London ‘most expensive city for night out’
As Britain gets ready for next month’s Olympics, a new survey finds London is the most expensive city in the world for an evening out.
The capital tops the list in a cost comparison of an evening out for two people in key tourist cities around the world.
The TripAdvisor TripIndex is tracked against the British pound and is based on the combined costs for two people of one night in a four-star hotel, cocktails, a two-course dinner with a bottle of wine, and taxi fares.
London, which hosts the Olympics next month, topped the list as most expensive with a cost of £330.45.
Hanoi in Vietnam offers the most affordable night out for British travellers, with a total cost of £89.93.
TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma Shaw said: “The list shows that many Asian cities, along with some European cities – like Warsaw and Sofia – are very affordable once you’re on the ground.
‘Bangkok hotels cheapest’
“Some cities traditionally considered expensive – like London, Paris and New York – actually cost three times more than the cheaper cities in the list for an evening out.”
Hotel costs were the pivotal factor in determining the cheapest and most expensive cities on TripIndex, claims the survey.
The cheapest average hotel room goes to Bangkok at £51.68 per night, while the most expensive goes to London, at £230.39 per night.
Southeast Asia featured heavily in the 10 cheapest destinations, claiming four cities in total, including the cheapest city for Brits, Hanoi.
In addition, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta ranked third, fifth, and ninth.
Europe dominated the most expensive list with seven of the top 10 destinations, with London taking the top spot. Oslo, Zurich, Paris, Stockholm, Moscow, and Copenhagen took second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth places respectively.
In January, the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympics confirmed 120,000 hotel places it had reserved for workers, sponsors and the media are no longer needed.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Locog) said around 20 per cent of spaces were put back on the market.
Experts believed the reappearance of the rooms would drive down prices.
