Choosing a Place to
Travel based on Cost
Outline
- Overvalued and undervalued currencies
- Ten common countries in the cheapest countries’
listings
- Least expensive destination in the Eastern Hemisphere
- Least expensive destination in the Western Hemisphere
- Safety Factor
- What do you think of the Leffel quote
Overvalued and
undervalued currencies
Using the formula in the Big Mac Index interactive site, how much is the Big Mac overvalued in the most expensive country, and how much is it undervalued in the least expensive? Which countries would be the cheapest for travel, and which would be the most expensive based on this index?
While looking at the big mac index represented in U.S. dollars, Switzerland was on the top of the chart and was overvalued by 18.4 percent. The country which was on the bottom of the big mac index was South Africa and was undervalued at -62.0 percent. Based on the big mac index the countries such as Switzerland and Norway would be the most expensive to travel to. Norway has an overvalued percentage at 5.3. This means that countries with the Franc or Norwegian Krone will be more expensive to travel too while South African Rand or Russian Rouble are the least expensive countries.
Ten common
countries in the cheapest countries listings
1.Thiland
2.Costa Rica
3.Cambodia
4.Morocco
5.Argentina
6.Mexico
7.Cuba
8.Guatemala
9. S. Africa
10.Vietnam
Least expensive
destination in the Eastern Hemisphere
Once I looked at the Big mac index and the other readings, I began to notice a trend of some countries in which the U.S dollar would have more value. I narrowed my search down to San Jose Costa Rica due to the low cost of lodging and food. I began my search for flights by checking all of the travel sites such as Travelocity, Expedia and others like Kiwi and cheap-o-air. Before I could pick flights, I needed to know which dates would be cheapest to travel and cheapest place to land. I also used google fly to cross check prices of airports in the Costa Rica region to make sure I was flying into the cheapest airport. I found a round trip to San Jose for $534.21 Once I found my flights, I began to search for cheap hotels using some of the same sites I used to search for flights. I ended up finding plenty of options for under 15$ a night. I came across a hotel which was 11$ a night ($227) for the whole trip. Another reason I chose San Jose is due to the lost cost of food per day at around 15$ per day, if you only go for the essentials.
(Flights
Least expensive
destination in the Western Hemisphere
After consulting the readings and the big mac index I had an Idea of which countries in the western hemisphere I’d get more bang for my buck. I ended up choosing Thailand due to the amount of cheap lodging available in the area. This location had also been recommended to me by some friends who visited for spring break back in 2018 and they said the whole trip was budget friendly. I began to search for flights by using all of the well know sites such as Travelocity and Expedia but also some of the less used ones like Kiwi. But before I looked for a specific flight, I googled which months were cheapest to fly to Thailand and where was the cheapest airport to fly into. Once I gathered enough information from travel blogs and websites such as google fly, I began to chart my path. I found a roundtrip flight for $800.96 so I knew I needed cheap lodging costs to bring my overall cost down. Running a google search for cheap lodging in Bangkok came up with some of the same sites I used to look for flights. I found multiple hotels for two with bathrooms, WIFI, and Air conditioning for around 11$ a night ($242) for the whole trip. Since the average cost of food per day is 473 baht (13 USD) this is what I have estimated I will need for food per day.
(Flights)
(Lodging)
Safety Factor
Consider the safety factor in the destination you have chosen. Take a look the Global Peace Index rankings (A ranking of countries based on the Peace Index begins on p. 8.) Which country would be the safest? Where is the United States ranked? Where do your chosen countries rank?
According to the Global Peace Index rankings Iceland is the safest place to travel and Syria is the least safe place to travel. This list was very surprising for me due to where the United States was ranked on the list at number 121. I was always under the impression that the United States is a very safe place in consideration to most of the world. The places I have chosen Costa Rica and Thailand both have better peace rankings than that of the United States. Thailand has a ranking of 141 and Costa Rica has a ranking of 68.
What do you think
of the Leffel quote:
"You'll learn far more than you ever did at a university.
Remember the old days when people got a liberal arts education? They went to
Oxford or Princeton to learn about history, politics, social studies,
geography, religion, foreign languages, and economics. Well you'll learn far
more about all those things by traveling than you ever can in college. Ask
anyone in their 30's how much they remember about these subjects from their
university classes. "Not much" will usually sum it up."
I disagree with his quote due to all of the important and useful tools I have gathered while completing my degree in geography. Although this may ring true for business majors thirty years ago, I feel the education I have received has placed me at an advantage to learn and understand more about places I travel to. I believe getting a degree could also potentially even allow me to travel to more places by providing me with a better job. All of these things that I have obtained will only help me understand and further submerge myself into a different place and culture. I personally do not see how someone without a college education would somehow learn more or be better equipped to learn about things such as social studies, geography, religion and economics. In short educations can only help you and no one said you can’t change your mind or be influenced by travel after college.
Submitted by [Zach Boll] on [2/28/2020].