Sri Lanka no longer the cheapest tourist destination
Monday, 30 September 2013 01:22
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Country’s rank in UK Post office Travel index drops to five from one
A report that gauges the countries that offer the most in return for tourists’ holiday cash has rated Sri Lanka as an expensive destination for tourists.
According to the latest Post Office Travel Money Long Haul Report Indonesian island of Bali has toppled Sri Lanka from the top spot as the ‘best value’ long-haul travel option in a new list of popular holiday destinations, Daily Mail reported.
Sri Lanka has slipped to the fifth place behind South Africa, Vietnam and Thailand and the decline is attributed to a 45% price rise in costs at Sri Lankan resorts.
Resort costs have fallen in half of long haul destinations – in most cases because of the improving performance of the pound, Daily Mail said.
According to the Daily Mail, the Post Office report found that prices in Bali for 2013 fell by 1% to give the Indonesian island a clear lead over second placed South Africa, while resort prices in Sri Lanka had risen for the second year running.
The Post Office report calculated the cost of 10 tourist staples in the capital Colombo including items such as sun cream, insect repellent and a three-course meal for two with wine to come to a total of £54.45.
Although the average price of a cup of coffee, at 26 pence, was the cheapest across the board, Sri Lanka displayed the biggest cost rise in any of the destinations surveyed, with prices for all 10 commodities 24% higher than in Bali (£43.91), the outright winner.
Vietnam and Thailand took third and fourth place, the Daily Mail reported.
