Australia: the world's biggest rip-off?
After posting a pic from the Novotel of a $9 bottle of water, Twitter's Chris Ledlin opened the floodgates on the cost of holidaying in Australia.
"The message to tourists is don't come back to Australia because it’s a rip-off place, everything is ridiculously expensive," Australian businessman Dick Smith said.
Research shows Australians are paying some of the highest prices in the world for every day items.
A big mac in Australia is $4.78, whereas in the US it is $4.26 for the same ingredients.
It’s almost double the cost here for a pint of beer than in the UK and the average bus or train fair is eight times more expensive than Hong Kong.
“It's an outrage that we're having to pay these extreme prices, not just expensive bottles of water, but it's digital products and services, it's cosmetics, clothing… Australia is being slapped with a tax on these products unnecessarily,” Choice’s Tom Godfrey said.
The word is travelling fast about Australia’s prices.
Tourism Australia declined to comment.
As for their $9 water, Novotel says its mini bars rarely make a profit and that guests are paying for convenience.
