Be glad you are not from South-Africa or from Down Under

Oktoberfest beer cheaper for many tourists despite price hike.
Published: 14 Sep 09 17:01 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090914-21923.html

The cost of a Maß on the Wiesn will be a staggering:
- 50 percent cheaper than at home for the Norwegians
- 36 percent cheaper for the French
- 25 percent cheaper for the Swiss.

The majority of the Oktoberfest’s visitors come from the United States and Japan, and this year organisers need not worry about inflated prices driving their biggest group of customers away.

A litre of beer is still 40 percent cheaper than in Japan, while Americans will pay just 5 percent more than they would back home.

But not all beer lovers will be so lucky. “Some visitors will be surprised at the cost of beer this year,” Mira Pathak from ECA International said in the study. “Due to fluctuating exchange rates, costs for many foreign visitors will be different – in some cases significantly so – than last year.

”A litre will cost South Africans a whopping three-times as much as their local brews, the study said.

Australians and New Zealanders will also be paying considerably more for their beer than they are accustomed to Down Under, with the average price being 40 percent more expensive.

And while Italians will pay 13 percent less for their beer than they would at home this year, the figure is low compared to last year’s prices, which were 30 percent cheaper.