A Skyscanner survey has revealed that many travellers are mistaken in their perception of how cheap popular tourist destinations are.
A study of 30 popular holiday destinations by Skyscanner revealed that India was perceived to be the cheapest country, but in reality it is only ranked in eighth place even before flights are factored in, proving more expensive than many popular tourist destinations including Morocco, Thailand and Portugal.
While the study showed the Dominican Republic was the cheapest country to be in, once the cost of flights are factored in it slips to sixth position (although it is the only long- haul destination in the top 10), while Poland takes the coveted top spot, closely followed by Spain.
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 perceived as the fourth most expensive destination but in fact was revealed to be ninth cheapest.
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 the 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.
Unsurprisingly, when the cost of flights is factored in, the bottom 10 positions are all occupied by long- haul flights. Australia takes the top spot in the overall cost ranking, while New Zealand jumps from 13th cheapest to being fourth most expensive destination.
Italy benefits from being served by budget carriers, going from the 11th most expensive destination to become the 12th cheapest once the cost of flights is added to the total price.
The flight prices used were the cheapest direct flight available with Skyscanner.net from the UK on set dates.