Disneyland Paris scrambles to limit PR fall-out from rip off pricing
Disneyland Paris has been scrambling to protect its image amongst British and German holidaymakers after a European Commission report found it had been overcharging visitors from outwith France by as much as 40 per cent.
Officials found that French visitors were being charged just £954 for a premium package that was being flogged for £1,325 in Britain and an eye-watering £1,734 in Germany, discrepancies which Disneyland Paris attributes to booking patterns and holidays in local markets.
Digesting the findings Elzbieta Bienkowska, EU commissioner for the single market, said: “It is time to get to the bottom of this. I am interested in answers and explanations. On the face of it, I struggle to see what objective justification there could be for these practices.”
More damaging for Disney the commission found that similar attractions such as Denmark’s LegoLand and Germany’s Europa-Park did not vary their prices between countries to the same extent.
In a statement Disneyland Paris said: “Throughout the year we try to attract guests from different markets by offering market-specific ‘book-by’ promotions that can include discounts. Those promotions take into consideration factors specific to people in the local market, such as their school holiday calendar and booking patterns.”