Holidaymakers splash out in tourism hotspots

SIDMOUTH, Torquay and Plymouth lead the way for summer spending in the UK. Sidmouth and Torquay are among the top 10 coastal towns that saw an upsurge in cash withdrawals as holidaymakers splashed out on ice-creams, eating out and attractions.

The study by Santander looked at ATM figures from 75 coastal bank branches in 2017.

It revealed that Caernarfon in North Wales and Sidmouth saw the biggest uplift in cash withdrawals – 136% up on the rest of the year. Torquay came in at number nine with a 118% uplift.

Plymouth was named ninth in the league of cities and towns with the largest amount of cash withdrawn during the summer.

The analysis shows cash withdrawals more than doubling, with an average increase of 108%, in coastal towns across the UK during the summer. In terms of the overall amount of money withdrawn, Brighton is the summer cash capital with Blackpool in second place.

Each of these holiday hotspots saw nearly £3 million taken out from Santander’s cashpoints over the summer holiday period in 2017. These popular tourist destinations were followed by Southport, which is renowned for its beaches and pier, and Swansea whose Rhossili Bay beach was named the 10th best beach in the world by a leading travel magazine.

Matt Hall, head of banking and Unsecured Credit at Santander UK said: “While many people enjoy the flexibility of contactless payments, our research shows we are still a long way off a cashless society with Britain’s seaside towns witnessing a vast influx of visitors each year relying on cash for their summer holiday spending.

“Millions of people find cash a helpful way to monitor their spending on holiday.”