Letter: Be prepared to be ripped off

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the wonderful island of Sri Lanka. Travelling independently, my father and I did encounter touts and tricksters. However, this was a minor annoyance and did not ruin our holiday to the extent described by Richard Paris ("Give us your money. That's all we want", Travel, 27 April). As he stated, the Sri Lankans are very poor in comparison to Westerners. This determines their attitude towards wealthy tourists. I have travelled extensively to "third world" countries and found that the development of tourism produces such behaviour.

It is something we must expect and accept. Rather than anger, shouldn't we appreciate that we have the opportunity to travel, a luxury most Sri Lankans do not have? To prevent being ripped off, the tourist should go forewarned, but I would not hesitate in promoting Sri Lanka as a holiday destination.

Sonya Keefe

Bristol