Holidaymakers brace themselves for expensive trips abroad

Despite the pound showing recent signs of recovery, British holidaymakers are still bracing themselves for more expensive trips abroad this year as a result of the fall in the value of the pound compared with 12 months ago. New research from Sainsbury's Finance's Travel Money, which offers commission-free foreign currency, reveals that when compared with last year's exchange rates, the pound has fallen in value by 17.74% against the US dollar, for example. This means that £300 will now only get you US$484.56 as opposed to US$589.05 last June. This was the biggest decline in value seen across the currencies of 11 popular holiday destinations researched by Sainsbury's Finance, where the average fall was 9.05%.

The next biggest decline was the South African rand, where the pound has fallen in value by around 15.54% over the past 12 months. This is followed by the Thai bhat (a decline of 14.99%) and the Egyptian pound (a fall of 14%). Of the 11 currencies reviewed, the pound only increased in value against the Turkish lira (up 2.1%).

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 US$500, 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."

Sainsbury's Travel Money is provided by Travelex and offers a range of benefits including: very competitive exchange rates, commission free foreign currency and travellers cheques, in addition to free next-day delivery to your billing address, if ordered by 12pm.

To find out more about Sainsbury's Travel Money, visit sainsburys.co.uk