Turkey is the cheapest tourist country in Europe, while Portugal has the best price for restaurants and hotels, according to a Euronews Business analysis of Eurostat price data, which looked at seven of the continent’s most popular tourist destinations.
The comparison included prices of a broad spectrum of consumer goods and services in national average prices in Turkey, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Italy and France. Whilst prices in key tourist resorts may differ from those in the country as a whole, the figures offer a good indication of what tourists can expect when planning their summer holidays in these areas.
Turkey was the cheapest destination in terms of prices of goods and services based on the Household Final Consumption Expenditure price index as calculated by Eurostat, which monitors the average price of over 2,000 goods and services. Generally, a set of goods and services worth €100 in the European Union is worth €59.60 in Turkey, which is approximately 40% cheaper than the European Union average.
France had the highest average price of all the countries in the survey, which was just above the EU average of €100.30. Italy was next at €97.10, with the overall price levels of Spain, Greece, Portugal and Croatia all being lower than the European average.
There were also larger disparities in the costs for accommodation and food and drink. The lowest prices were in Portugal, with the price index of 73.6, indicating that visitors could pay for less than 27% of the EU average for hotels and restaurants. Turkey was in second place here with 78.3; Spain and Greece also scored below the European average.
In terms of accommodation and restaurant prices, France was the most expensive destination, followed by Italy.
There was not as much variation in food prices between the countries. The average cost of groceries was highest in France, where food prices are nearly 8% higher than the EU average. Turkey was the cheapest to shop for food, with Spain as the sole European country to have food prices lower than the European benchmark.
In one category Turkey was unique for another reason – alcohol. Alcoholic drinks were the most expensive of all items among the countries surveyed, although the cost of alcoholic drinks was the least of all items in total cost. The prices on alcohol were over twice the EU average, mainly due to the high tax on alcoholic beverages in the country.
Alcohol prices were lowest in Italy and also in Spain, which were lower than the European average. Relatively high prices for alcoholic beverages were found in Greece and Croatia.
Tobacco prices were also considerably lower in Turkey than in any other country, and public transport was the cheapest of all destinations. The only EU Member State with a higher average cost for public transport than the EU average was France.
Prices of the seafood were generally equal and there were only minor country variations across all seven destinations.
The figures indicated in the analysis represent the average for the country and not for each holiday resort. It also fails to take into account differences in income levels and the affordability may vary depending on where travellers are coming from.
