Hotels.com's Christmas shopping basket uncovers cheapest destinations for Christmas shopping

20 Nov 2013 2037 | World Travel News

AUCKLAND - Hotels.com has taken its Christmas shopping basket around the globe to find which destinations offer the best-value-for-money Christmas gifts!

Hotels.com's Christmas Shopping Basket looks at the price of 13 of the most popular, and world-wide available, presents across 29 countries, to produce a Christmas Global Gift Guide Index, with gifts ranging from iPads to Barbie's Dreamhouse.

Taiwan is top of the pops for bargain hunters this Christmas, on average, returning a combined shopping basket of $1,781.70, followed by Japan ($2,505.91) and Argentina ($2,515.56) in second and third place.

Justifying a shop till you drop holiday, New Zealand ranked 20th on the Index, returning a price tag of $3,836.85, a huge $2055 more than Taiwan's total!

At the other end of the spectrum, Brazil was the country with the most expensive shopping basket at $5,797.76, $2,243.73 more than the global average of $3,554.03.

The Hotels.com Christmas Shopping Basket consists of:

        iPad Air
        iPad with retina display
        Ladies real leather gloves
        Jean Paul Gaultier 'Le Male' Eau de Toilette 75ml
        Calvin Klein socks
        iPhone 5S
        Chloe by Chloe Perfume 75ml
        Spiderman lunch box
        Susan Boyle Home for Christmas album
        Barbie Dreamhouse
        How I Met Your Mother season 7
        Levis 501s (men's straight leg jeans)
        Harry Potter box set (all books)

Katherine Cole, Regional Marketing Director, Hotels.com, Australia and New Zealand said, "Combing Christmas shopping and a trip overseas provides the perfect opportunity to squeeze in a break and escape the stress that can sometimes come with the festive season. Our shopping basket is a great guide for people wanting to indulge in shopping and travel at the one time."

The total costs per country for the entirety of the Hotels.com Christmas shopping basket:

                                     Average price of
    Rank    Country               basket (NZ)
          1 Taiwan                    $1,781.70
          2 Japan                      $2,505.91
          3 Argentina                 $2,515.56
          4 Korea                      $2,537.64
          5 Thailand                  $2,600.80
          6 Switzerland              $2,739.10
          7 Hong Kong               $3,094.62
          8 Canada                   $3,201.66
          9 India                       $3,285.66
         10 Singapore                $3,331.23
         11 Russia                     $3,336.27
         12 Sweden                   $3,368.96
         13 USA                        $3,405.52
         14 Australia                  $3,520.98
         15 Colombia                  $3,543.54
         16 The Netherlands        $3,691.83
         17 China                      $3,716.60
         18 France                    $3,796.46
         19 Ireland                    $3,812.57
         20 New Zealand            $3,836.85
         21 Spain                      $3,912.11
         22 UK                          $3,921.19
         23 Germany                  $3,948.91
         24 Mexico                     $3,990.81
         25 Denmark                   $4,209.96
         26 Italy                        $4,416.56
         27 Finland                     $4,574.37
         28 Norway                    $4,671.80
         29 Brazil                       $5,797.76