Cheapest hotels are here, in Bangkok
The Nation
BANGKOK: -- Bangkok offers the least expensive four-star accommodation of world cities rated by the TripAdvisor Tripindex, at less than one-quarter the cost of those in London on average.
However, if travellers want a night on the town as well, Hanoi offers the best deals, the survey found.
The average four-star room rate in Bangkok is US$81.13 (Bt2,563) per night, cheapest on the list. The most expensive rooms are in London, averaging $361.64 per night - more than quadruple the cost of those in Bangkok.
The average cost of a room in the 10 least expensive cities on the list is just $113.32, while the most expensive cities come in at an average of $261.99 a night. That means the rooms in the 10 priciest cities are more than double the cost of those in the 10 least expensive.
The TripIndex also calculated 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 taxi transport (two return journeys of about 3.2 kilometres each). Costs listed are accurate for June 1 to August 31.
Under those criteria, Hanoi offers the most affordable night out for travellers with a total TripIndex cost of $141.12. At more than triple the cost of Hanoi, London topped the list as most expensive with a cost of $518.01.
However, a trip to Asia is no guarantee of "more bang for their buck", said Jean Ow Yeong, TripAdvisor spokeswoman.
"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."
Southeast Asia was the region that claimed the most cities in the 10-least-expensive list, including Hanoi, which took the top spot, while Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta took the third, fifth and eighth spots respectively.
Meanwhile, Europe dominated the most-expensive list with seven cities: London took the first place, while Oslo, Zurich, Paris, Stockholm, Moscow and Copenhagen took the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth places respectively.
The international TripIndex destination list comprises key cities from 48 of the 50 countries that receive the largest number of international visitor arrivals according to data compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
Prices were collected through a variety of research methods. Prices were taken in local currencies between March and May and converted into US dollars on May 29.
TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel site. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors and more than 60 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide.
-- The Nation 2012-06-13
