Being sensible, airlines buy their currency and fuel in advance to avoid
being caught short when the price of either rises.
But even they have been caught out in the past 12 months as the price/value
of both has risen way beyond expectations.
So what hope is there for the holidaymaker more used to using a cash machine
at Gatwick on the day of departure? Very little. Clearly, this summer will
be more expensive than the last for travellers. In fact, more pricey than at
any time in the past decade since the euro was introduced. Remember that
time, when francs and lira were rounded up to the nearest euro and prices
abroad shot up by 20 per cent overnight?
The weakness of sterling against the euro this year will mean the biggest
percentage increase since 1998. No wonder holidaymakers are looking at the
US this summer, where the pound still buys two dollars.
Other non-euro destinations such as the Channel Islands, Egypt, Morocco and
Turkey are making concerted efforts to attract British holidaymakers, with
some success. Sales of Turkish lira shot up by 75 per cent in March,
compared with the same period last year, according to the Post Office.
XL.com, the country’s third-largest travel group, has had a 50 per cent rise
in sales to Egypt, compared with an 18 per cent drop to Spain. Martin Lock,
its managing director, said: “The past year’s shift in the value of the euro
has had a significant impact on how far money will go.”
About four million Britons go on holiday in the eurozone each year. Recent
changes in the value of the pound versus the euro are likely to mean that
their trips will cost an extra £800,000 in total this year.
But for the two thirds of us still committed to a continental holiday
(according to kayak.co.uk), the best bet is to order your cash in Britain if
you buy online. Competition is fierce and many providers, including the Post
Office and Thomas Cook offer commission-free currency. But many take a
greater margin on the exchange rate to recoup the costs, so it is still
important to search out the best deal.
Otherwise, your best bet is to economise – not something that many of us are
good at on holiday. Still, given the current parlous state of the economy,
it will be good practice for the rest of 2008.
In Algarve,and the rest of portugal, workmen eat like kings for
between 5 and 9 euros. A tourist can do the same, but not
in the hotter tourist spots. Portuguese food is to die for. For that reason I will never leave. If you want fish, there is no other
place equal in Europe.
geoffrey swain, Almancil, Portugal
Come to Gibraltar. It's sunny, we speak English and prices are in pounds.
Beer is cheaper than in the UK too.
Albert Yome, Gibraltar,
Don't forget Canada as a place for a holiday this summer, where the Canadian Dollar is at par with the American Dollar, meaning that you can get the same two-dollars-for-one-pound advantage that you can get in the United States.
Roy Weston, Vancouver, Canada
Reuben - who on earth would want to stay in the UK, the price of a holiday in-land is astronomical and with the all year round awful weather, is pointless.
Mike, Cheshire,
According to your chart a meal for four, with wine, in Australia costs £170 - that's $360!
My family's had several holidays there and we find plenty of places where a meal for four is only $100. Admittedly that's without wine but Australia's the land of BYO, so that'd add maybe 20 to 40 dollars.
Fiona, London,
Five months ago I was getting 16.47 Moroccan Dirhams to the pound stirling.
Today you get 14 Moroccan Dirhams to the pound.
Plus hotels in Morocco have increased their rack rates by 20% this year, and it doesn't take a genius to see that a holiday in Morocco is not such a good idea. Stay in the UK
Reuben Camara, Morecambe, UK