Spain Best Value

The new Holiday Spending Report from Post Office Travel Money reveals that 80 per cent of UK holidaymakers now rate their safety abroad as most important. However, cost remains a key factor in destination choice, even though the new research found that two-thirds of UK tourists bust their budget once they get to their holiday hotspot – overspending by an average of 26 per cent.

Seventy-nine per cent of those surveyed said the cost of getting to a resort influenced their destination choice and 72 per cent voiced concerns about resort costs, with almost half (47 per cent) citing the value of sterling as an important element in choosing where to holiday. Also, three-in-five (59 per cent) rated package holiday price discounts as important.

Despite these cost concerns, while almost four-in-five (78 per cent) of holidaymakers set a budget for their last trip, only a third of them stuck to it. On an average budget of £747 per couple, the Post Office research found that the other two-thirds spent £195 more than they intended – adding up to a collective overspend of £1.55 billion.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “With the pound giving UK tourists less bang for their buck, it is surprising to see that overspending is continuing at the levels seen in previous years.What’s more, since the average budget set virtually matches the amount of foreign currency that holidaymakers took with them in cash⁴, this means they incurred charges by changing money at an ATM or paying on plastic to cover their overspending.We urge them to consider budget carefully this year to avoid paying through the nose.”

When holidaymakers who had visited a destination before were asked where they rated good value, Spain (visited by 56 per cent of the survey sample) topped the chart with an approval rating of 90 per cent.In contrast, only 74 per cent of those who had visited Bulgaria rated it good value.

Although Spain emerged as one of the cheapest destinations in the latest Holiday Costs Barometer, runner up Turkey, with an 89 per cent approval rating from consumers, did not make the barometer top 10.Marmaris was in 11^th place. Similarly, while the Balearic Islands scored an 86 per cent positive rating among the 43 per cent of respondents who had visited one of the islands, the Post Office found that prices for tourist staples have risen 23 per cent in Majorca, while San Antonio in Ibiza was the most expensive of 20 resorts surveyed.