The ANNOTICO Report
Italy has managed to escape the escalating costs of the
rest of Europe
since the euro was introduced, and should no longer be
seen as an expensive
corner of Europe, which to start with was an undeserved
reputation .
"Italy offers some of the best value for money in Western
Europe. Rising
standards of living across Europe have led to price increases
but Italy
seems to have avoided this."
For instance, vacationing in Ireland cost TWICE as much,
and Norway THREE
times as much!!!!
Who would know better than the "frugal" Scots!:)
The Scotsman
Glasgow, Scotland
By Jonathan Lessware
Sat 14 May 2005
ITALY is now one of the cheapest countries in the euro
zone for a range of
common holiday purchases, according to a new survey.
Once regarded as a pricey playground for the rich, Italy
emerged as the
least expensive destination for a typical "holiday hamper"
of 13 items
including sunscreen, a meal at a restaurant, a bottle
of Coke and a
postcard.
The research also showed that travelling to long-haul
destinations provides
far better value than staying closer to home, with prices
often half of
what they are in Europe.
Using information from national tourist boards for each
of the 12 countries
surveyed, American Express found that prices varied by
around £90 for the
same items. The cheapest, with a shopping bill of just
£65.45 was Thailand
and the most expensive was Norway on £154.60.
The cost of the items in Italy fell by 9 per cent compared
to last year -
the only European country in the survey where prices
dropped.
But the cost of living in long-haul destinations such
as Thailand and South
Africa plummeted, ensuring that sterling stretched even
further in exotic
locations.
A cappuccino in Italy cost just 64p and a three-course
meal for two with a
local bottle of wine cost only £28.42.
In Greece, a favourite UK holiday destination, a coffee
cost £2.84 while
the meal and wine in Norway cost a massive £75.14.
In Italy a bottle of beer at a bar cost just £1.39 and
a bottle of mineral
water came to 71p while in Norway beer cost £3.98 and
water cost £1.54.
But for Thailand, which has overtaken South Africa as
the cheapest country,
the cost for the 13 items was £65.70 where a cup of coffee
cost just 43p
and a meal and wine costs £28.68.
The holiday cost-of-living bill was more expensive in
the two other
long-haul destinations surveyed - Australia and the United
States.
But they still compare favourably with popular European
destinations as
their prices continued to fall compared to last year,
helped by the
continued weakness of the dollar against the pound.
Across the rest of Europe, including Switzerland and Europe,
the cost of
the items continued to rise since last year with the
UK’s favourite
destination, Spain, increasing by a massive 26 per cent
more than last year
at £89.55.
A tube of sunscreen was found to be most expensive in
Ireland, costing
£10.28, while it was cheapest in South Africa at just
£1.16.
South Africa was also the cheapest country for a bottle
of Coca-Cola at 46p
and for a 24-exposure camera film at 74p. It was also
the least expensive
for a three-course meal for two: £26.03, including wine.
France had the most expensive Coca-Cola at £2.48, Spain
and Ireland had the
most expensive camera film at £4.25, and Norway the priciest
dinner with
wine at £74.84.
Travel experts said Italy has managed to escape the escalating
costs of the
rest of Europe since the euro was introduced.
Sean Tipton, of the Association of British Travel Agents,
said the survey
showed that Italy should no longer be seen as an expensive
corner of
Europe.
He said: "It might surprise some people as Italy has always
had an
undeserved reputation as being very expensive. "This
survey clearly shows
that this has not been the case for a number of years.
"Italy offers some of the best value for money in Western
Europe. Rising
standards of living across Europe have led to price increases
but Italy
seems to have avoided this."
Tom Hall, travel information manager at Lonely Planet,
said: "Prices across
Europe have generally increased with the euro coming
in and that has had a
knock on effect.
"I think there are a lot of things you can do in Italy
that are expensive.
A coffee near one of the famous monuments will cost more
than going to a
cafe used by locals.
"But if you shop in supermarkets and go off the beaten
track you will find
it is a cheap place.
"The strength of the pound means lots of places around
the world have
become cheaper, which is why you have seen so many people
going on shopping
holidays to New York.
"South Africa was the place to go a few years ago and
now Thailand is
amazingly cheap because they are trying to attract people
back after the
tsunami."
The survey also looked at the cost of hiring a car for
three days. Quotes
from car-hire firm Hertz for all 12 countries showed
Spain proved by far
the cheapest at just under £37 while Norway cost £139.62
- almost four
times as much.
Brendan Walsh, American Express foreign exchange senior
vice president,
said that the Cost of Living Index was particularly useful
as a barometer
of pricing in the euro zone.
He said: "As was the case last year, the 2005 cost of
living chart
demonstrates clearly that one currency does not mean
one price. The costs
vary significantly for every item that we surveyed -
by £2.03 for a bottle
of Coke bought in a café and £1.41 for a large bottle
of supermarket
mineral water, for example. Overall, the cost in Italy
was virtually half
that in Ireland for the same 13 items."