Third Of Brits Still Think The Franc Is In Circulation

May 6, 2010 - PRLog -- Latest research commissioned by online travel agent www.sunshine.co.uk of 1,582 holidaymakers has found that currency isn’t a strong point amongst many Brits. Almost two thirds, 64%, admitted to being ‘confused’ when it came to foreign currency.

51% said they often ended up spending more on holiday as a result of their confusion, as they paid more than they normally would in the UK for items. 34% said they often thought they were getting a good deal on an item, but on reflection they spent more than they would have for the same thing in the UK.

The poll, commissioned by http://www.sunshine.co.uk, tested respondents on their knowledge of various currencies, and found that 39% thought there were approximately two American dollars to every English pound. In fact, £1 is worth around $1.53.

When asked ‘which is worth more, the pound or the euro?’ 48% incorrectly said the euro had a higher value.

12% of people thought the currency in Spain was still the peseta, which hasn’t been in use since 2002, whilst 30% of Brits said they thought the French still used Francs.

42% of the people asked admitted to spending money ‘for the sake of it’ whilst on holiday and 61% said they aim to get rid of all their spending money before coming home from the vacation. 83% of these said they ‘couldn’t be bothered’ to exchange the money back when they returned home.

The respondents were also questioned as to the value of the Japanese currency Yen and found that 13% thought having one million Yen would make them millionaires back home in the UK. In fact, ¥1,000,000 is only worth about £6,950.

Chris Brown, co-founder of http://www.sunshine.co.uk, commented on the findings;

“As a travel agent, we have plenty of enquiries about foreign currency when people book holidays with us, which prompted us into commissioning the study. We were particularly interested in finding out how good people’s knowledge was of other country’s currencies and were surprised to find that some people believed the peseta to still be the currency in Spain.

“It’s worrying that people aren’t too knowledgeable about currency abroad, as this often leads to over-spending on holiday. If you aren’t clear about the currency in a country you are visiting, you should do some research beforehand, in order to have a real understanding of how much you should be spending on things. It’s easy to become complacent with money on holiday, but you’ll be surprised at how much just knowing the exchange rate could save you in the long run.”

LINK http://www.sunshine.co.uk

ENDS

For more information or to set up interviews with Chris Brown please contact Shannon Haigh of 10 Yetis Public Relation Agency, on 01452 348211 or email shannon@10yetis.co.uk  

Editors Notes

sunshine.co.uk is the UK’s leading online independent travel agent and was founded by Chris Brown and Chris Clarkson, the same people behind Holiday Watchdog which was bought by TripAdvisor in February 2008 for an undisclosed amount of money. Sunshine.co.uk offers low cost holidays and budget flights to destinations all over the world as well as great deals and discounted hotels.