UK travellers planning a spell abroad in 2013 are set to receive a serious hit to their holiday spending power, after the pound recently hit a 12-month low against the euro and the US dollar. (Featured image is by J D Mack)
Research from the Post Office shows that Brits converting £250 into dollars today are set to be £10.64 worse off compared to exchange rates exactly one year ago.
A fall of more than 7 per cent in the value of sterling against the euro also means that holidaymakers will get less bang for their buck on the continent, with £250 buying £14.29 less than it would have a year ago.
The pound has also plummeted in value against other European currencies over the past 12 months, including the Turkish lira (-1.6 per cent), the Bulgarian lev (-4.8 per cent) and the Croatian kuna (-4.2 per cent).
Those tourists visiting Scandinavia this year are set to be the worst affected, with the pound falling by 6.1 per cent against the Norwegian krone over the last 12 months, and dropping by a figure of 10.3 per cent against the Swedish krona.
However, the news isn’t all doom and gloom for Brits abroad as the pound has still proved that it is a currency to be reckoned with in a number of long-haul destinations.
Sterling has gained strength against a number of currencies in a year-on-year comparison, including Japan (+14 per cent), Argentina (+12 per cent) and Brazil (+ almost 11 per cent).
Increases were also recorded in the value of the pound against the Sri Lankan rupee (+almost 5.4 per cent) and the Egyptian pound (+8.6 per cent).
Andrew Brown, Head of Travel Money at the Post Office, said that UK holidaymakers are increasingly checking the value of sterling against other currencies before they book their overseas break.
“The destinations which benefited last year were those where the power of the pound put more money in the pocket or where the price of meals and drinks meant holiday cash stretched further – and often a combination of the two. We expect to see the same pattern emerging in 2013,” he said.
