San Francisco Tops New York As Priciest U.S. City For Getaways This Summer

London and Paris Named Most Expensive International Escapes, While Asian Destinations Offer Affordability

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Jun 12, 2014, 06:00 ET

NEWTON, Mass., June 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced its annual TripIndex Cities cost comparison study, revealing San Francisco as the most expensive U.S. city for 2014 summer travel, while Las Vegas holds its claim as the most affordable U.S. spot for the fourth consecutive year of the report.

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TripAdvisor reveals San Francisco as the most expensive U.S. city to visit this summer (PRNewsFoto/TripAdvisor)

TripIndex Cities compares the cost of an evening out and overnight stay in 67 key tourist cities around the U.S. and world, taking into account typical costs for two for cocktails, a two-course dinner paired with a bottle of wine, round-trip taxi transportation, and a one night stay in a hotel during the summer travel months from June to August.

"Travelers are eager to get out and explore this summer, and with hotel prices in major U.S. and global cities down six and seven percent, respectively, travelers will be able to find more affordable stays and dedicate a bigger chunk of their budgets to meals and entertainment," said Brooke Ferencsik, director of communications for TripAdvisor.

Priciest Places

Coming in with a daily TripIndex cost of $508, San Francisco emerged as the most expensive city on the U.S. list, followed by New York City ($501) and Boston ($491).
London ($520) shot up six spots from last year to be crowned the costliest destination on the international list, with Paris ($510) and New York City¹ ($501) close behind.
Western and northern Europe lay claim to seven of the 10 most expensive international spots: London (#1), Paris (#2), Stockholm (#4), Oslo (#5), Zurich (#6), Copenhagen (#7) and Helsinki (#8).

Spots to Save

At a TripIndex cost of $276, Las Vegas is the least expensive U.S. destination for the fourth consecutive year, while Miami ($311) and Atlanta ($314) round out the top three least expensive spots.
Six of the 10 most affordable U.S. destinations are in the South: Miami (#2), Atlanta (#3), Orlando (#4), New Orleans (#5), Houston (#6) and Dallas (#7).
Hanoi ($153) is the best value international destination, followed closely by Jakarta ($158), and Sharm el Sheikh ($159).
Asian destinations top the best value list with five of the 10 most affordable spots: Hanoi (#1), Jakarta (#2), Bangkok (#4), Mumbai (#7), and Kuala Lumpur (#8).
Travelers looking for an affordable European escape should head eastward, as the region features three of the 10 best value international destinations: Sofia (#5), Prague (#9) and Budapest (#10).

U.S. Hotel Prices Down This Summer

Hotel prices² have decreased in 15 of the 20 examined U.S. cities since last summer, with the average nightly hotel rate amongst the U.S. TripIndex cities down six percent overall; however, spots around the Pacific Northwest have seen surges, while room rates in warm-weather spots including Orlando and Honolulu have significantly cooled down.

U.S. cities with the largest change in summer hotel prices, 2013-2014:

Largest increase	Largest decrease
1. Portland (+16%)	1. Orlando (-31%)
2. Seattle (+15%)	2. Honolulu (-21%)
3. San Francisco (+9%)	3. Philadelphia (-18%)

TripIndex U.S. Cities

Least Expensive:

	Destination	Hotel	Return taxi trip	Dinner for two	Cocktails for two	Total cost	YoY Rank Change*
1	Las Vegas, NV	139.26	21.32	84.78	30.67	276.03	0
2	Miami, FL	186.87	19.01	78.74	26.67	311.29	0
3	Atlanta, GA	200.41	17.20	72.70	24.00	314.31	+1
4	Orlando, FL	202.25	17.69	78.38	24.67	322.99	+8
5	New Orleans, LA	210.55	16.53	72.95	23.33	323.36	+1
6	Houston, TX	221.37	16.64	77.41	22.83	338.25	+1
7	Dallas, TX	222.28	16.86	77.95	22.00	339.09	-4
8	Philadelphia, PA	227.51	21.93	74.99	28.00	352.43	+2
9	Minneapolis, MN	241.04	18.66	74.80	20.00	354.50	-1
10	Denver, CO	249.71	15.64	79.70	21.33	366.38	-1

Most Expensive:

	Destination	Hotel	Return taxi trip	Dinner for two	Cocktails for two	Total cost	YoY Rank Change*
1	San Francisco, CA	380.92	24.18	79.98	22.67	507.75	+3
2	New York City, NY	363.74	18.30	84.62	34.50	501.16	0
3	Boston, MA	363.06	21.20	82.80	24.00	491.06	0
4	Seattle, WA	359.72	21.44	80.60	22.00	483.76	+4
5	Honolulu, HI	307.03	23.43	78.39	22.33	431.18	-4
6	Chicago, IL	297.19	18.98	79.33	27.33	422.83	-1
7	Los Angeles, CA	276.59	22.50	81.40	28.00	408.49	-1
8	Washington, D.C.	271.11	20.25	85.78	24.00	401.14	-1
9	Portland, OR	280.09	19.10	68.09	24.67	391.95	+7
10	San Diego, CA	269.71	21.71	77.70	22.00	391.12	0

TripIndex International Cities

Least Expensive:

	Destination	Hotel	Return taxi trip	Dinner for two	Cocktails for two	Total cost	YoY Rank Change*
1	Hanoi, Vietnam	98.98	5.14	34.16	14.61	152.89	+1
2	Jakarta, Indonesia	90.81	2.89	38.35	26.35	158.40	+19
3	Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt	92.14	3.79	48.14	15.42	159.49	+1
4	Bangkok, Thailand	85.72	3.49	50.34	22.58	162.13	+2
5	Sofia, Bulgaria	95.09	11.04	71.04	10.39	187.56	- 4
6	Cape Town, South Africa	119.54	13.15	52.21	5.51	190.41	+3
7	Mumbai, India	127.32	6.85	39.08	17.42	190.67	+9
8	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	101.55	3.54	59.30	31.17	195.56	-1
9	Prague, Czech Republic	125.31	7.10	49.92	15.28	197.61	+11
10	Budapest, Hungary	109.58	12.95	52.46	25.22	200.21	-5

Most Expensive:

	Destination	Hotel	Return taxi trip	Dinner for two	Cocktails for two	Total cost	YoY Rank Change*
1	London, U.K.	315.57	36.88	128.40	39.01	519.86	+6
2	Paris, France	327.60	28.71	101.88	51.65	509.84	+3
3	New York City, U.S.	363.74	18.30	84.62	34.50	501.16	+1
4	Stockholm, Sweden	236.75	27.94	171.00	42.58	478.27	-1
5	Oslo, Norway	199.53	56.30	163.41	36.46	455.70	-4
6	Zurich, Switzerland	296.52	42.97	77.17	36.86	453.52	-4
7	Copenhagen, Denmark	242.31	46.25	100.62	32.47	421.65	+1
8	Helsinki, Finland	200.46	38.24	118.76	22.25	379.71	+5
9	Toronto, Canada	230.32	25.43	90.52	29.87	376.14	+7
10	Sydney, Australia	196.00	22.65	130.02	26.15	374.82	-4

Notes to Editors:

The international TripIndex Cities 2014 destination list comprises one key city from 48 of the 50 countries which receive the largest number of international visitor arrivals (data compiled by the UNWTO).

¹New York City was the only U.S. city evaluated for the international list

The U.S. TripIndex list consists of 20 popular editorially selected cities, focused on large and popular tourism markets.

TripIndex prices out the following items in each destination to represent the cost of a night out for two people:

One night's accommodation in a 4-4.5 star hotel
Cocktails for two people
Dinner for two (two courses and a bottle of house wine)
Return taxi transportation (two taxi rides of two miles each)

Prices were collected through a variety of research methods as outlined below. Prices were taken in local currencies between March and May 2014 and converted into USD (where applicable) on March 31, 2014.

Hotels: Prices specify the average per-night cost of a room at a 4-4.5 star hotel found on TripAdvisor's Hotel Price Comparison in each destination for the summer travel period (June 1 – August 31, 2014).
²The 2013 TripIndex Cities examined 4 star hotels for the same summer 2013 travel period.

Cocktails for two: Prices specify the average cost of two martinis from a top-rated, five-star hotel on TripAdvisor in each destination. Prices were averaged from four to ten five-star hotels in each destination.

Dinner for two: Prices specify the average cost of a traditional or common two-course meal (appetizer and main course) for two people with a bottle of house (or cheapest available) white wine. Prices were averaged from four to ten mid-range restaurants in each destination.

Return taxi trip: Prices specify the approximate cost of two taxi rides of two miles each (representing an evening's round-trip transportation). Data was taken from local authorities and taxi companies.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching nearly 260 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 150 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 41 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

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