The first ever travel cost index holiday options for Indians on a shoe string budget, rates Jaipur as the least expensive destination in India. In a recent TripIndex survey, a unique price comparison initiative by a travel website, Jaipur emerges as the least expensive holiday destination for Indians with a total TripIndex cost of barely Rs 3933. Agra comes second with a TripIndex of Rs 4,573.
The survey rates various destinations on the affordability factor. According to Nikhil Ganju, country manager, TripAdvisor (India), "TripIndex is a cost comparison of 11 hot tourist and metropolitan cities in India as well as 50 key tourist cities of the world, tracked against the Indian Rupee." TripIndex is the first of its kind Travel Price Index which provides Indian travellers an insight into holiday spots that fit their budget."
TripIndex is based on the combined cost of one night's accommodation, a core food item, a beverage and a taxi journey to each destination. "Though the parameters for some of these basic items vary for the domestic and international cost analysis, it still gives a very credible benchmark for travelers to estimate expenditure and compare holiday spots keeping their budget in mind," Ganju said.
Though, Mumbai stood at No. 15 among the most affordable cities in the international list, the survey rates 'Maximum city' Mumbai as the most expensive of all metros when compared to New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore, with a TripIndex cost of 7,921. Darjeeling, Goa and Kochi have a TripIndex cost of 6175, 6740 and 6125 INR respectively. These vacation hot spots may be less expensive than the metros, but are nearly 25% more expensive than Jaipur and Agra.
The international TripIndex destination list consists of key cities from each of the 50 countries with the largest number of international tourist arrivals, based on data compiled by the UNTWO. On the International favourites among Indian travellers list, Bangkok emerged as the best value international city, beating 49 cities with the TripIndex cost of Rs 5104.15. "Conveniently accessible Asia is the most affordable continent for Indians. Asia has four out of the ten most affordable cities including Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Macau.
The estimated cost for the most expensive city on the list, Paris, came to Rs 19,553.9, nearly four times more expensive than Bangkok. Other pricier countries were Zurich, Tokyo, London and New York. "Value for money is an important consideration for Indian travellers while planning a holiday. UNTWO TripIndex is a great measure to assess the hit on your wallet for some of the most visited places in India and around the world. It will certainly provide realistic expenditure estimates to help travellers plan their trips," Ganju said.