Currency shock for travellers heading off for Christmas
Tourists exchanging money at UK airport foreign exchange outlets as they set off on Christmas breaks are barely being offered one dollar for each pound, according to the BBC.
It blamed ongoing uncertainty around the Brexit negotiations for sterling’s 11.77% slide against the dollar since April.
Sterling has also fallen heavily against the euro, with some forex outlets offering only 92 cents for every pound.
The pound is now at its weakest against the dollar since April 2017, although the BBC said it has recovered slightly this week since Prime Minister Theresa May won a vote of confidence from fellow Tory MPs.
A little over 10 years ago, the pound was worth more than $2, but this week tourists exchanging money at Heathrow were getting as little as $1.05.
While other factors such as low interest rates are partly to blame, the BBC said experts accepted that Brexit was the main reason for the collapse of the pound.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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