Election enthusiasts will find the US Capital cheapest for a city break as America gears up for the big vote

With three months of campaigning to go before the next US President is elected on 8^th November, the Post Office Travel Money US City Costs Barometer of 10 key cities has revealed that Washington, DC will be the cheapest option for a pre-election break¹.

Compiled with the assistance of Brand USA, which provided the local costs for tourist staples, the Post Office survey found the cost of a three-night break in Washington, DC to be the lowest at £1,758 for two people.With the cheapest hotel charges and free entry to its world-famous museums and galleries, the US capital was £500 cheaper than Chicago, the most expensive city surveyed.At around £2,223 for two, a three-night break in Chicago was 29 per cent more expensive than in Washington, DC.

New York came a close second to Washington, DC with a total cost of £1,767 for the three-night break for two and the second cheapest prices for meals and drinks (£256) after New Orleans (£219).Philadelphia, which was the temporary US capital in the late 18^th Century and is therefore likely to attract those interested in American history, was in third place with a barometer cost of £1,832 for two.

Miami, in the pivotal US election swing-state of Florida, was fourth in the Post Office survey at a cost of £1,965 for two.But visitors will need to watch their wallets in the city because the cost of tourist staples (£605) was the highest of the 10 cities surveyed – almost £200 more for meals, drinks and other essentials than in Austin (£406), which was cheapest.

The barometer is released after new figures have shown a boost in demand for transatlantic travel this year.The latest Office for National Statistics report reveals a 15 per cent rise year-on-year in UK visitors to the US². At the same time Post Office Travel Money, which accounts for one-in-four UK currency transactions, says US dollar sales are up 20 per cent for January-June³, despite the weak pound. This suggests the US could be this autumn’s destination of choice, especially for those keen to see the election build-up at first hand.

To give a fair representation of likely expenditure, the Post Office compiled its US barometer to include the cost of return flights, three-star hotel accommodation, meals and drinks, sightseeing and transport costs and entry to museums and galleries that would cover a three-night city break for two.The cities surveyed were Washington, DC, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Boston, New Orleans, Austin and Chicago.

The Post Office points out that the cost of flights has a marked impact on the overall price of a US city break.This was, predictably, cheapest to cities in the east of the US led by New York (£726 for two return flights) but more expensive for trips to California or Nevada (San Francisco: £1,064; Las Vegas: £1,114).The most expensive flights at the time of the Post Office research were to New Orleans at £1,316 for a pair of tickets.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “Flight prices can transform the overall cost of a US city break so these need to be factored in before choosing where to visit for a pre-election trip.The same applies to hotel accommodation, which can vary by hundreds of pounds.It will be better for UK holidaymakers if they do their homework before booking to calculate the full cost of a US break.

“They shouldn’t forget to factor in the cost of meals, drinks, transport and sightseeing to ensure they change enough pounds into dollars to cover their trip without having to incur transaction charges when they reach their destination.Our estimate of tourist costs suggests that people planning trips to the USA this autumn will be well advised to change at least £500 and this means that they will benefit from an improved rate in our branches or online, making transactions better value for customers.”

The Post Office is the UK’s leading provider of foreign currency, offering US dollars on demand at over 4,000 branches.The US dollar is one of up to 70 currencies that can be pre-ordered at the full Post Office network of more than 11,500 branches or online at postoffice.co.uk/travel for next day branch or home delivery.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Gabrielle O’Gara Post Office Press Office0207 250 2534 / 07718 977702

Gabrielle.ogara@postoffice.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

¹ Post Office US City Costs Barometer 2016 using exchange rates on 20 July: Prices for tourist items in cities were supplied by Brand USA. Three-night accommodation prices were sourced from Hotels.com (18 July 2016) based on the cheapest available three-star city centre accommodation for two adults sharing a double/twin en-suite room between 14-17 October 2016 and direct return flights to each city were researched online at Skyscanner.net.A full breakdown of barometer costs can be found in the tables attached.

²Source: Office for National Statistics Overseas travel and tourism report, July 2016

³ Source: Post Office Travel Money Holiday Money Index analysis of currency sales for January-June 2016