BIRMINGHAM BEST VALUE FOR BANK HOLIDAY CITY BREAK

Birmingham Best Value For Bank Holiday City Break

TripAdvisor’s UK TripIndex reveals cost comparison of UK cities based on an overnight stay

LONDON, U.K. – 20 August 2012: TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site*, today releases its UK TripIndex ahead of the great August bank holiday getaway.

A cost comparison of an overnight stay in key cities around the UK, TripAdvisor’s TripIndex takes into account typical costs for two people having a pre-meal cocktail, a meal out, taxis and a night in a hotel during the month of August.

Beating the top 20 cities in the UK[1], Birmingham is revealed as the best value city, coming in with a total TripIndex value of £139.54. Taking centre stage in the UK this summer, it’s perhaps not surprising that London is the priciest city on the list, with a TripIndex value of £264.71 – almost double that of Birmingham.

“With the last bank holiday of the year approaching, many Brits will be thinking about making the most of it with a short UK break. The TripAdvisor TripIndex helps travellers to see which UK cities offer the best value when it comes to core components of a night away,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson Emma Shaw.

The Midlands emerged as the most affordable part of the UK for a city break, clinching first and second place in the best value list with Birmingham top and Nottingham just behind. At the other end, Scotland is home to three of the most expensive cities – with Edinburgh in third place, Aberdeen in fifth and Inverness in sixth.

When it comes to hotel prices across the 20 cities, although London is the most expensive overall, Edinburgh has the most expensive average rate for a four-star hotel room, coming in at £160.92. For the price of one night in a hotel in Edinburgh, travellers can have almost three nights in a Sheffield hotel.

Top 10 cities to save

	City	Hotel (£)	Taxi (£)	Cocktails for two (£)	Dinner(£)	Total Cost (£)
1	Birmingham	62.69	10.00	8.50	58.35	139.54
2	Nottingham	64.85	11.60	11.00	53.93	141.38
3	Sheffield	60.49	7.90	18.80	57.45	144.64
4	Liverpool	67.95	9.94	16.00	56.73	150.62
5	Newcastle Upon Tyne	70.88	11.60	15.90	54.33	152.71
6	Leeds	65.34	10.00	15.00	63.10	153.44
7	Glasgow	71.00	8.60	17.40	67.40	164.40
8	Manchester	74.51	8.80	15.00	68.07	166.38
9	Cardiff	87.98	10.60	17.00	51.46	167.04
10	Bristol	77.64	13.40	17.00	61.53	169.57

Top 10 cities to splurge

	City	Hotel (£)	Taxi (£)	Cocktails for two (£)	Dinner(£)	Total Cost (£)
1	London	155.51	17.70	21.00	70.50	264.71
2	Bath	154.36	13.30	27.00	69.99	264.65
3	Edinburgh	160.92	12.00	18.20	69.53	260.65
4	Brighton	112.51	13.36	14.00	65.53	205.41
5	Aberdeen	99.99	6.80	13.90	69.23	189.92
6	Inverness	120.73	6.40	8.60	52.47	188.20
7	York	99.94	13.21	17.00	55.47	185.62
8	Chester	79.08	7.00	27.00	66.67	179.75
9	Belfast	77.31	6.20	19.90	69.54	172.95
10	Norwich	77.68	10.00	18.00	67.07	172.75

“Recent Olympic fever may well have reignited a love for all the UK has to offer, but on-going economic concerns mean many Brits are still cost-conscious when it comes to travel. By breaking down the common components that make up a UK weekend city break, the TripAdvisor TripIndex allows travellers to smartly compare where their money will go the furthest,” continued TripAdvisor’s Emma Shaw.

TripIndex:

The full TripIndex is available at http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/InfoCenter-a_ctr.uktripindex_aug12

More on TripIndex

The hotel cost – one of a traveller’s biggest concerns when setting a holiday budget – is based on data from many TripAdvisor partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers, for travel between 1 August and 31 August 2012, providing a highly accurate index.

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For more information contact Hayley Coleman: hcoleman@tripadvisor.com / 020 3194 2150

Notes to Editors

[1] The UK TripIndex destination list comprises key UK cities based on the top 20 cities most searched on TripAdvisor.co.uk in 2011.

TripIndex prices out the following items in each destination:

Per night cost a four-star hotel (between 1 August and 31 August 2012)
Cost of two two mile taxi journeys
Cost of an alcoholic cocktail (dry martini) – for two
Cost of a meal for two (starter and main – salad and steak and chips with a bottle of house wine)

Prices were collected through a variety of research methods as outlined below. The ‘basket’ of items – one night’s accommodation, two two-mile taxi journeys; salad starter and steak and chips two course meal with a bottle of house wine and a dry martini – are representative of the items many travellers will purchase while on holiday.

Hotels: Hotel prices shown specify the average cost of a four-star hotel found on TripAdvisor (via partner booking sites such as online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers) in each destination for the period of 1 August – 31 August 2012). On average, 54 hotels were price-checked to identify the average cost of one night’s accommodation in each city.

Dry Martini: Dry Martini prices shown specify the cost of a traditional dry martini in the main/largest bar in a top-rated five-star hotel on TripAdvisor in each destination. In the destinations where a five-star hotel was not listed on TripAdvisor, a top-rated four-star hotel was chosen.

Dinner for two: Dinner prices shown specify the cost of a two course meal of a salad and steak and chips with a house bottle of wine in a mid-range restaurant in each destination.

Taxi: Taxi prices shown specify the cost of a two-mile taxi journey (return) in each destination. In most cases, data was obtained from the local council or a large taxi company operating in the area. In the approximately 30% of destinations where such information was not available, data was obtained from destination specialists. Please note taxi prices will vary according to a number of factors, including number of passengers, pick-up/drop-off points, traffic, time of day, method of booking, luggage, etc.

All prices shown are as quoted by source.

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