Weak pound sees Britons travelling farther

In 2009, more British holidaymakers will head for Egypt, Morocco and Turkey as the decreased value of the pound to the euro has made the euro-zone too expensive, according to travel industry experts.

The pound’s slump against the euro has made holidays in the Algarve or Tenerife as much as 25 per cent more expensive, sending increasing numbers of travellers to what is being called the ‘Costa del Kasbah’.

ABTA has reported that Egypt travel demand increased by 28 per cent during 2008, and that Turkey demand rose by 32 per cent – and that the trend was expected to continue in 2009.

Although the pound has weakened against the currency of most countries, high travel, accommodation and daily expense costs in Cyprus, France and Spain mean that destinations such as Egypt, Morocco and Turkey offer better value.

A spokesman for ABTA said: “With the position of the currencies unlikely to get much better we expect people will continue to look further afield to North Africa and Turkey, which offer much better value for money and where you can still find dinner for two for £20.”

A number of tour operators are responding to the decreased euro-zone demand by lowering costs of Spain breaks.

Thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.abta.com