Maltese shoppers get 20 per cent more goods and services with the euros in their pockets when compared to those in other European countries, a recent study has found.
A comparative analysis of purchasing power (how much you can buy with your money) published by Eurostat found that a bag of goods that would cost an average of €100 in the eurozone would be bought for €83 in Malta.
By way of comparison, the same purchase would cost a whopping €148 in Norway and just €48 in Bulgaria, the country where euros go the furthest.
The Eurostat study was conducted among a group of 37 European countries, including the 28 EU member states.
Maltese tourists travelling to northern Europe may have been unpleasantly surprised when handed hefty bills for eating out when compared to dining back home. According to the study, this is because restaurants in countries like Ireland cost a third more than those back home.
The same could be said about accommodation. So, for those looking to travel on a budget, why not consider the coast of the Czech Republic, where hotels cost half the price of those on the Italian costa.
Italy, along with Germany, sits right on the purchasing power average, with shoppers spending about some 20 per cent more than Maltese shoppers for exactly the same stuff.
Portugal is the cheapest western country in the eurozone as a €100 in Germany is worth about €122 in Lisbon. On the other side of the coin, spending €100 in Luxembourg gets you the least of any of the eurozone countries – €68 worth.
The study found that while certain goods and services were cheaper in Malta, others were noticeably more expensive.
For instance, Maltese mobile phone users pay their network provider about €87 for calls and data, which would cost €10 more in the rest of the eurozone.
On the other hand, furniture and consumer electronics were more expensive in Malta than the eurozone average. And large household purchases, like fridges and washing machines, were more expensive in Malta than anywhere else. A €147 vacuum cleaner in Malta would cost €110 in the UK, for instance.
Grocery in Malta costs the exact same as the eurozone average.