TripAdvisor‘s TripIndex Reveals Where Your Holiday Pound Goes the Furthest
TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today launches its inaugural TripIndex – a cost comparison of key tourist cities around the world and in the UK, tracked against the British pound.
TripAdvisor’s TripIndex is based on the combined cost of one night’s accommodation (four star hotel), a common food item (pizza), an alcoholic cocktail (dry martini) and a taxi journey in each destination.
Beating 49 rival cities, Bangkok is revealed as the best value international city for British travellers, with its total TripIndex cost coming in at £69. The most expensive city in the list, Paris, came in at £268 – nearly four times more expensive than Bangkok.
Belfast came out as the UK’s best value city. Its total TripIndex cost came to £107, less than half the cost of the UK’s most expensive city, London.
“We’ve developed TripIndex to help travellers accurately set holiday budget expectations,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson Emma O’Boyle. “For instance, a British traveller in Sofia can expect to spend a fraction of what a traveller to Paris would spend on the same holiday items.”
Hotels & Taxis Set Destinations Apart
Affordability in the ten cheapest destinations is most evident in hotel and taxi costs:
- One night in a four-star hotel in Bangkok is just £53 – compared to over £145 for the ten most expensive destinations.
- While a five mile taxi journey costs just £2 or £3 in many of the ten cheapest destinations, the same journey costs over £20 in the likes of Zurich and Tokyo.
This TripIndex is based on the current exchange rate and applies to travel between June and August 2011 with hotel prices based on the average cost of a four star hotel found on TripAdvisor, via multiple partner booking sites.
Stretch your Pound in Europe and Beyond
Asia emerged as the most affordable continent, claiming three of the ten most affordable cities for British travellers, with Bangkok number one, followed by Beijng. Perhaps surprisingly, Dubai, destination of choice for footballers and the jet-set crowd, made it into the top 10 at tenth place.
For those looking to stay within Europe, TripIndex reveals that Sofia in Bulgaria and Budapest in Hungary both offer excellent value against the pound, coming in at fifth and sixth places respectively.
Splash the cash
At the other end of the scale, Paris, Zurich, Tokyo, London and New York comprise the five most expensive cities for British travellers according to TripIndex.
Belfast Best for Value
TripIndex unveils Belfast as the UK’s best-value city break. With one night in a four-star hotel coming in at £81 and a total TripIndex cost of £107, it narrowly beats Liverpool and is less than half the cost of London.
“Cost, and in particular value for money, is one of the most important considerations for travellers. By examining the same four holiday items, including the all important hotel cost, TripIndex allows travellers to make an educated decision as to whether a destination is right for them,” continued TripAdvisor’s Emma O’Boyle.
TripIndex:
Best Value International Cities
Dry
City Martini
Hotel (GBP) Taxi (GBP) Pizza (GBP) (GBP) Total (GBP)
1. Bangkok GBP53.19 GBP1.54 GBP8.54 GBP6.18 GBP69.46
2. Beijing GBP60.81 GBP2.49 GBP3.73 GBP7.47 GBP74.50
3. Sharm El
Sheikh GBP64.52 GBP2.08* GBP3.60 GBP9.37 GBP79.57
4. Kuala Lumpur GBP65.64 GBP2.07 GBP6.82 GBP8.62 GBP83.15
5. Sofia GBP70.97 GBP2.40 GBP5.40 GBP5.40 GBP84.17
6. Budapest GBP72.76 GBP7.25 GBP4.05** GBP4.89 GBP88.96
7. Auckland GBP63.52 GBP14.19 GBP5.17 GBP8.36 GBP91.24
8. Marrakech GBP74.55 GBP1.56* GBP7.71 GBP7.79 GBP91.62
9. Warsaw GBP72.49 GBP6.54 GBP6.51 GBP6.54 GBP92.08
10.Dubai GBP79.71 GBP3.21 GBP6.41 GBP6.41 GBP95.75
Most Expensive International Cities
Dry
City Martini
Hotel (GBP) Taxi (GBP) Pizza (GBP) (GBP) Total (GBP)
1. Paris GBP224.83 GBP7.77 GBP13.11 GBP22.00 GBP267.71
2. Zurich GBP190.84 GBP25.90 GBP12.06** GBP6.85 GBP235.64
3. London GBP185.96 GBP20.00 GBP11.99 GBP14.00 GBP231.95
4. Tokyo GBP168.98 GBP23.42 GBP22.00 GBP16.50 GBP230.89
5. New York City GBP201.32 GBP7.76 GBP7.44 GBP11.17 GBP227.69
6. Rio de Janeiro GBP192.65 GBP4.15 GBP9.46 GBP8.67 GBP214.93
7. Moscow GBP187.78 GBP5.52 GBP7.51 GBP13.25 GBP214.06
8. Kiev GBP191.92 GBP2.72 GBP6.06 GBP5.05 GBP205.74
9. Amsterdam GBP145.45 GBP18.48 GBP18.70 GBP11.44 GBP194.06
10. Stockholm GBP157.29 GBP8.31 GBP16.24 GBP11.46 GBP193.30
UK Cities
City Dry Martini
Hotel (GBP) Taxi (GBP) Pizza (GBP) (GBP) Total (GBP)
1. Belfast GBP81.48 GBP8.06 GBP10.50 GBP6.50 GBP106.54
2. Liverpool GBP87.22 GBP9.20 GBP10.95 GBP8.25* GBP115.62
3. Cardiff GBP96.02 GBP10.14 GBP10.95 GBP5.95 GBP123.06
4. Glasgow GBP104.10 GBP9.40 GBP10.95 GBP6.95 GBP131.40
5. Manchester GBP104.04 GBP11.40 GBP10.95 GBP9.50 GBP135.89
6. Bath GBP115.85 GBP11.15 GBP10.95 GBP12.00 GBP149.95
7. Edinburgh GBP140.56 GBP11.00 GBP10.95 GBP11.50 GBP174.01
8. London GBP183.04 GBP20.00 GBP10.95 GBP14.00 GBP227.99
The full TripIndex is available at http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/InfoCenter-a_ctr.landerUK
More on TripIndex
The hotel cost – one of a traveller’s biggest concerns when setting a holiday budget – is based on data from many TripAdvisor partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers, for travel between June and August 2011, providing a highly accurate index.
