Fury as locals at popular holiday hotspot given ‘secret code’ at restaurants as tourists are ‘charged more’

TOURISTS at a popular holiday hotspot were left fuming after locals were allegedly given a secret code to get charged less at restaurants.

The code for reduced costs is reportedly communicated to locals in Lisbon "verbally, in whispers, or indicated on menus placed in inconspicuous or even hidden areas".

At a restaurant in the Baixa neighbourhood, a simple steak costs €15 (£12), but Portuguese people pay just €9.90 (£8.38) for a full meal, including a drink, dessert and coffee, Portuguese paper reports.

Elisabete, a frequent customer who works at a nearby jewellery shop, said: “They don’t give tourists this menu.

"The waiters give them the normal list, which has prices that we cannot afford."

Expresso reportedly received information from industry insiders stating that pricing based on nationality is "completely illegal".

Lawyer Marcelino Abreu told the paper: "Restaurants cannot discriminate against people based on their nationality, charging different prices to Portuguese and foreign tourists.” 

The Portuguese Hotel, Restaurant and Similar Association (AHRESP) told Expresso that it was not aware of the cases, but that prices must be the same and displayed “with complete transparency.”

Portugal welcomed 26.5 million non-resident tourists last year, up 19.2 per cent from 2022, according to a July announcement from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

A proposal to raise the tourist fee for overnight stays in the city was also adopted by the Lisbon Municipal Assembly at the end of July.

The measure will go into effect on September 1, reports.

The claims of a two-tier pricing structure coincide with the ongoing anti-overtourism demonstrations that are raging across Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal.

Locals in Lisbon expressed frustration with Tuk-Tuks earlier this year in another bid against overtourism.

Rosa Alves, 78, told EuroNews that the machines emerge at dawn and disappear in the evening.

She said: "For the last five, six years this has become a mess. All over Graca, there has been a serious change for the worse."

Residents in the Portuguese capital are outraged by the influence tourists are having on their housing situation, and a storm is brewing as they call for a referendum to decide what becomes of tourist homes.

The Housing Referendum Movement has now gathered enough signatures to present their case to the council for a vote.

Locals stepped forward after movement member Diogo Guerra expressed dissatisfaction over lawmakers' inaction on the "touristification" of Lisbon.

The vote is motivated by worries that more and more flats are being taken over by tourists, driving up costs and forcing locals out of the city centre.

While tourism is a component, Mr. Guerra said that the displeasure goes beyond that.

He said:  "We are perfectly aware that the crisis is not due to a single factor, among other things because there is a huge lack of housing construction."