Half-term tourists benefit from weak dollar

School half-term holidaymakers will benefit from the weakness of the American dollar against the pound, Post Office Travel Money said today.

But those travelling to some parts of Europe will not be so lucky as the pound has hit a six-month low against the euro.

Trips to Turkey, in particular, could be pricey for UK tourists, with sterling at its weakest against the Turkish lira since the beginning of 2009, Post Office Travel Money said.

It added that UK tourists travelling to the US during the October half-term holiday would have almost 11% more to spend than when sterling was at its weakest against the US currency in May 2010.

But the pound is now worth 8.5% less against the euro than at its 2010 high point in March.

The Turkish lira is the Post Office's third best-selling foreign currency but £1 currently buys almost 6% fewer lira than 12 months ago and 8.4% fewer than in May.

Post Office Travel Money head Sarah Munro said: "Florida is a magnet for UK families during half-term and they can look forward to having more dollars in their pockets as they hit the Orlando theme parks as sterling is at its strongest for eight months.

"Sterling has been on the slide against the euro for the past three weeks, dropping over 5% in value in that time, meaning eurozone-bound families will get less foreign cash for their pounds."