Brits ‘not prepared to forgo sun holidays’
Tuesday, 27 Oct, 2009
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The annual summer holiday is here to stay in spite of the current economic climate, according to a new study.
Bookings may have been left until the last minute, but British holidaymakers were not prepared to forgo the sunshine, the latest American Express Global Foreign Exchange Services Currency Index shows.
Trading and business development directorTerry Perrin said: “Currency sales in the third quarter of this year (July – September 2009), remain on par with previous years, suggesting that despite the tightening of purse strings up and down the country, Brits were just not prepared to forgo their annual summer holiday.
“Undoubtedly the much published no-show ‘barbeque summer’ also helped fuel the trend in last minute bookings and currency sales towards the end of the season.”
He identified significant year-on-year volume increases in currencies for destinations such as Turkey and Egypt by as much as 26% and 60% respectively as holidaymakers looked to countries that offer guaranteed sunshine and value for money.”
UK demand for currencies to long-haul destinations such as Mexico, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica have also increased year-on-year.
This follows a trend seen in the second quarter of the year that holidaymakers are prepared to travel long-haul and outside the Eurozone for value for money destinations.
The findings go hand-in-hand with a decline in demand for currencies linked to traditional mini-break destinations such as Prague and Krakow.
This suggests that many holidaymakers are still opting for more premium holiday destinations but reigning in their overall annual spend by going without mini-breaks, according to the study.
Another ‘long-haul’ currency that has increased in popularity since 2008 is the South African Rand.
Perrin said: “With South Africa being the host to the much anticipated 2010 World Cup, we expect its currency to be a significant ‘mover’ in Q1 and Q2 of 2010, with sizeable volume increases.”
Demand for the United Arab Emirates Dirham has also risen – the only typical longer-haul ‘mini-break’ currency to increase, proving that Brits’ fascination with Dubai is set to continue.
League Table of the Best Selling Currencies in the UK:
|
Current Position
|
Top 25 World Currencies
|
JAN – SEP 2008 Position
|
JAN – SEP 2009 Position
|
08 Vs 09 Position Movement
|
Change in Position
|
|
1
|
Euro
|
1
|
1
|
–
|
0
|
|
2
|
US Dollar
|
2
|
2
|
–
|
0
|
|
3
|
Turkish Lire
|
3
|
3
|
–
|
0
|
|
4
|
Egyptian Pound
|
4
|
4
|
–
|
0
|
|
5
|
Australian Dollar
|
6
|
5
|
Up
|
1
|
|
6
|
Canadian Dollar
|
5
|
6
|
Down
|
-1
|
|
7
|
Bulgarian Lev
|
7
|
7
|
–
|
0
|
|
8
|
United Arab Emirates Dirham
|
9
|
8
|
Up
|
1
|
|
9
|
Thai Bhat
|
12
|
9
|
Up
|
3
|
|
10
|
Mexican Peso
|
11
|
10
|
Up
|
1
|
|
11
|
Swiss Franc
|
10
|
11
|
Down
|
-1
|
|
12
|
Croatian Kuna
|
13
|
12
|
Up
|
1
|
|
13
|
Czech Koruna
|
8
|
13
|
Down
|
-5
|
|
14
|
New Zealand Dollar
|
14
|
14
|
–
|
0
|
|
15
|
South African Rand
|
16
|
15
|
Up
|
1
|
|
16
|
Dominican Peso
|
17
|
16
|
Up
|
1
|
|
17
|
Polish Zloty
|
15
|
17
|
Down
|
-2
|
|
18
|
Norwegian Krone
|
18
|
18
|
–
|
0
|
|
19
|
Kenyan Shilling
|
31
|
19
|
Up
|
12
|
|
20
|
Hong Kong Dollar
|
19
|
20
|
Down
|
-1
|
|
21
|
Singapore Dollar
|
21
|
21
|
–
|
0
|
|
22
|
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