Brit of a bargain
NiGel tHomPsoN maRJoRie YUe
Brexit may be battering the pound but UK travellers are still quids-in at holiday hotspots around the world. From Singapore to St Lucia and Turkey to Brazil, it’s great news for Brits with plunging prices in major resorts and cities.
The 13th annual Post Office Holiday Money Report, out yesterday, reveals the best places for bargain hunters to visit in 2019 – and costs are down by up to a fifth year on year in almost half the places surveyed.
Researchers looked at the overall cost of eight typical tourist staples – including meals, alcoholic and soft drinks, sunscreen and bug spray – in 42 long and short-haul destinations.
They found Singapore and St Lucia head the list of 19 favourites where prices have dropped the most in the past year – by 21.5 per cent and 19.6 per cent respectively – for the basket.
Sterling has also risen against the Brazilian real, helping prices in Rio de Janeiro fall 19.5 per cent.
The volatility of the Turkish lira means
Marmaris, the country’s most popular resort, is 18.7 per cent cheaper than in 2018, though the best short-haul value overall is at Sunny Beach in Bulgaria.
Other short-haul favourites with falls include Malta (nine per cent) Nice (13.7 per cent) and Corfu (7.8 per cent). Further afield, the cheapest long-haul destination is Cape Town, with costs in South Africa’s Mother City reduced by almost nine per cent. There’s also value in Mombasa in Kenya, the Indonesian island of Bali and Vietnam’s Hoi An, helped by lower meal costs in the former and a rise in sterling against the currency in the latter two.
At the wallet-walloping end of the scale, the most expensive destinations surveyed were Male in the Seychelles, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
A Post Office Travel Money spokesman said: “Draw up a destination shortlist and do your homework before booking.”
Full report at postoffice. co.uk/holidaymoneyreport .