17 July 2008

British travellers 'avoiding costly eurozone countries'

Almost half of British travellers are avoiding costly eurozone countries in favour of eastern Europe and Scandinavia, a new poll claims.

London is the most popular European city, followed by Manchester, with Rome lagging in third place and short break favourite Paris not even making the top 20.

The research, based on the most popular searches within online price comparison service PriceRunnerââ¬â¢s travel category between January and May, shows other popular cities in the UK to include Edinburgh, Glasgow and Birmingham, which appeals to the British more than the French capital.

A quarter of the top 20 most popular cities in Europe are in the UK.

The poor exchange rate against the euro means that more people are escaping eurozone countries.

Cities such as Stockholm, Copenhagen or Dalaman in Turkey are the most popular destinations outside the eurozone and are all listed within the companyââ¬â¢s top 20 European cities league table.

The most popular cities in eastern Europe include Sofia and Burgas in Bulgaria or Prague.

Poland, estimated to be 23% cheaper than the international average, is in vogue with both Warsaw and Krakow making it into the top 100 most popular cities.

But Dublin is the sixth most expensive city with two pints of Guinness costing visitors Ã&#pound;8 (â'š~¬10).

Despite using the euro, Spanish cities account for 40% of the top 20 European destinations, thanks to prices being three per cent lower than the international average, according to the research
 
Malaga is the second most popular city in continental Europe while other Spanish favourites include Tenerife, Alicante and Barcelona.

With the pound faring better against the US dollar than the euro, travel to North America, where the favoured cities are New York, Los Angeles and Miami, is a popular option.

Thailand, China and Australia are also destinations of choice outside Europe.

PriceRunner managing director Mattias Berg said: ââ¬ÅâœWith the poor exchange rate on the Euro weââ¬â¢re seeing an increase in the popularity of travel within the UK or least outside of the eurozone.

ââ¬ÅâœItââ¬â¢s encouraging to see that weââ¬â¢re taking the time to enjoy our own country and not being put off by European travel altogether.

ââ¬ÅâœBy doing your research before travelling youââ¬â¢ll discover which currencies offer the best exchange rates if appropriate and, more importantly, which countries and cities offer the best value for money.

ââ¬ÅâœHeading to eastern Europe may seem like the obvious answer when it comes to budget travel but letââ¬â¢s not forget that there are cities within the eurozone that offer good value for money too ââ¬' you just need to shop around.ââ¬~
 
Top 20 European cities (source: PriceRunner)

1 London
 
2 Manchester
 
3 Rome
 
4 Malaga
 
5 Alicante
 
6 Stockholm
 
7 Faro

8 Tenerife
 
9 Barcelona

10 Larnaca

11 Amsterdam

12 Majorca
 
13 Copenhagen
 
14 Dalaman
 
15 Dublin
 
16 Nice
 
17 Lanzarote
 
18 Edinburgh
 
19 Glasgow
 
20 Birmingham
 

Top 20 cities in the eurozone

1 Rome
 
2 Malaga
 
3 Alicante
 
4 Stockholm

5 Faro
 
6 Tenerife
 
7 Barcelona

8 Larnaca
 
9 Amsterdam
 
10 Majorca
 
11 Dublin

12 Nice

13 Lanzarote
 
14 Murcia

15 Athens

16 Paris
 
17 Lisbon
 
18 Venice

19 Selonica
 
20 Siena
 
by Phil Davies

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