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?
The most expensive Big Mac is in Switzerland and is overvalued by an estimated 2.71 in U.S. dollars and the Big Mac in South Africa is undervalued by 1.85 in U.S. Dollars. Based on this South Africa would be the cheapest travel and Switzerland would be the most expensive.
Read the Leffel chapter and the other links provided to derive a list of the 10 cheapest countries for travel.
1. Costa Rica
2.Vietnam
3.Ukraine
4.Romania
5.China
6.India
7.Argentina
8.Cambodia
9.Greece
10.South Africa
From this list, the Big Mac Index and the most inexpensive airfares, find the least expensive destination in the eastern hemisphere for a three-week trip. What criteria did you use to select the country? Insert airfare graphic that shows how you would get to the country. Insert a graphic of an inexpensive lodging. What would be the total cost of the 3-week trip? (The idea here is that cheap lodging over three weeks will counter a more expensive airfare. So, look for the cheapest lodging and find a moderate airfare to that location.) Estimate daily food costs.
Based on the 3 articles the least expensive destination in the eastern hemisphere would be Vietnam. I used this info about the value of each U.S. dollar in each country on the top 10 list than looked up flights to each country that was in the eastern hemisphere and found Vietnam to be the best option.
From this list, the Big Mac Index and the most inexpensive airfares, find the least expensive destination in the eastern hemisphere for a three-week trip. What criteria did you use to select the country? Insert airfare graphic that shows how you would get to the country. Insert a graphic of an inexpensive lodging. What would be the total cost of the 3-week trip? (The idea here is that cheap lodging over three weeks will counter a more expensive airfare. So, look for the cheapest lodging and find a moderate airfare to that location.) Estimate daily food costs.
According to the 10 cheapest countries for travel Costa Rica is the only country on that list in the Western Hemisphere. So, I then made sure it was the best option based on the U.S. dollar’s value and airfares to there.
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 are the United States ranked? Where do your chosen countries rank?
Iceland is ranked the safest place to travel to according to the article above. The U.S. is ranked 121st which isn't too good of a number. Vietnam was ranked 60th and Costa Rica was ranked 40th. Those ranking also played a role in me choosing which countries I choose for this assignment.
" 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. "
Submitted by [Jaci Kuszak] on [2/28/2020].