Tokyo 4th in best value destination ranking

Tokyo, typically a staple on lists of expensive destinations and places to live, has been ranked among the best value destinations for U.K.-based travelers in 2024, according to a recent report. 

The Japanese capital ranks fourth on a list of best value destinations in the latest edition of the Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer, published by The Post Office, the British mail and financial services provider, as part of its annual Holiday Money Report.

Tokyo sits between the Algarve (Portugal, fifth) and Mombasa (Kenya, third) in the ranking which is topped by Hoi An (Vietnam). Cape Town (South Africa) in second completes the top five best value destinations in a ranking which suggests that long-haul destinations are likely to offer U.K.-based travelers the best value for money in 2024 on the back of a surge in the value of the sterling.

40 destinations are covered in the holiday costs barometer for which creators surveyed the price of eight items deemed of interest to British holidaymakers, including a three-course evening meal for two (with bottle of wine), suncream and insect repellent. 

While research revealed year-on-year local price increases for items in four out of five destinations, once converted to sterling travelers can expect to pay less than the previous year at 19 long-haul destinations, according to the report.

The total cost of the eight items surveyed for Tokyo came to £59.05 ($74.55 / 11,271 yen), a drop of 16.2 percent compared to the previous year.

A breakdown of the items and their prices in Tokyo, according to the report.

(Prices in sterling match those in the report and are based on the exchange rate on 11 March 2024. Prices in U.S. dollars and Japanese yen are from conversions done by City-Cost at the time of this article’s publication, April 5, 2024.)

Prices for the same items in chart-topping Hoi An totaled £51.18 ($64.58 / 9,766 yen). The Vietnamese city was found to be the cheapest destination for beer, cola, and suncream, according to the barometer. 

The cheapest destinations for the remaining items - coffee, wine, water, insect repellent and a three-course evening meal - were found to be the Algarve (Portugal - coffee and wine), Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), Mombasa (Kenya) and Cape Town (South Africa), respectively.

Tamarindo, a beach and surf town in Costa Rica, represented the worst value destination among the 40 covered in the barometer with prices totaling £158.04 ($199.41 / 30,156 yen).

Prices for the items in Tokyo were not to be found among the cheapest or most expensive. (And, yes, good luck to anyone trying to find suncream as low as SPF15 in Japan.)

Destinations in the barometer were surveyed with the help of national and local tourist boards with items selected to reflect the likely purchases made by tourists from the U.K., according to the report creators.

Many inbound visitors to Japan since the lifting of pandemic-related travel restrictions have been able to take advantage of a weak Japanese yen. On March 27 the yen fell to 151.97 against the U.S. dollar, representing a 34-year low for the currency.

What are your thoughts on Tokyo being fourth in a best value destination ranking? Do the prices in The Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer look about right to you? Let us know in the comments.

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