UK holidaymakers will find the best-value for money break during 2018 in the Bulgarian resort of Sunny Beach, according to a new report from Post Office Travel Money.
The holiday hot spot on the Black Sea coast has taken the top spot in the annual Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer for the first time, seeing off the likes of the Algarve in Portugal and Japan.
To compile the report, the Post Office compares the cost of eight everyday tourist items in 44 cities and resorts worldwide to see where the pound will stretch furthest.
An infographic showing the average prices of essential holiday items in tourist hot spots across the globe. Sunny Beach in Bulgaria is cheapest
The second half of the top 12 places that are the cheapest for British holidaymakers as the pound stretches further
And with the Bulgarian Lev becoming a fast growing currency, the study found for just £37.92, a tourist could buy a meal for two, drinks, sunscreen and insect repellent – the cheapest out of all the destinations.
Surprisingly, the second cheapest place was Japanese capital Tokyo, where the same items could be purchased for £43.14.
Coming in third was the Algarve where holiday essentials cost £44.25, fourth was Prague in the Czech Republic with the average price was £53.40 and fifth was Cape Town, South Africa where items cost £54.95.
The rest of the top 10 places the pound goes further is the Costa del Sol, Marmaris in Turkey, Paphos in Cyprus, the Croatian destination of Porec and Budapest.
The resort of Sunny Beach in Bulgaria that has been named the cheapest place for Brits to go on holiday to in 2018
However, the report also showed the biggest price falls of all have been in long haul destinations, thanks to a combination of the stronger pound and lower charges in shops, restaurants and bars.
Prices have dropped 36 per cent in Dubai (Jumeirah Beach, £141.23) and 27 per cent in New Zealand (Auckland, £104.80).
Prices have also plummeted in the Caribbean by 31 per cent in St Lucia (Rodney Bay, £99.61) and Antigua (Jolly Beach, £114.18); 27 per cent in Jamaica (Montego Bay, £105.53) and 26 per cent in the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana, £67.46).
Surprisingly, the second cheapest place was Japanese capital Tokyo, pictured, where the eight essential holiday items could be purchased for £43.14
The Algarve in Portugal, pictured, also is good value for Brits with the cost of eight tourist items coming in at £44.25
There have also been significant price falls in two long haul cities that have risen to prominence in Post Office barometers in recent years.
Tokyo remains the cheapest long haul destination and has moved up from eighth to second place in the barometer of 42 global favourites on the back of a 26 per cent price fall.
Cape Town, which has also attracted growing numbers of UK visitors because of its favourable exchange rate and low city costs, returns to the best value top 10.
The top tourist city in South Africa has moved up from last year’s 11th position after registering a 16 per cent drop in prices.
These are the only two long haul destinations to feature in the top 10 as Europe continues to dominate.
However, rising prices mean holidaymakers can expect to pay more in 11 of 12 European resorts and cities.
Prices have risen by a third to £44.25 in the Algarve, last year’s best value destination, which has dropped to third place.
The biggest increase has been in the Costa del Sol, where prices have increased by over 42 per cent to £55.20 – the result of steep increases in the cost of eating out.
The only European destination to register a price fall was Porec in Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula. At £61.54, a drop of 11 per cent has taken the Croatian resort into the worldwide barometer top 10 for the first time, in ninth place.
Meanwhile, France and Italy remain Europe’s most expensive countries for UK visitors.
Prices in Nice have risen almost 17 per cent since last year to £106.45 and are well over double those in Sunny Beach and the Algarve.
Italy is cheaper than France though, with prices in Sorrento (£91.47) 14 per cent lower than in Nice.
Across the Atlantic, Orlando (£71.82) is more cost effective for UK visitors as prices have dropped 11 per cent since last January when the US dollar was much stronger.
New York (£95.88) has also seen a marginal fall in tourist costs – albeit of only one per cent.
In the Far East, Vietnam and Bali have moved further ahead of Thailand. The gap has widened because of a 21 per cent year-on-year price rise in Phuket (£86.27), compared with falls in Vietnam and Bali.
Just outside the top 10, prices in Hoi An, Vietnam have fallen by 21 per cent to £65.85, while those in Kuta, Bali are down one per cent at 66.61.
This means visitors to Phuket are likely to pay around 30 per cent more than in Hoi An or Kuta.
At the foot of the barometer table falling prices in Dubai (£141.23) have helped the Emirate to rise above Singapore (£153.72), which emerges as this year’s most expensive country.