TURKEY has once again increased in popularity with British holidaymakers thanks to the crash the Turkish lira in 2018. Tourism was blighted by a series of terrorist attacks in 2016 but the country is now once again finding favor with Britons as a cheap holiday destination, a new report shows.
Turkey holidays are rocketing in popularity thanks to the low prices available in the Middle Eastern country. The annual Post Office Holiday Money Report revealed the renewed popularity of Turkey is the most striking travel trend of the year. This comes after the Turkish lira collapsed in value last year meaning Britons’ pounds can go further in Turkey, making for much cheaper holidays. “The lira fell steadily during the early months of 2018 but plummeted in value by 73 percent in August, causing a stampede for late summer package deals,” explained the Post Office report.
“Post Office lira sales surged 368 percent compared with August 2017, leading to an overall 2018 sale rise of 96 percent.
As a result, the Turkish lira moved five places up the top 20 tables [of Post Office best selling currencies in 2018] to the fourth position.
The ongoing weakness of the Turkish lira means holidaymakers can expect their pounds to stretch almost 29 percent further in Turkey than a year ago.
Marmaris, a Mediterranean resort town along the Turkish Riviera, is in the top three cheapest European beach destinations. Prices have fallen 18.7 percent since last year.
According to Post Office figures, a cup of filter coffee costs just 96p in Turkey compared to £1.91 in Mexico or £2.30 in Greece.
In the Costa del Sol, Spain it will set holidaymakers back £39.52 or £46.05 in Sliema, Malta.
“The continuing weakness of the Turkish lira is the obvious reason why the country is a hotlist choice for the second year running,” stated the report, “but Post Office pricing research has found that meal and drink costs remain low as well.
“This makes the Turkish Riviera the leading rival to Bulgaria’s Black Sea resorts.
“Travel analyst GfK’s latest intelligence underlines this, revealing that bookings are already up 65 percent year-on-year for travel between April and December.”
Thomas Cook also reported an increase in holiday bookings to Turkey last year.
ost Office Travel Money expert Andrew Brown said: “Short travel times will always give European destinations an inbuilt advantage.
“Despite speculation that rising prices would put UK holidaymakers off travelling to the continent, strong currency sales for the euro, Turkish lira, Bulgarian lev and Croatian kuna over the past year underline the fact that Europe remains the destination of choice for most people.
“However, the stampede for Turkish holiday packages seen last summer sends a clear message that holidaymakers will be looking carefully to see where they can get the most bang for their buck and may be prepared to swap destination for a cheaper deal.”
Previously, The Foreign Office advised against travelling as terrorists were “very likely” to carry out attacks.
Most regions in the country are now deemed safe to travel, despite the threat of terrorism still in place.
Last year Turkey changed its visa application rules meaning British holidaymakers will have to apply for an e-visa before they travel rather than buying at the airport.
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