British holidaymakers are increasingly opting for non-EU destinations as uncertainty over Brexit continues, according to travel agent Thomas Cook.
The UK was due to leave the EU on 29 March, but deadlock in Parliament over the terms of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal has delayed departure, with a new deadline of 31 October finally agreed earlier this month.
Thomas Cook said almost half (48%) of the holidays it sold before the end of February were to non-EU countries, up 10% on last year, although Spain still remains the company’s most popular destination overall.
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The new findings “chime with separate Post Office figures showing currency sales for long-haul destinations have jumped”, says the BBC.
Post Office Travel Money, which accounts for about a quarter of all UK currency transactions, said sales of Japanese yen were up 12% so far this year, while sales of the Indonesian rupiah have increased by 9%.
Another survey, cited by the Daily Express earlier this month, indicated that almost a fifth of Brits “have altered their holiday plans as a result of ongoing uncertainty.
“This includes a 12% chunk who have delayed booking their holiday this year,” the newspaper added.
Thomas Cook’s chief executive, Peter Fankhauser, said it was still too early to measure the impact of Brexit confusion on holiday bookings.
But he added that there was “little doubt that the prolonged uncertainty around the manner and timing of Britain’s exit from the European Union has led many customers to press pause on their holiday plans for this summer”.
However, while some Brexiteers have called for a boycott on EU goods and services following the UK’s botched exit from the bloc, it appears that some holidaymakers may be choosing non-EU destinations for other reasons.
“Brexit has made us as a family think and for the first time we are going to Turkey,” Kevin Coles, from Northamptonshire, told the BBC. “The value of the pound there (against the lira), versus the euro (in eurozone countries) makes it a much better value holiday.”
Coles added: “We will holiday in the UK in the summer and maybe look at Cyprus, Turkey or Dubai for autumn half term.
“For us it’s less to do with the travel arrangements, although the possibility of delays and long queues is in the back of your mind.”
The feeling appears to be mutual, with the Evening Standard reporting earlier this year that 750,000 fewer EU visitors came to London in 2018.
