Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he explores a key travel issue – and what it means for you.
A cafe in St Mark’s Square in Venice is about as far as you can get from the economic concept of a “perfect market”, in which all consumers have a complete picture of prices and suppliers compete vigorously against one another. As noted in my weekly travel newsletter on Friday, the statutory price list is well concealed to avoid the risk of patrons seeing it before ordering. And if the price of a thimbleful of coffee is not painful enough, my informant Neil Taylor points out that rates rise by an extra €6 if the band happens to strike up whilst you are sitting there – making a €18 (£15) latte commonplace.
