Alec wrote:


'Scalper' is the US term I think.


Actually, there's a difference between a tout and a scalper.

A scalper is in possession of a ticket to an in-demand event and he/she
sells it at a premium to someone wishing to go to that event. A tout is
someone who promotes/describes/praises something like a restaurant or
hotel in the hopes that the listener will patronize said restaurant or
hotel. Either the tout is an actual employee of the restaurant or hotel
or get a commission from the business he/she is able to generate. The
scalper is entirely an independent entrepreneur with no connection to
the event or to the venue staging the event.

Karen Selwyn