Brits plan holiday escapes after decisive election result

After the decisive General Election result, the latest Holiday Confidence Index (HCI) report from First Rate Exchange Services reveals that seasoned holidaymakers plan to take advantage of the strong pound to plan trips to Europe. Significant numbers of Brits are planning overseas jaunts this summer. Significant numbers of Brits are planning overseas jaunts this summer. From more 5,000 consumers surveyed in a YouGov poll for the Spring 2015 HCI, well over half (56%) will travel abroad in the coming months and nearly half of them (49%) have already booked their first trip overseas. Almost three-quarters will visit Europe where exchange rates are in their favour. Almost two-thirds (64%) of British tourists are heading off to the eurozone, attracted by the increasingly powerful pound and the fact that falling resort prices mean a cumulative drop of around 20 per cent in popular places like the Algarve and Corfu, according to the latest Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer. A further eight per cent will travel elsewhere in Europe and benefit from the fact that sterling is also surging against currencies like the Croatian kuna, Bulgarian lev and Turkish lira. Although three-quarters of holidaymakers plan to peg the price they will pay for their package or independent booking, nine per cent of them intend to take more travel money abroad – a two per cent year-on-year rise – and 10 per cent expect to spend more while away, a one per cent increase since spring 2014. Furthermore, once they have chosen their destination, a significant proportion of holidaymakers (48%) say they will purchase travel cash before they need it to get a good exchange rate. In fact, separate YouGov research for First Rate Exchange Services has shown that almost one-in-five (18%) of Britons travelling this summer have already purchased travel money for their trips – indicating a readiness to buy forward when sterling hit a peak. More than a third say that falls in the price of fuel caused by a combination of the powerful pound and the sharp decline in crude oil costs is having a positive impact on their holiday plans. This suggests there could be an increase in demand for motoring holidays instead of flight-inclusive packages as holidaymakers seek to benefit from lower transport costs on the ground. Post Office Travel Money research has found that Britons driving in the eurozone can save up to 27 percent on pump prices at the moment – depending where they drive. Austria offers the best savings compared with a year ago. Research for the Spring HCI report also supports the latest ABTA Travel Trends Report, which show that city breaks are now more popular than beach holidays. More HCI survey respondents say they intend to take short breaks lasting 1-3 nights. The growth trend is most marked for second holidays abroad – now accounting for 10 per cent of those second holiday bookings compared with seven per cent last autumn. People planning trips abroad are also far more bullish than others about the state of the nation’s finances and their own financial position. Almost seven-in-ten are confident of being able to meet their financial obligations and 47 per cent believe their job will be secure for the coming year. Furthermore, a third of them expect to see the economy improve. By contrast only 22 per cent of respondents who do not propose to travel abroad expect to see economic recovery and this, together with uncertainty about what will happen after the election, may explain why there are more of them than a year ago. 26 per cent of survey respondents – up from 24 per cent a year ago and last winter – now say they will not holiday abroad in the coming year. sourced:traveldailymedia.com