A recent newspaper article13 criticised London arts venues for introducing ‘surge pricing’ by charging higher prices for blockbuster exhibitions at busy times. The piece said that venues such as the Royal Academy of Arts and the National Portrait Gallery were asking visitors to pay up to 22 per cent more at weekends and in other peak periods. Other galleries were operating a premium on exhibitions throughout the whole of August, when tourist numbers were high. It said that the variable charges were reminiscent of the ‘surge pricing’

policy used by taxi-hailing services such as Uber to maximise revenue when demand for taxis is at its greatest. If you had to, how would you defend this practice?