Asian cities still good value
June 21, 2012 by Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit
Filed under News, Research, Southeast Asia
BANGKOK, 21 June 2012: Asian destinations topped a TripAdvisor price index for US travellers that indicated Hanoi, was the top value city while Bangkok earned third place.
Released last week, the TripAdvisor TripIndex is based on the estimated combined costs for two people staying one night in a four-star hotel (twin-share rate), a cocktail drink per person, a two-course dinner for two with a bottle of wine, and round-trip taxi transfer (distance each way 2 miles).
Prices were calculated in local currencies between March and May 2012 and converted into US$ currency 29 May 2012.
The index noted that Asia remained the most affordable region for US travellers looking for deals over the summer travel peak. Six of the top 10 most affordable cities were in Asia with price indexes ranging from US$141 to just over US$200.
Hanoi, Vietnam, came in as the cheapest with a TripIndex cost of US$141.12 followed by Beijing at US$159.05. Bangkok in third place scored a TripIndex cost of US$161.90 ahead of Budapest in Hungary and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in fourth and fifth at US$193.78 and US$194.43 respectively.
Other value cities were: Poland’s Warsaw (US$199.20); Taiwan’s Taipei (US$203.62); Indonesia’s Jakarta (US$204.59); Bulgaria’s Sofia (US$207.28); and Tunisia’s Tunis (US$216.65).
In contrast, Singapore gained a ranking in the top 10 most expensive cities. It was the only city in Asia to be listed on the most expensive destination list sneaking in at 10th place.
There were few surprises on the most expensive list. London was number one for holiday costs at a whopping US$518.01.
Europe figured as the most expensive continent for US travellers, with seven of the world’s priciest cities on the expensive side of the Index: UK’s London (US$518.01), Norway’s Oslo (US$499.91), Switzerland’s Zurich (US$485.82), France’s Paris (US$480.76), Sweden’s Stockholm (US$472.36), Russia’s Moscow (US$429.07) and Denmark’s Copenhagen (US$426.84).
TripIndex Cities
Top 10 best value international cities
Top 10 most expensive international cities
Note:
The international TripIndex destination list comprises key cities from 48 of the 50 countries, which receive the largest number of international visitor arrivals (data compiled by the UNWTO). The US TripIndex list comprises 15 popular, editorially selected US cities, focusing on large and popular tourism markets in the US.
The prices collected methods were:
Hotels: Prices specify the average per-night cost of a room at four-star hotels found on TripAdvisor (via partner booking sites such as online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers) in each destination for the summer travel period (1 June to 31 August 2012).
Cocktails for two: Prices specify the average cost of two traditional dry martinis from a top-rated five-star hotel on TripAdvisor in each destination. *Designates the price taken from top-rated four-star hotel, as no five-star hotel is listed on TripAdvisor in this destination.
Dinner for two: Prices specify the average cost of a traditional or common two-course meal (starter and main course) for two people with a bottle of house (or cheapest available) white wine (prices averaged from three mid-range restaurants in each destination).
Return taxi trip: Prices specify the approximate cost of two taxi journeys of two miles each (representing an evening’s return transportation). Data was taken from local authorities, recognised taxi companies, and/or travel experts on the area.
