Hanoi, HCMC among cheapest cities in Southeast Asia

(VNF) - Lucky for those who are planning a trip to Vietnam as the country’s two biggest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, just jumped into the top 10 cheapest cities in Southeast Asia for this year.

Hanoi's among the 10 cheapest cities in Southeast Asia this year—good news for those planning a trip to the Vietnamese capital. (Photo: Internet)

Hanoi took the 7^th position, with Ho Chi Minh City securing the 9th spot, on the Cost of Living Index 2018 conducted by Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user-contributed data about cities and countries around the world.

Valenzuela in the Philippines was the city with the lowest cost of living in the region. Aside from the two Vietnamese cities, the rest in the top ten are in the Philippines (PHL) and Indonesia (IDN).

Numbeo measures the cost of restaurants, house renting, groceries and the purchasing power to come up with the average index for the cost of living in each country.

The five most expensive cities in Southeast Asia are Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), Makati (Philippines), Phuket (Thailand), and Johor Bahru (Malaysia).

Numbeo calculated the cost of restaurants, house rental, groceries, and the purchasing power to come up with an average index for the cost of living in each country.

And in other lists

Hanoi made the top 10 on the world’s fastest travel destinations list with a 16.4 per cent annual growth rate in the 2009-2016 period, according to the MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index 2017. Hanoi was placed 7^th, up from 13^th last year.

In February last year, Vietnam was ranked as one of the cheapest destinations by Forbes after the magazine interviewed 14 travel experts who made it their business to keep track of the best bargains around the world to make a list of the most affordable destinations to visit in 2017.

The country stood out as a low-cost travel destination in South Asia for affourdable luxury resorts, healthy food at cheap prices and beautiful sights.

Three months later in May 2017, HCMC was named one of the most affordable cities for a couple's night out by Expatistan.com, a database that compiles the global cost of living.

For a night out with a potential life-long love in HCMC, love birds have to shell out around USD 35, while in Singapore a date may cost them at least USD 80.

The cost of living in Vietnam’s commercial center Ho Chi Minh City is a bit more expensive than in the capital city of Hanoi. (Photo: Internet)

In 2017, the Vietnamese capital welcomed 28.8 million tourist arrivals, up 9 per cent against the previous year and surpassing the set target of 1 per cent. This included 4.9 million foreign visitors, up 23 per cent against the previous year, surpassing the set target of 15 per cent, according to the Hanoi Department of Tourism.

Hanoi tourism expects to welcome 25 million arrivals in 2018, up 7 per cent against the previous year, in which foreign visitors to Hanoi reached 5.5 million, up 11 per cent against the previous year… To reach the goal, Hanoi is increasing communications campaigns and tourism development cooperation abroad, said Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Tran Duc Hai.

In addition, the capital of Vietnam will focus on developing high-quality products at favourite destinations such as the world heritage site of Thang Long imperial citadel, Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and Ho Chi Minh Presidential Palace./.

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