Foreign currency confusion costing travellers

British travellers could be losing up to £975 million or £15 per person, per trip because they are not familiar with the local currencies they are using when on holiday, a new study claims.

Nearly two thirds spend more than they have budgeted when on holiday.

For six per cent, the reason for this frivolity is treating local currency as ‘monopoly money.’

Almost half (46%) admitted to being confused with the currency conversion rate.

Nearly one in three (31%) holidaymakers feel they are left unwittingly short-changed after shopping on holiday.

And almost two thirds of travellers spend more than they budgeted for when on holiday.

The study reveals they are losing, on average, £15 per person, per trip.

The findings come from a poll of 1,000 people by American Express Global Foreign Exchange Services.

A quiz within the study put currency knowledge to the test, with a quarter of women and 12% of men thinking there are fewer than 50 currencies in the world, when there are 176. 

The denominations people are less familiar with are not just far flung destinations but include holiday favourites.

Despite 619,000 UK travellers to Egypt over the last 12 months, 59% of respondents could not identify the local currency as the Egyptian Pound.

The study revealed that three per cent, the equivalent to one and a half million adults, were unable to correctly identify the dollar as the official currency of the US.

A further five per cent were unaware that France uses the euro.<

Amex foreign exchange vice president  Helen Grace said: “The best way to avoid confusion when travelling abroad is familiarising yourself with the local currency before you leave.

“It can be really difficult to stick to a budget when you are unsure of the currency rate, and some find it hard to think of foreign currency as real money.<

“Over the past year we have seen an increase in demand for exotic currencies and this is a trend that looks likely to remain for the foreseeable future.

“Holidaymakers are definitely travelling further afield and in particular we are seeing uplift in currencies for Central America and Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Peso and the Jamaican Dollar. 

“Also, there has been an uplift in demand for United Arab Emirates Dirham and Egyptian Pound.

“As British travellers look to broaden their destinations and avoid the eurozone, knowledge needs to increase to help holiday makers avoiding blowing the budget or being caught out by currency confusion. ”

by Phil Davies