A study of 30 popular holiday destinations by Skyscanner revealed that India was perceived to be the cheapest country, however in reality the former British colony is only ranked in sixth place, proving more expensive than many popular tourist destinations including Morocco, Thailand and Portugal.

While the study revealed the Dominican Republic to be the cheapest country, in reality once the cost of flights are factored in a very different story is revealed; the Dominican Republic slips to sixth position (although is the only long haul destination in the top 10), while Poland takes the coveted top spot, closely followed by Spain.

Cheaper than perceived are Sweden, Japan and Iceland

Though Sweden was fairly accurately perceived to be the most expensive (it actually came fourth) other nations such as Japan – predicted as fifth most expensive but actually only 14th – proved that tourists are not always aware of the true cost of a destination before they arrive.

Holidaymakers were unaware of the bang for their buck that they could get in Iceland, which was ranked as the fourth most expensive destination but in fact was revealed to be ninth cheapest.

More expensive than perceived are Brazil, US and Egypt.

Brazil is a prime example of misconceptions – the exotic South American nation was the second most expensive in the study but was thought to be far cheaper, falling just outside the top 10 cheapest destinations at number 11.

Other popular holiday destinations underestimated in cost terms by the public were US, perceived as 10th cheapest but actually 21st.

Egypt also showed a major disparity; perceived to be the fifth cheapest destination it was revealed it to be far more expensive, ranking in position 12.