Bangkok--15 Jun--Aziam Burson-Marsteller
TripIndex 2012 reveals the price of an evening out in 48 key cities around the worldBangkok ranks #3 in ten of the least expensive cities and has the least expensive average cost of a 4-star hotel room.
TripAdvisor?, the world’s largest travel site*, today unveils TripIndexTM 2012, a cost comparison of an evening out for two people in 48 key tourist cities around the world.
The TripAdvisor TripIndex is tracked against the US Dollar and is based on the combined costs for two of a one night stay 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 1 June — 31 August 2012.
Hanoi, Vietnam offers the most affordable night out for travellers with a total TripIndex cost of US$141.12 (THB 4,481). At more than triple the cost of Hanoi, London topped the list as most expensive with a TripIndex cost of US$518.01 (THB 16,450).
“TripIndex helps travellers see where they will get more bang for their buck,” said Jean Ow-Yeong, TripAdvisor spokesperson. “Interestingly, once on the ground, European cities such as Budapest and Warsaw turn out to be as affordable as some Asian cities, while Singapore and Sydney are in the ranks of London, Paris and New York as some of the most expensive cities.”
Hotels Set the Tone
The cost of hotels was the most important factor in determining the least and most expensive cities on TripIndex:
- The least expensive average hotel room goes to Bangkok at US$81.13 (THB 2,576) per night, while the most expensive goes to London at US$361.64 (THB 11,484) per night. This means hotel rooms in London are more than quadruple the cost of those in Bangkok.
- The average cost of a room in ten of the least expensive cities for hotels is just US$113.32 (THB 3,598), while the most expensive cities come in at an average of US$261.99 (THB 8,319). That means the rooms in the ten most expensive cities for hotels are more than double the cost of those in the ten least expensive.
Save in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia was the region which claimed the most cities in the ten least expensive list, including Hanoi which took the top spot, while Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta took the third, fifth and eighth spots respectively.
Comparatively Costly in Europe
Europe dominated the most expensive list with seven cities including London which took the first place, while Oslo, Zurich, Paris, Stockholm, Moscow and Copenhagen took the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth places respectively.