As far as I'm aware Museums /Attractions here in Australia do not charge foreigners premiums for a visit (except the occasional 'Locals Deals" that some private operators offer to eg residents of Cairns to get a bit more than just their usual tourist trade). But it is the Argentinian Government that is saying that we will charge on the basis of reciprocity and following the same logic it would be perfectly reasonable for Australian National Parks to apply the same principle to those countries that charge our citizens a premium to visit their sites.
Don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem paying 60 pesos to enter Iguazu NP and I don't have any issue with Argentinians paying 20 pesos or people from Misiones (is that the province?) paying zero pesos.
I have a real problem with this idea of reciprocity. IMHO it is a pointless tax which will be of some detriment to Argentinian tourism (how much I can't quantify), penalises some tourists with a charge of upwards of $US100 on each visit to Argentina and will have zero benefit for Argentinians in terms of making it easier/cheaper for them to get visas/enter other countries.
US/Canadian/Australian visa regulations are about border protection/labour control/immigration control - not about punishing the Argentinians. The fees charged are basically about cost recovery. The Argentinian reciprocity fees are it seems about punishment and national pride - is that a good basis for a tax/foreign relations? It probably won't even help the beleaguered Argentinian budget in that the bureaucracy to collect it will probably eat up all the revenue.
I've visited Argentina at least 30 times in the last 20 years (all leisure trips/occasional conference). I think that Buenos Aires is one of the world's great cities. At present my travel interest has shifted to Brasil but coming from Australia that means transiting Buenos Aires and I would usually spend 5 days there 3 times a year (and love it) The reality is that if I have to pay a $US100 reciprocity fee each time and add on around $US30 for the Airport Tax and $US80 for return remises, then I'll probably decide that $US210 in 'stopover costs' is more than I'm willing to pay and I'll spend an extra 5 days in Brasil and just transit EZE or SCL and avoid all that.
Is my situation typical? Probably not. Will La K take notice of my protestations? Doubtful. At least (lamentably) I won't be missing any Mercedes Sosa concerts
