Holidaymakers turn to eastern Europe as euro prices surge - Telegraph.co.uk
Holidaymakers turn to eastern Europe as euro prices surge - Telegraph.co.uk 
A year ago holidaymakers' money went 20 per cent further, with the exchange rate at €1.49. ABTA estimates that 1.32 million people will fly out of Britain this weekend from just the main airports. Article continuesadvertisementThose countries outside of the eurozone – but only slightly further in terms of flying time – such as in eastern Europe and north Africa have witnessed a surge in bookings, according to travel companies. Bob Atkinson at TravelSupermarket, the price comparison website, said: "There is a clear trend towards visiting more exotic locations, and doing something a bit more interesting or active on holiday. By its calculations, bookings for Egypt are up 28 per cent and Turkey are up 20 per cent. Downside, with rising oil prices, it now costs a fortune to get here. Greece welcomes 2.2 million Britons – a million more than Turkey. Holiday companies, anticipating the economic slowdown, have cut back capacity . However, the popularity of non-eurozone countries is no short-term blip, experts said. Meanwhile, bookings to Italy are down eight per cent, Spain is down four per cent, Greece is down eight per cent and France has dipped by two per cent. Most eurozone countries have never represented such poor value for British travel makers, with £1 buying just €1.26. Phil Davies, the editor of TravelMole, the travel industry website, said: "Given people are counting the pennies, the strong euro is having a significant impact on where people are going. Posted by Roy Thomson on July 19, 2008 12:43 PMPeople must have either forgotten or are ignoring the fact that they may well be targeted by muslim terrorists in Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco etc.Report this comment3. Prices in Greece are 22 per cent more expensive than its neighbour Turkey when it comes to a basket of popular goods such as beer, sun cream and insect repellent, due to the strong euro and relatively weak Turkish Lira. Print this storyEmail this storyShare this storydel.icio.usDiggFacebookFarkGoogleNewsvineNowPublicRedditStumbleUponRSS FeedsRelated ContentHelicopter swarms spark St Tropez protestsCar boss Simon Saunders in Dorset beach hut rowMore on: Travel >COMMENTS - 31. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) pointed out that while Spain was "having a poor year" official figures show that it remains clearly the number one destination with more than 12 million Britons visiting the country every year. The cheapest deal for a week long trip to Croatia will set you back £414 per person, according to the travel website. The Co-Operative Travel Company describes the new trend as a "seismic shift". These figures are backed up by CheapFlights, which specialises in finding air plane tickets for independent travellers. This factor, combined with the fact that very few people have actually cut back on their holidays means that prices for last minute deals are high. Tunisia, despite its new found popularity, attracted just 270,000 British holidaymakers in 2006, the most recent year for which figures are available from the Office of National Statistics. While bookings to Barcelona have fallen by 16 per cent, tickets being bought to Dalaman, on the southwest coast of Turkey, have increased by 9 per cent. Why not visit Tunisia, Egypt or Croatia – once you are there the holiday will be significantly cheaper." Families that have not booked a holiday in the hope of catching a last minute deal to these cheaper destinations are set to be frustrated, however. With state schools breaking up, many families will spend this weekend packing their bags to go to Turkey, Croatia, Bulgaria, Tunisia and Egypt rather than Greece, Spain or France.
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