Tourists urged to consider long-haul

By Chris O'Toole

Travel specialist Journey Latin America has argued tourists should be looking long haul if they want to get the best value for money from their annual holiday in 2009.

The tour operator recently carried out a comparison between luxury holidays in Argentina and the South of France, which revealed that South America was the cheaper option, even when airfares were taken into account.

Journey Latin America compared the uber-chic Hotel Costes in Paris with a high-end boutique hotel of a similar standing in the vibrant Argentinean neighbourhood of Palermo and found the latter to be almost a third cheaper.

The research found the price for a seven-night stay at Hotel Costes started at £3,407 per person, whereas the Bobo Hotel in Palermo costs from just £1,218 per person for a week's stay.

Even with return flights to Buenos Aires, typically costing around £700 per person, a trip to Argentina still works out at nearly half the price of a luxury hotel stay in Paris.

Journey Latin America's findings also highlighted the value of Latin American food, drink and activities compared to similar products available throughout Europe, argues the company.

Salsa lessons, theatre tickets and dining in some of Latin America's finest restaurants were identified as being as much as 70 per cent cheaper than their European counterparts.

The research also found beachfront dining in Cannes, France would set travellers back £50 while a similar meal in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro would cost £15.