Bulgarian Resorts Named Europe's Cheapest

Bulgaria's resorts are now named cheapest in Europe "for a meal out, cup of coffee and sun cream", a report run by the Daily Mail reads.

It also says the Bulgarian hotspots are "cheaper" than those in Italy, Spain, and Turkey in a research where an "imaginary shopping basket" was used in a survey by Post Office Travel Money.

The outlet first attributes low prices to "low exchange rates and country's high inflation".

(Editor's note: National statistics show consumer prices fell 0.9 year-on-year in December of last year, and it September it registered the EU's largest annual deflation rate).

But another part of the text suggests "higher inflation in some countries" was the reason.

"Bulgaria might not be the first hotspot that springs to mind for a summer holiday - but that could change after it was named Europe's cheapest destination yesterday [Thursday]," the first paragraph of the text reads.

A table titled "Blue Skies on a Budget" shows that almost every item included in the "imaginary basket" is offered at a lower price in Bulgaria compared to other countries.

Its last line shows that price changes from 2014 and 2015 are also more "favourable" in Bulgaria that elsewhere, with a decrease (-13.8%) here compared to -12.7% in Turkey, -0.4% in Italy, and +21.4% in Turkey. Resorts compared are Turkey's Marmaris, Italy's Sorento, Spain's Costa del Sol, and Bulgaria's Sunny Beach. The research shows Bulgaria's prices were down by 13.6% from last summer.

The resort of Sunny Beach is called "a carbon copy of those of Spain and Greece".

Daily Mail's full report can be read here.