A pocket guide

A croissant and coffee for Channel ferry day trippers to Calais now costs over 10 per cent more than last summer, with sterling at its weakest rate against the euro since March 2012.
CroissantCroissant
Croissant

Sterling hovers at about 1.17 euros, against 1.29 last summer.

The weakening pound, partly caused by the £600bn surge in Government debt up to 2015, threatens higher inflation here and less spending power abroad.

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Bob Atkinson at Travelsupermarket.com says: “Sterling has been sliding slowly for the past five weeks, but hasn’t plummeted yet. Concerns are probably greatest among those bound for eurozone and dollar currency areas.

“If I was a paying customer who had already booked a holiday in Europe this year, I would use spare money to buy some foreign currency now. If it holds up or even rises, leave it as late as possible and change money just before you go.”

However, in Eastern Europe, city breaks to Budapest, Prague and other capitals could benefit: British visitors get up to 23 per cent more foreign cash for their pounds than a year ago.

Noel Josephides at Sunvil Holidays says: “From the customer viewpoint, we are still months away from the main summer season, and things could go either way from here. To say all summer holidays will cost more is premature.

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“Remember that destinations like Greece and Portugal have severe domestic problems: prices of many things, including restaurant meals, have fallen anyway, to enable locals to keep buying.”

At Jewel in the Crown Holidays, a Turkey specialist, managing director Platon Loizou says: “We contract holidays in sterling and pay in sterling, but bookings are 10 per cent up on last year because people regard Turkey, outside the eurozone, as so cheap.

“In the May-June shoulder season, our seven-night stays in resorts like Turunc and Hisaronu start at £289 to £299, with two weeks from £329 to £339. It’s cheap to eat out, so sterling prospects don’t worry our customers.”

Andrew Brown, head of travel money at Post Office, says: “The pound may have plunged more than four per cent against the euro since early-January, but the better news for Brits heading abroad is that sterling remains stronger or has held its value against 65 per cent of the Post Office’s 40 bestselling currencies since last January.

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“Equally, Post Office Travel Money rate comparisons show sterling has only fallen by more than two per cent against six currencies. Biggest falls are against the Thai baht (-3.5 per cent) and Norwegian krone (-3.6 per cent).”

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