Corfu Among Best Value for Money Destinations for UK Travelers in 2023

Corfu, Greece.

The Greek island of Corfu is among the top 20 best value for money global holiday destinations for British travelers this year, according to the findings of the Post Office Holiday Money Report 2023.

The 17^th annual edition of the report, which researched more than 2,000 Britons in January 2023, revealed that they are prepared to forgo other lifestyle expenditure to afford a holiday abroad and many will dip into their savings to fund the trip.

According to the report, 57 percent overall and more than two-thirds of families surveyed said they will make cuts elsewhere in their spending in order to afford a trip abroad this year. Meanwhile, 52 percent of holidaymakers saying that holidays abroad are their most important priority after food, energy and other essential bills, and more important than spending on a car or home improvements.

Corfu. Photo source: Visit Greece / E. Fili.

Furthermore, 43 percent of those surveyed, rising to half of families, plan to travel abroad in 2023 because “it’s cheaper than holidays in the UK”. Spain is regarded as the best value destination by 55 percent of people, with Greece (24 percent) and Turkey (23 percent) also scoring well.

Antonio Fellino, Managing Director of online travel agent Travel Republic, which provided local destination prices for the report’s Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer underlined that the demand for holidays is “now back at pre-pandemic levels” with “Britons really looking hard at how they get great value from the package they book and the destination they’re travelling to.”

Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer

Forty destinations were surveyed for the Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer, compiled with the help of Travel Republic as well as national and local tourist boards.

Eight items – a three-course meal for two with wine, cup of coffee, bottle of local beer, can of cola, glass of wine, bottle of still water, suncream and insect repellent – were selected as representative of the purchases UK tourists are likely to make and prices were cross-checked by Post Office researchers.

Source: Post Office.

According to the Barometer, Corfu was the 13^th best value for money holiday destination boasting the 12^th cheapest three course evening meal for two (54.89 UK Pounds), the 8^th cheapest glass of wine (175ml) and the 6^th cheapest 1.5 liters mineral water (0.45 UK Pounds) when compared to the destinations mentioned in the top 20 list.

On the downside, Corfu had the 4^th most expensive bottle (330 ml) of local beer (3.16 UK Pounds), among the destinations included in the top 20 list, and the most expensive supermarket suncream (13.81 UK Pounds).

Other key findings of the barometer include:

• Cape Town in South Africa currently offers the best value for money, with a drop of 7.5 percent in costs. Previous leader, Marmaris in Turkey falls to second in the list.
• Long-haul holiday spots in Vietnam, Bali, Japan and Sri Lanka have all moved up into the top 15 best-value destinations since being off limits to overseas visitors until very recently.
• Portugal’s Algarve is in fifth and again cheapest in the Eurozone, with costs a third higher than last year.
• Prices increases across Europe have seen popular destinations in Spain’s Costa del Sol, Paphos in Cyprus and Funchal in Madeira dropping to 11th, 12th and 14th respectively on the barometer.
• Reykjavik in Iceland remains the most expensive destination surveyed, with total costs of 198.42 UK Pounds for eight essential barometer items. This is followed by the Seychelles and Barbados.
• Sterling’s fall against most foreign currencies has seen a rise in costs in 80 percent of resorts and cities surveyed for 2023.