Lost in translation: black market in Chinese guides and tickets has cost Paris Louvre ‘millions’
The museum’s lack of support for Mandarin means Chinese tourists have been forced to rent audio guides from scammers on the street, who also trade in used tickets
Crowds of Chinese in the auditorium of the Louvre have been dismayed and frustrated after learning that the world’s largest and most popular museum has no audio guides in Mandarin – one of the world’s most spoken languages – to provide a running commentary during their visit.
“I don’t know how people are meant to fully understand the exhibitions without this, especially if they are independent travellers like us,” said one visitor last week.
“I find it really amazing that they don’t have Chinese audio tours for rent.”
At the entrance, an audio guide desk is doing a brisk trade, offering handheld devices in six languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Korean and Japanese, but no Chinese.
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The same goes for its downloadable audio guide mobile phone app.