Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Price comparison: Airport departure taxes around Asia

Frequent road warriors in Asia will be accustomed to a standard feature at airports throughout the region: the airport departure tax. In fact, travelers should always anticipate having to pay an “exit” tax as they travel from country to country (and these taxes can quickly add up for frequent travelers). Hence, it is always a good idea to keep some local currency handy as some airports will only accept cash in the form of local currency or US$.

Keeping this in mind, the Asian Wall Street Journal’s weekly Arbitrage column has recently conducted a survey of airport departure taxes for various cities around Asia. The survey results show that business travelers or expatriates should anticipate keeping about US$25 in local currency handy in order to ensure that they will be able to leave the country they are visiting or living in.

Price Comparison*

Seoul 28,000 Won US$22.43
Tokyo 2,040 Yen US$21.96
Bangkok 700 Baht US$20.51
Singapore S$28 US$19.39
Hong Kong HK$120 US$15.48
Manila 750 Pesos US$15.35
Kuala Lumpur 51 Ringgit US$14.41
Jakarta 110,000 Rupiah US$10.87
* On international flights. Prices are based upon foreign exchange rates September 2, 2009.

From: http://www.moveandstay.com/business-traveler-asia/2009/09/price-comparison-airport-departure.html