Bratislava and Kyiv cheapest cities to enjoy Christmas cheer, survey finds

Bratislava and Kyiv cheapest cities to enjoy Christmas cheer, survey finds
Bratislava is the cheapest city in the world to enjoy Christmas shopping, eating, drinking and entertainment. / Photo: CC
By bne IntelliNews December 23, 2016

A survey by online travel agency Kiwi.com has produced a “Christmas Price Index” that shows Bratislava and Kyiv to be the two most affordable capitals in the world to enjoy Christmas shopping, eating, drinking and entertainment.

The Czech-based online travel agency compared the cost of one festive day of shopping and celebrating in 90 cities worldwide. Its resulting Christmas Price Index (CPI) is comprised of two sections: the first compares the "Cost of a Christmassy Day" in each of the locations, calculating how much consumers and visitors pay for festive experiences such as a traditional Christmas meal and a ticket to see "The Nutcracker"; the second produces a "Santa’s Price Index" that compares the price of gifts for an average family, to determine the most affordable cities for Christmas shopping.

After the Slovakian and Ukrainian capitals, the next CEE cities to figure highly in the list for affordability are Warsaw in 6th spot, Sofia in 7th, Krakow in 12th, Zagreb in 13th and Moscow in 18th.

Surprisingly, more expensive that what is considered to be pricey Moscow, are Riga (21st), Budapest (22nd), Prague (28th) and bottom of the CEE list Bucharest (32nd). New York was the least affordable city in 90th spot.

Delving into the categories, it turns out that the city with the most affordable traditional Christmas dinner is Prague at €29.95, with the most expensive city Basel, Switzerland at €195.15. And the city with the most affordable tickets to see The Nutcracker is Kyiv at €5.55, with the most expensive city San Francisco at  €106.70.

“Whether you’re travelling to see relatives this year, thinking of taking your family on a festive holiday or simply curious - The Christmas Price Index provides fascinating insight into the economics of the holiday season around the world,” states Oliver Dlouhy, CEO of Kiwi.com. “We found 'The Nutcracker' results especially interesting, and were amazed to see the show featured in so many cities worldwide.” 

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