Brits battle for holiday in the sun
Ferry Online Travel News 29/10/2009
UK travellers heading abroad despite tough economic conditions
The global recession has forced many people to tighten their budgets and cut back on a number of little luxurious. While British people are happy to do without treats such as going to the cinema, eating in restaurants and redecorating their houses, it seems that there is one thing they simply refuse to live without.
For many British people, their two weeks in the sun is the highlight of the year. The annual summer holiday simply cannot be passed over, which is reflected by the most recent American Express Global Foreign Exchange Services Currency Index.
Terry Perrin is the Director of Trading and Business Development at American Express Global Foreign Exchange Services. In a recent interview he revealed that: “Currency sales in the third quarter of this year, 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.”
According to Mr Perrin, there has been a surge in people booking last minute trips to Turkey and Egypt, as these exotic destinations guarantee plenty of sunshine. He expects that these two destinations will continue to be popular in 2010, with new package deals tempting more and more people to travel further afield.
Terry Perrin went on to say that: destinations such as Turkey and Egypt had continued to record year-on-year volume increases. The increases have been by as much as 26% for Turkey, and and 60% for Egypt, as holidaymakers continued to look for more destinations that guarantee sunshine and value for money.
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