HDC Investigates: The Strength of the Sterling - Holiday Discount Centre Blog

For Brits holidaying abroad this summer, the strength of the sterling is offering them fun in the sun at bargain prices! Well, certainly for less than usual anyway.

There have been several reports recently commenting on the drop in prices of European holiday breaks because of the strength of the sterling and this is something that we couldn’t ignore. Here at HDC we’re all about finding those great holidays for less, so wanted to look a little further into exactly how this is saving you money.

According to poundsterlingforecast.com today, 1 GBP = 1.428 Euros, which has risen by 0.006 Euros since yesterday and exemplifies the steady increase that has been taking place over the last few months. For those of you wondering what that means in terms of your upcoming holidays, it basically means that you are getting increasingly better value for money and especially when it comes to holiday extras like restaurant meals, coffees and ice creams – you will be spending less overall in GB Pounds than last year.

Reports from The Post Office show the Algarve sitting at the top of the list of cheap beach resorts. Sunny Beach in Bulgaria sits very closely behind and both locations offer the best value for travellers looking to reduce their holiday spending. It reportedly would cost a family only £29 to have a meal and drinks in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria – which is a whole 11.5% less than last year.

The Post Office have created a pretty great travel barometer, which lets you compare your destination prices to the global average to see just how the prices differ. Do you want to see how much a cup of coffee will cost you in Portugal compared to the average price around the globe? Well you can! We think this is a pretty handy tool and aligns perfectly with our mission to find you the best holiday deals out there.

When travelling abroad, the trickiest part of keeping holiday costs to a minimum are the added extras which accumulate without you even noticing! The odd ice cream on the beach, a bucket and spade to build those mansions in the sand, a last minute parasol to avoid the ‘Brits abroad’ sunburn, a day trip to the local sea life centre and suddenly, spending money has shot through the roof.

A comparison of those extras has shown that in Marmaris, Turkey, you can purchase around 10 items (ice creams, buckets and spades, tickets to water parks) for less than £68. In Nice however, these would total over £135 – this just proves how easy it is to bump up the price of a holiday without even realising it.

The value to British holiday makers in Turkey doesn’t stop at cheap beach extras however, as the pound is worth almost 20% more now than in summer 2014 and is 22% stronger than in January of this year. This means that if you went and exchanged £500, you’d receive approximately £83 extra in Turkish lira. Is that last minute holiday becoming more and more tempting as you keep reading?

To help you on your cheap holiday search, we’ve had a little look at our current deals and thought we’d point you in the direction of those that fall into the list of great value locations at the moment, all thanks to our Great British Pound!