all when I read about the recent controversy over racism at London’s Heathrow Airport where a mainland Chinese traveller was required to spend 12 times – according to a sales person – that of other customers from elsewhere to obtain a 20 per cent discount at a World Duty Free shop.

Racism is detestable and hurts everyone. But it appears that non-white people tend to get the raw deal in terms of racial discrimination, and very often, receive harsher treatment. Sometimes, people even get accused of being racist against members of their own ethnic group.

The Heathrow incident was unquestionably deplorable but it’s not simply a case of racial discrimination; it was also an extreme instance of stereotypical price discrimination. Yet, it is common for prices to vary according to different situations that can involve gender, class, race and nationality. All of these factors help to determine different levels of affordability to consumers to maximise revenue for sellers.

Tourists at popular shopping hub Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Nora Tam

In Hong Kong, we occasionally hear complaints from non-Chinese people who have requested an English-language menu at a restaurant that the prices quoted are higher than those in the local Chinese menu.

Some joke that it could be because the restaurant is charging a translation levy, but really, there is no solid justification for such a move.