GMTV - Post Office® Travel Services reports on SK

Post Office® head of travel Helen Warburton said: "With the winter sports season approaching, Slovakia is also the latest eastern European destination to offer bargain skiing and this may help to boost currency sales in the coming months," she said.

Post Office® Travel Services reports a September currency boom in its bureaux de change – suggesting a rush from the rain-drenched UK to warmer destinations overseas.Mid-haul destinations like Egypt, Dubai and even Turkey look set to benefit most, capitalising on the perception of good value and lower living costs.

During the first week in September the Post Office®, which accounts for more than 28 per cent of UK currency purchases, reported growth of over 48 per cent in sales of Egyptian pounds and almost 44 per cent more Turkish lira than a year ago.

Sales of Egyptian pounds and Turkish lira were also 36 per cent and 31 per cent stronger respectively than in the previous week - the last of the August summer holiday period. And Dubai continues to make its mark as a major league destination, with year on year growth for early September of almost 22 per cent for sales of the UAE dirham.

Currency boom
The currency boom also extends to most other holiday currencies – especially the USA, where dollar sales increased by 65 per cent against the first week of September 2007, despite the weakening sterling exchange rate.
The report also suggests that the widely-predicted drop off in demand for eurozone holidays has yet to materialise. Post Office® euro sales grew by 4 per cent year on year for January-August 2008 and accelerated in early September to a 12 per cent increase between the last week of August and the first week of September.
Meanwhile, a surprise chart-topper in the table for summer 2008 was Slovakia - the latest in a long line of eastern European destinations, led by Bulgaria, to attract UK tourists looking for lower costs. A sales increase of 57.8 per cent between summer 2008 and 2007 is part of an ongoing trend in which demand for the Slovakian koruna has risen by 161 per cent in three years.
Post Office® head of travel Helen Warburton said: "Slovakia has been a surprise star this year, benefiting, perhaps, at the expense of neighbouring Czech Republic, where sterling dropped in value by almost 40 per cent against the koruna, making this one of the few currencies to register a fall in sales - 21 per cent – this year."
"With the winter sports season approaching, Slovakia is also the latest eastern European destination to offer bargain skiing and this may help to boost currency sales in the coming months," she said.
Other currencies which have seen significant growth in demand are the Malaysian ringgit (+43.4 per cent), Chinese yuan (+30 per cent), Mauritius rupee (+22 per cent), Japanese yen (+16.9 per cent) and Mexican peso (+14.1 per cent) – all featuring, alongside the Egyptian pound, in the ten Fastest Growing Currencies and illustrating a growing trend for longer haul destinations.
Courtesy GMTV