It now seems that British holidaymakers are now starting to notice that their hard earned pounds are going much further abroad than they use to. This is due to a sharp rise of sterling against 13 of the 20 leading currencies over the past 12 months. Analysis by the Post Office showed that the pound has gained by up to a third against some popular currencies.

Against the Egyptian pound, and the UAE dirham, sterling will buy 15 percent more than in January of 2009. The pound has also strengthened against the dollar by almost 15 percent when compared to last year, although it fell back slightly this week following the government’s announcement that the economy is growing at a slower rate than expected.

The Post Office went on to say that the improvement in sterling’s value has been mirrored by a rise in currency sales. Purchases of Egyptian pounds rose by 9 percent in 2009 while sales of the UAE dirham were up by 6 percent. The growing popularity of Egypt and Dubai has been reflected by a 45 percent increase in sales of the Egyptian pound and a 205 percent increase in sales of the UAE dirhma since 2005.

The much weaker Egyptian pound, combined with low package prices and costs for tourist staples, should also make Egypt a popular destination for 2010. Five-star hotels at three-star prices are what people are expecting to find in Dubai, according to Sarah Munro, the head of travel money at the Post Office. This should help to boost demand for the Emirates again this year among British tourists who will have 19 percent more dirhams in their pockets.

Subscribe for free and recieve the latest Self-Catering-Breaks news and stories
Filed under Business & Finance, Travel News, UK News, World News

• No Related Post

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 9:50 am and is filed under Business & Finance, Travel News, UK News, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.