Revealed: The cheapest holiday destinations for 2019
British holidaymakers can still find value on holiday despite the weak pound after a fall in in-resort costs at popular travel destinations around the world, new research has shown.
According to the annual Post Office Money survey, prices are down by as much as 21 per cent compared to this time last year in nearly half of the cities and towns surveyed, with the best savings in Singapore, St Lucia and Brazil. Other destinations where costs have fallen include Nice, France, Marmaris, Turkey and Cancun in Mexico.
Where in-resort costs have fallen most
China Town, Singapore: down 21.5 per cent
Rodney Bay, St Lucia: -19.6%
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: -19.5%
Marmaris, Turkey: -18.7%
Beijing, China: -17.8%
Mombasa, Kenya: -16.3%
Nice, France: -13.7%
Sliema, Malta: -9%
Cape Town, South Africa: -8.6%
Cancun, Mexico: -8.3%
The Post Office barometer calculates the cost in sterling of a basket of eight common holiday expenses, including a three course evening meal for two with a bottle of house wine, a bottle of beer and suncream, before ranking the 42 destinations surveyed.
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, came out on top, as the cheapest holiday hotspot for 2019, with its items totalling just ￡36.03, followed by Marmais, Turkey (￡45.23) and the Algarve in Portugal (￡50.11). For comparison, the most expensive destinations were the Seychelles, where the same items cames to ￡182.89, Abu Dhabi (￡168.66) and Dubai (￡150.52).
Of the top 10, just three were in the eurozone, an indication of the pound’s travails against the euro over the last 12 months.
“It is good news that prices are down in many destinations this year,” said Andrew Brown, from Post Office Travel Money, “but it is still very important to be aware of the huge variation in costs we found across the 42 countries surveyed.
“For example, barometer costs in the six cheapest resorts and cities are less than half those in the 15 priciest destinations.”
Holidaymakers travelling in Europe will be reassured that even though sterling is worth less on the Continent than it was this time last year, destinations including Sliema in Malta, Nice in France and Corfu, Greece, have seen falls in in-resort costs.
The Post Office said it had seen strong sales for the Turkish lira, Croatian kuna and Bulgarian lev over the past year “underlining the fact that Europe remains the destinations of choice for most people”.
South Africa remains the best value destination for a long-haul trip, with the basket of items costing ￡50.23, and Cape Town ranking fourth in the table. Tokyo, Japan, is not far behind in sixth, with the cost of the items only a little higher at ￡55.55. Mombasa, Kenya, ranked seventh (￡55.87), and Bali in Indonesia 10th (￡69.49).
Andrew Brown said: “We advise holidaymakers to draw up a destinations shortlist and do their homework by the prices for meals, drinks and other tourist items before booking.”
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