Christmas in Athens, Greece.
Kiev is the most affordable city to see The Nutcracker (5.55 euros) whilst San Francisco is the priciest (106.70 euros). Belfast the most affordable city to buy Christmas gifts. New York is the most expensive city for a Christmassy day.
BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC – Online travel agency Kiwi.com have produced an Index comparing the cost of one festive day shopping and celebrating in 90 cities worldwide. The Christmas Price Index, which is comprised of two sections, first compares the Cost of a Christmassy Day in each of the locations, calculating how much consumers and visitors pay for festive experiences such as a traditional Christmas meal and a ticket to see The Nutcracker. Secondly, Santa’s Price Index compares the price of gifts for an average family, to determine the most affordable cities for Christmas shopping. Kiwi.com hopes their research inspires more travellers experience their much-loved Christmas pastimes in a brand new destination, wherever may suit their budget.
To carry out the research, Kiwi.com began with 90 cities worldwide. They then calculated the Cost of a Christmassy Day by combining the price of one night's accommodation including breakfast, a local traditional lunch, a two-course Christmas dinner, a typical holiday drink, and tickets to see The Nutcracker. All costs are for one person. Kuala Lumpur is shown to be the most affordable city to visit over the holidays and New York the most expensive.
In Santa’s Price Index, which compares the cost of a bottle of men’s fragrance, a women’s perfume, a Princess Barbie and a LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon, Belfast is found to have the most affordable shopping costs, closely followed by the 5 other UK cities featured in the ranking. The United Kingdom’s favourable position in the ranking can be explained by the largely depreciating Pound Sterling over the past year. Jakarta secured the top spot as the most expensive in Santa’s Price Index.
Two Greek cities feature in the ranking. Heraklion calculates as the least expensive Greek city in the study, ranking in position 20 at a cost of 609.34 euros for a Christmassy Day and shopping. This is followed by Athens in position 25 at a cost of 627.85 euros. This compares to Bratislava, found to be the most affordable city for both a Christmas visit and shopping at 493.43 euros, and New York, found to be the most expensive at 1,071.18 euros. Heraklion also calculated in position 19 in the Cost of a Christmassy Day with a total visiting cost of 229.23 euros and in position 57 in Santa’s Price Index with a total shopping cost of 380.11 euros. Athens calculated in position 24 in the Cost of a Christmassy Day with a total visiting cost of 256.41 euros and in position 48 in Santa’s Price Index with a total shopping cost of 371.44 euros.
Further findings from the Cost of a Christmassy Day include:
- The city with the most affordable accommodation is Kuala Lumpur at €49.00. The most expensive city is New York at 500.00 euros.
- The city with the most affordable traditional Christmas lunch is Kuala Lumpur at 7.51 euros. The most expensive city is Tromso, Norway at 49.73 euros.
- The city with the most affordable Traditional Christmas dinner is Prague, Czech Republic at 29.95 euros. The most expensive city is Basel, Switzerland at 195.15 euros.
- The city with the most affordable holiday drink is Jakarta, Indonesia at 80 cents. The most expensive city is Melbourne, Australia at 9.63 euros.
- The city with the most affordable tickets to see The Nutcracker is Kiev, Ukraine at 5.55 euros. The most expensive city is San Francisco, USA at 106.70 euros.
Further findings from the Santa’s Index include:
- The most affordable city to buy men’s fragrance is Mexico City, Mexico at 45.94 euros. The most expensive city is Shanghai, China at 126.12 euros.
- The most affordable city to buy women’s perfume is Santiago, Chile at 7.22 euros. The most expensive is Jakarta, Indonesia at 223.64 euros.
- The most affordable city to buy a Princess Barbie is Shanghai, China at 9.05 euros. The most expensive is Santiago, Chile at 47.54 euros.
- The most affordable cities to buy a LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon are the six cities from the UK featured in the ranking, Manchester, Edinburgh, London, Brighton, Lincoln and Belfast at 106.71 euros. The most expensive is Buenos Aires, Argentina at 293.39 euros.
“Whether you’re travelling to see relatives this year, thinking of taking your family on a festive holiday or simply curious – The Christmas Price Index provides fascinating insight into the economics of the holiday season around the world,” states Oliver Dlouhy, CEO of Kiwi.com. “We found The Nutcracker results especially interesting, and were amazed to see the show featured in so many cities worldwide."
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
