Sofia named least expensive city for travelers and Oslo takes top spot as most expensive

SINGAPORE – TripIndex Cities 2013, the third annual cost comparison of an evening out and overnight stay for two people in key tourist cities around the world has been unveiled today.

SINGAPORE – TripIndex Cities 2013, the third annual cost comparison of an evening out and overnight stay for two people in key tourist cities around the world has been unveiled today.

TripIndex Cities is based on the combined costs for two of one night in a four-star hotel, cocktails, a two-course dinner with a bottle of wine, and return taxi transportation (two journeys of approximately 3.2 kilometres each). Costs listed are accurate for the period of 1 June to 31 August 2013.

Sofia, Bulgaria offers the most affordable evening out and an overnight stay for Indonesian travelers with a total TripIndex cost of S$196.06(*), while Hanoi, Vietnam takes second place with S$217.76. At nearly four times the cost of Sofia, Oslo, Norway tops the list as most expensive with a TripIndex cost of S$717.41, closely followed by Zurich, Switzerland which totals S$647.48.

“TripIndex helps travelers to see where their money goes the furthest,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson, Jean Ow-Yeong. “The list shows that Asia is the most affordable continent, while Europe is the most expensive, but some European cities โ€“ like Sofia, Warsaw and Budapest โ€“ are bucking this trend. While Singapore was ranked as tenth most expensive last year, it falls four places in this year’s TripIndex Cities to be ranked fourteenth most expensive of these worldwide cities.”

Hotels hike up the price but biggest gap is between taxi costs.
While the cost of a hotel stay is the most expensive of the TripIndex basket items, the biggest disparity in cost between the cheapest and most expensive destinations lies with the return taxi trip. At S$51.31, London is almost twenty times more expensive for taxi transportation than Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at S$2.63.

The cheapest average hotel room goes to Sofia, Bulgaria at S$119.11 per night, while the most expensive, at nearly four times the cost, goes to New York City, at S$469.10 per night.

Affordable Asia vs. Comparatively Costly in Europe
Asia features heavily in the ten least expensive destinations, claiming four cities in total. Hanoi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Riyadh rank second, sixth, seventh and tenth place respectively.

Europe dominated the most expensive cities with six of the top ten destinations. Oslo, Zurich, Stockholm, Paris, London and Copenhagen take first, second, third, fifth, seventh and eighth place respectively on the list.

How much bang will you get for your buck around the world?
TripIndex Cities shows travelers just how far their money will go across the key tourist cities around the world:

For the price of three taxis in Zurich, Switzerland a traveler can get one night’s stay in a four star hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam;

Travelers can enjoy two dinners for two people in Taipei, Taiwan for the same price as two cocktails in Seoul, South Korea;

One night’s hotel stay for two in a four star hotel in Zurich, Switzerland is nearly the same price as three nights in Warsaw, Poland.

TripIndex Cities

Cheapest:

No. Destination Hotel Return Taxi Trip Dinner for Two Cocktails for Two Total Cost

1 Sofia, Bulgaria S$119.11 S$ 5.92 S$ 50.09 S$20.94 S$ 196.06

2 Hanoi, Vietnam S$142.37 S$ 7.54 S$ 45.33 S$22.52 S$ 217.76

3 Warsaw, Poland S$127.78 S$17.33 S$ 66.18 S$21.27 S$ 232.56

4 Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt S$125.72 S$ 3.58 S$ 80.34 S$26.86 S$
236.50

5 Budapest, Hungary S$128.50 S$13.66 S$ 61.49 S$35.02 S$ 238.67

6 Bangkok, Thailand S$135.16 S$ 3.88 S$ 86.58 S$23.59 S$ 249.21

7 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia S$146.96 S$ 2.63 S$ 87.16 S$32.45 S$ 269.20

8 Tunis, Tunisia S$192.97 S$ 3.22 S$ 53.15 S$21.65 S$ 270.99

9 Cape Town, South Africa S$166.80 S$16.86 S$ 76.48 S$10.91 S$ 271.05

10 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia S$207.04 S$ 7.54 S$ 57.72 N/A S$ 272.30

Most Expensive:

No. Destination Hotel Return Taxi Trip Dinner for Two Cocktails for Two Total Cost

1 Oslo, Norway S$284.49 S$35.72 S$341.22 S$55.98 S$717.41

2 Zurich, Switzerland S$369.56 S$48.18 S$186.84 S$42.90 S$647.48

3 Stockholm, Sweden S$300.86 S$33.53 S$258.43 S$51.52 S$644.34

4 New York City, USA S$469.10 S$28.33 S$100.81 S$39.99 S$638.23

5 Paris, France S$399.40 S$21.98 S$129.82 S$81.89 S$633.09

6 Sydney, Australia S$286.44 S$29.99 S$206.78 S$45.86 S$569.07

7 London, UK S$335.21 S$51.31 S$125.95 S$45.89 S$558.36

8 Copenhagen, Denmark S$271.32 S$47.69 S$184.04 S$46.24 S$549.29

9 Cancun, Mexico S$392.32 S$24.95 S$99.09 S$29.00 S$545.36

10 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic S$413.01 S$32.99 S$65.78 S$27.47 S$539.25

11 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil S$390.92 S$10.80 S$89.39 S$36.49 S$527.60

12 Helsinki, Finland S$237.26 S$37.93 S$177.33 S$44.93 S$497.45

13 Moscow, Russia S$297.61 S$31.28 S$121.61 S$46.44 S$496.94

14 Singapore S$305.64 S$9.22 S$137.60 S$43.33 S$495.79

* Singapore Dollar S$1.00 – US Dollar US$0.78

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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