​Revealed: the long haul holiday destinations where winter sun getaways will cost the least – and the most

Long Haul Holiday Report (www.postoffice.co.uk/longhaul) reveals that while local price falls in half of 30 destinations surveyed will cushion the impact of sterling’s slide, UK visitors can expect to pay more than last year in three-quarters of resorts and cities

Tokyo, Cape Town and Bali offer the best value, but there are big falls in Antigua, 28 per cent cheaper than last year, and Dubai, where costs are down nine per cent

Far East favourites Vietnam and Malaysia feature in the best value top 10 but Thailand has fallen down the barometer table as prices rise 21 per cent in Phuket

The impact of sterling’s slide in value has now extended beyond Europe into long haul holiday destinations, according to the 12^th annual Post Office Travel Money Long Haul Holiday Report¹, produced in partnership with long haul specialist Travelbag. While local price falls in half of the 30 destinations surveyed for the report will help to cushion the blow², the weak pound means holidaymakers planning winter sun breaks can expect to pay more than a year ago in over three-quarters of the resorts and cities featured.

The Long Haul Holiday Report barometer of costs for 10 typical tourist items, including meals and drinks, found that Japan (Tokyo), South Africa (Cape Town) and Bali (Kuta) remain the lowest-priced destinations. However, prices have risen in all three and Tokyo has regained the top spot from Cape Town.

Nick Boden, Head of Post Office Travel Money said: “The rising prices revealed by this year’s report in many destinations highlight the importance of careful planning and research. Even though sterling is weaker than last year against every long haul holiday currency, holidaymakers can still save themselves a lot of money and make a big difference to the overall cost of winter sun trips by doing their holiday homework before booking to find out where meals, drinks and other staples are going to cost the least.”

The report names seven resorts where costs for UK visitors are lower than a year ago. Antigua tops that list and enters the 10 best value destinations in eighth place as a result. Prices have fallen 28 per cent to £82, based on tourist costs in the island’s capital St John. Antigua is one of three Caribbean islands to register a fall in the cost of tourist staples. The others are Saint Lucia (Rodney Bay, £110), which has risen eight places to 11^th in the table after a 2.6 per cent drop in prices, and Tobago (Scarborough, £122), which moves up to 20^th place with a 3.4 per cent fall.

Prices are also significantly lower in Dubai (Jumeirah Beach, 27^th), down nine per cent to £150,

while there are smaller falls in Mauritius (Grand Baie, 12^th, down 2.1 per cent to £111), Vietnam (Hoi An, 4^th, down 1.6 per cent to £75) and the Seychelles (down 2.3 per cent). However, Mahé in the Seychelles (£188) remains the most expensive destination surveyed for this year’s report.

• With the Rugby World Cup scheduled to start later this month, low prices in Tokyo are an encouraging sign for rugby enthusiasts planning visits to Japan during the tournament. Although its barometer total has risen 4.7 per cent to £60, this is due to the weak pound because Tokyo is one of 15 destinations where local prices have fallen. Its moderate price rise means the Japanese capital has overtaken Cape Town to rate as best value in the 2019 report and is 42 per cent cheaper than in 2013 when the Post Office first surveyed prices in the city.

Cape Town, South Africa has dropped to second place because its currency, the rand, has strengthened by 10 per cent year-on-year against sterling. While local prices remain low, the weaker exchange rate means UK visitors are likely to find prices higher this winter. Despite this, Cape Town’s barometer total of £61 is less than half that in 11 other long haul destinations.

• Although Bali (Kuta) has held on to its third position in the Post Office table, Travelbag researchers found that prices have risen by almost 13 per cent since last September and, at £72, the barometer basket now costs around £12 more than in the top two destinations. Furthermore, fourth-placed Vietnam is hard on Bali’s heels and a 1.6 per cent fall in prices means that Hoi An (£75) has closed the gap and is less than £3 more expensive.
• By contrast, Phuket in Thailand is one of two destinations in the 2019 survey where the Post Office found that prices have increased by over 20 per cent year-on-year. A combination of rising local prices and the strong Thai baht have resulted in a 21 per cent increase in the prices that UK visitors will pay for tourist items in Phuket. At £118, this has made Thailand 58 per cent pricier than Vietnam and 64 per cent more expensive than Bali and has seen the Thai island fall out of the top 10 destinations to 18^th place. Elsewhere in the Far East, the Post Office found only small price rises in China (Beijing up 1.1 per cent to £119, 19^th) and Singapore (up 2.8 per cent to £133, 24^th) but an eight per cent rise in 10^th-placed Malaysia (Penang, £89).
• In the USA, Orlando (£87, 9^th) has kept its top 10 place despite the strength of the US dollar. Local prices in the world’s theme park capital have fallen marginally on 2018 levels and the increase that UK visitors can expect to pay – 6.5 per cent – therefore relates solely to the weaker exchange rate. By comparison, the same items cost 56 per cent more in New York (£136, 25^th), which shares the biggest barometer price increase of 21 per cent this year.

The latest bookings Intelligence from Travelbag underlines the growing trend for a combination of keenly-priced packages and low resort costs to drive holiday bookings. The specialist operator also cites Japan and Cape Town, as well as Bali, as destinations that are growing in popularity for this reason.

Lesley Rollo, Managing Director of Travelbag said: “The average price of a holiday to the destinations featured in this report has risen by around seven per cent in the last year, as factors like rising oil prices and over-demand take effect. However, despite those rising prices and sterling’s slide, consumers still want to book - they’re just increasingly savvy in offsetting the cost of the holiday itself with what they’ll pay once they’re there and will prioritise destinations where they’ll know they’ll get good value on the ground.

“For example, despite the average price of a holiday to Japan – where daily outlay is still pretty reasonable - rising by 26 per cent, demand for holidays to the destination has increased by more than a third. By contrast, bookings for Dubai – where resort costs remain relatively high – have softened considerably even though package prices have risen by a modest six per cent.

“We’d urge consumers to do their research carefully, talk to our experts and utilise insights like those of this report to balance out the competing cost requirements of a holiday. There is good value to be found for those who plan.”

Travelbag is currently offering flight-inclusive holiday packages to Antigua priced from £1,429 per person for seven nights all-inclusive with return flights (saving £500), a week in Bali for £959 per person including flights (saving £680), or 10-nights in Thailand for £1,659 per person including flights (saving £690).

Nick Boden added:“Carefully financial planning could also shave pounds off the cost of a long haul trip. Get holiday spending money in advance of travel because leaving it late and changing money at the airport or topping up overseas means wasting hard-earned cash on poor exchange rates or ATM charges. Considerputting cash on a Post Office Travel Money Card which is available in 13 currencies and avoids paying the transaction charges incurred by debit cards and most credit cards in shops and restaurants abroad.”

Ends

All prices quoted have been rounded up or down to the nearest pound. A breakdown of prices can be found in the barometer tables in the accompanying document.

For more information, please contact:

Joanne Leahy Post Office Press Office 07791 894469

Joanne.Leahy@postoffice.co.uk

Christine Ball CBPR 01798 874177 / 07976 285997 cball@cballpr.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

The Post Office is the UK’s leading provider of foreign currency offering competitive rates in both its branch network and online. Up to 70 currencies can be ordered at over 11,500 Post Office branches nationwide for next day collection, while many long haul ones are available immediately at over 1,600 larger branches and US dollars can be purchased without pre-order in more than 3,500 branches. Dollars can be ordered online at postoffice.co.uk for same day ‘click and collect’ at almost 3,000 branches or for home delivery/next day collection at any Post Office branch. Holidaymakers can also carry cash in up to 13 currencies on the Post Office Travel Money Card, a chip and PIN-enabled MasterCard accepted in millions of locations worldwide.

Travelbag (www.travelbag.co.uk) specialises in creating tailor-made holidays to a range of worldwide destinations that can be booked either online, over the telephone or in one of its eight UK shops (Brighton, Solihull, Cheltenham, Winchester, Alton, Chester, Knutsford and Central London).

¹ The Post Office Long Haul Holiday Report barometer table is compiled from a combination of data supplied by the long haul specialist Travelbag cross-referenced with prices provided by national or regional tourist offices of participating countries except New York, for which prices were researched online. Resorts featured are chosen as representative of the prices that UK holidaymakers will generally find in the country/destination. Random online checks were made to authenticate these prices. Exchange rates used are Post Office internet rates for exchange of £500-£999 on 5 September 2019.

² Local prices have dropped in 15 of 29 resorts or cities previously surveyed by Post Office Travel Money. These are: Antigua (St John), Brazil (Rio), Canada (Vancouver), China (Beijing), Dubai (Jumeirah), Jamaica (Montego Bay), Japan (Tokyo), Mauritius (Grand Baie), Mexico (Cancun), Saint Lucia (Rodney Bay), Seychelles (Mahé), Singapore (China Town), Tobago (various), USA/Florida (Orlando) and Vietnam (Hoi An).