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Plunging pound forces holidaying Brits into debt
The drop in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote has led to many Brits blowing their 2016 summer holiday budget, with nearly three-fifths sinking into debt, according to uSwitch.
Families overspent by an average of £491.78 this summer, uSwitch research reveals, with nearly half (45%) who blew the budget blaming the poor exchange rate for their extra spend.
A quarter said their final accommodation bill was more than expected.
One in three put the extra cost on a credit card, while one in 10 put it on their overdraft. Those who overspent on holiday say it will take an average of four and a half months to clear the debt.
Holiday overspending has taken its toll, with nearly half (46%) in a worse financial situation than before their holidays and a quarter (26%) saying they’ll have to reduce their spending this Christmas as a result.
Those who didn’t blow their budget said they curbed their spending while on holiday, putting a dampener on their getaway, with nearly a fifth (19%) dining out less, and another one in five (19%) buying fewer gifts for friends and family.
If the pound stays low, fewer holidaymakers will book next year as nearly half (49%) say they will delay going on holiday again until it becomes cheaper to buy foreign currency.
Tashema Jackson, money expert at uSwitch.com, said: "Many British consumers have been caught out by the weaker pound when travelling abroad this summer."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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