Louvre Ticket Scam

Mardee, This was posted a few days ago:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/ticjet-scam-at-louvre

This is a different article that what was posted before but....my opinion is still the same.

I am surprised this continued to happen.

In August 2019 the Paris Museum Pass rules changed allowing only one visit per venue per Pass whereas before before you could enter the same museum multiple times. At that time it was announced that it was because big Asian groups were passing Museum Passes off to subsequent groups so they were cheating the system then.

I can't believe after 7 years this continues to happen and the Louvre officials were not aware of it?

This article says that "difficulties in checking tickets that have been purchased online when visitors go through and enter the museum." How can that be? You have to scan your bar code on entry. Does it not block you if you've been in that entrance before? IF they knew there were difficulties in checking tickets why was there not an intervention? EVERY time I've gone in there have been multiple people in each kiosk looking at people scanning their tickets. I went in 3X in October. Not this last time but previously I've seen people denied entry to a wing because the scanner could not read their paper ticket print out bar codes.

Oops, Mary, I missed it—I did search but since the NYT article was new, I didn't go back as far as I should have.

Pam, I agree that the Louvre is not looking good right now in terms of security, both with this and then the robbery and so on. It's really a shame, but they need to get their act together. Of course, I'm sure that's easier said than done.

Yes to the security issues and then there are the infrastructure problems as well with roof leaks and all sorts of issues. I realize it's an old building but it doesn't even sound like the roof has been tended to.

IF they've lost 12 million, that surely would have gone a way toward that, lol! Interesting, too, that the article says they've seized 1.5 million.

This just breaks my heart. So many of us love that museum. It has really been having a tough time.

I’m also surprised to a degree because there definitely seems like quite a check at every entry point into which ever wing you are heading into. The bar code has to work. I was there 3 times between Feb 3 and 12 and a couple of times some people were held up because what ever they were scanning didn’t work.

It is such an overburdened place though. The difference in the conditions and look of the Louvre and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam where I am now is immense. I know it is so much bigger and older that the comparison is unfair but I so wish the Louvre could have more love and staff.

Security expert I'm not....but It seems like they would have some kind of tally system comparing the # of people who go thru security with the # who are scanned into the wings with the # of tickets/reservations sold.

A major museum in Chicago lost hundreds of thousands through ticketing scams -- again there was not good supervision and auditing so that employees took advantage. A cultural organization involved in classical music had a similar loss. Years ago a professional organization I was a member of was robbed blind by a long time trusted employee; the leadership was volunteer and elected and turned over and they relied on the administrator who kept the books -- and skimmed.

It is alas a frequent occurrence when finances are poorly managed, areas of vulnerability not identified and controls are not in place.

Recent changes in Louvre policy like limiting to one entrance rather than an all day ticket as in the past have made the experience worse for visitors -- so it is especially annoying to find out they allowed this to occur.

Astounding a ticket can be re-used.

The car wash I go to can recognize when a 'used' ticket is scanned,. ( and refuses passage).

A lot of people are very reluctant to touch legacy software systems. For a lot of different reasons. For good and bad.

Astounding a ticket can be re-used.

I agree. The whole thing just seems so strange. In this day and age, with the technology that is available, why is this still happening? Is it because the Louvre is so big and they just don't have the money to upgrade?

From an article in France, the two guards were being paid to help these groups by-pass the controls.

In the past a Louvre ticket could be reused all day and then Chinese tour groups started collecting and reusing tickets and running several groups through on the same ticket. Instead of working out a system for tour groups to control that, the Louvre penalized everyone. So an ordinary tourist who might like to visit the collections, then head out for lunch and return in the afternoon could no longer do so, So it is particularly galling that staff were conspiring to allow tour groups to continue to abuse the system.