Travellers See Value Of Pound Fall

• News
• Published: 22 Jun 2009 in Travel and Travel Insurance

British tourists are under increasing pressure to find the cheapest travel insurance deals as new figures show a fall in the pound against currencies in some of the world`s most popular destinations.

Visitors to countries such as America, South Africa and Thailand will struggle to make their money go far after the latest currency figures show steep falls in the value of sterling.

Statistics from Sainsbury`s Travel Money show that the pound has fallen most against the US dollar, dipping by almost 18% in the past year.

It has also decreased more than 15% in value against the South African rand, nearly 15% against the Thai baht, almost 9% against the euro and more than 8% against the Indian rupee.

Sam Marrs, head of Sainsbury's Travel Money, said: "Sadly, the fall in value of the pound means that holidaymakers may need to exchange more money than they did last year.

"For example, if you wanted to take away 500 US dollars, it will cost you almost £55 more to buy this amount of currency than it did this time last year, which makes it all the more important to ensure that you receive a competitive exchange rate and don't pay commission."