August 26 – (Relaxnews)
Out of 73 major cities worldwide, Tokyo is the most expensive city in which to enjoy a short trip, with Mexico City, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta offering the cheapest getaways, according to the “2009 Prices and Earnings” report published by banking giant UBS on August 19.
The price of the trip largely depends on the prevailing exchange rates, but the survey compiled a basket of 10 goods and services and used the US dollar as the standard currency.
The basket included: an overnight stay for two at a first-class hotel, dinner for two with a bottle of wine, a taxi ride, car rental with 100 kilometers of driving, two tickets to the theater, travel on city-center public transport and a handful of minor expenses such as a phone call.
The cost of travel to the city was not included, which is a major consideration but varies widely for each would-be holidaymaker.
The average worldwide price is roughly $650 for the short, and rather luxurious, excursion.
Regionally, Africa and South America offer the cheapest package rates, Oceania, Eastern Europe and East Asia were in the middle range, with the most expensive trips found in North America, the Middle East and Western Europe.
The widest regional price gap between cheapest and most expensive cities was observed in East Asia, around 40 percent, while Western European cities had the lowest price gap, just nearing 13 percent.
New York City was used as the standardized mean in the survey, with each city indexed against the “Big Apple” for comparison.
USB is a Swiss-based banking firm that releases its “Prices and Earnings” report every three years.
| Most Expensive City Trip | City | Price ($) | Index: NYC=100 |
| 1 | Tokyo | 1,130 | 130.5 |
| 2 | London | 1,000 | 115.4 |
| 3 | Doha | 1,000 | 115.3 |
| 4 | Zurich | 990 | 114.4 |
| 5 | Paris | 990 | 113.7 |
| 6 | Geneva | 940 | 107.9 |
| 7 | Amsterdam | 930 | 106.7 |
| 8 | Dubai | 920 | 106.1 |
| 9 | Frankfurt | 910 | 104.5 |
| 10 | Caracas | 900 | 104.2 |
| 11 | Shanghai | 900 | 103.3 |
| 12 | New York City | 870 | 100.0 |
| Notable Cities | |||
| Singapore | 750 | 86.3 | |
| Dublin | 690 | 79.9 | |
| Chicago | 670 | 77.5 | |
| Sydney | 630 | 72.5 | |
| Mumbai | 550 | 63.1 | |
| Buenos Aires | 510 | 58.2 | |
| Toronto | 470 | 53.9 | |
| Cairo | 470 | 53.6 | |
| Warsaw | 440 | 51.2 | |
| Beijing | 400 | 45.8 | |
| Least Expensive City Trip | |||
| 69 | Nairobi | 360 | 41.8 |
| 70 | Manila | 360 | 41.3 |
| 71 | Jakarta | 330 | 38.3 |
| 72 | Kuala Lumpur | 310 | 36.1 |
| 73 | Mexico City | 290 | 33.1 |