Euro and long-haul currencies stay strong, Lira and Zloty rocket

Date: March 09, 2010

• Ski currencies peak
• Middle-East and Med favoured for winter sun
• Long-haul currency boom continues

Brits took advantage of the premium ski conditions and top-value winter sun destinations in February, with Turkey and Poland the biggest movers, according to the latest Travel Money Tracker rankings.

The Travel Money Tracker, which ranks the top selling currencies from Travelex.co.uk, also reveals the Euro held onto top spot while long-haul currencies continue to dominate the top ten.

Travel Money Tracker February 2010
Rank	Top 25 Currencies	Last Month	Change in Position
1	Euro	1	0
2	US Dollar	2	0
3	Australian Dollar	3	0
4	South African Rand	5	1
5	New Zealand Dollar	4	-1
6	United Arab Emirates Dirham	8	2
7	Canadian Dollar	6	-1
8	Swiss Franc	7	-1
9	Thai Baht	9	0
10	Japanese Yen	10	0
11	Hong Kong Dollar	11	0
12	Egyptian Pound	13	1
13	Singapore Dollar	12	-1
14	Norwegian Krona	18	4
15	Malaysian Ringet	14	-1
16	Czech Koruna	17	1
17	Chinese Yuan	16	-1
18	Bulgarian Levi	15	-3
19	Turkish Lira	25	6
20	Polish Zloty	26	6
21	Swedish Krona	24	3
22	Omani Rials	23	1
23	East Caribbean Dollar	20	-3
24	Barbadian Dollar	21	-3
25	Mauritian Rupee	22	-3

The Pound rose in late January and remained strong for most of February, to the delight of Brits heading abroad for half-term holidays and Valentine’s Day.

The Big Freeze resulted in prime ski conditions at many resorts across Europe and several ‘ski currencies’ proved popular with Brits in February, despite providing less value against the Pound than this time last year. The Polish Zloty was the biggest mover on the Travel Money Tracker this month, rocketing a huge 6 places up the table to 20^th place; the Norwegian Krone was up 4 places to 14^th on the table and Swedish Krona was up three places to 21^st. However, all three currencies have risen against the Pound, meaning Brits were worse off by 365 Zloty (15%), 328 Krone (7%) and 848 Krona (14%) when exchanging £500, compared to February 2009. Emerging ski destination, Japan, held its position in the top ten, with sales of Yen at Travelex.co.uk up 71% compared to February 2009.

British travellers turned their backs on tropical destinations in favour of the Middle-East and Mediterranean for winter sun, as the East Caribbean Dollar, Barbadian Dollar and Mauritian Rupee all slid down three places (to 23, 24, 25, respectively), despite showing strong year-on-year value for against the Pound.

The United Arab Emirates Dirham moved up 2 places to 6th as Brits enjoy good value for their Pounds. WAG wannabes following the lead of Toni Terry and bargain-hunters enjoying the Dubai shopping festival would have received an extra 227 Dirham for every £500 they exchanged compared to the same time last year, the equivalent of two tickets to the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower. Omani Rials also moved up one place to 22^nd.

Last year’s star performers the Turkish Lira and Egyptian Pound were again in favour in February, with the Lira equalling the biggest month on month move – up 6 places to 19^th position on the Travel Money Tracker, with value against the Pound holding roughly flat compared to February 2009. The Egyptian Pound moved up 1 place to 12^th as Brits received an extra EGP191 for every £500 exchanged than this time last year, the equivalent of a day tour of the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx.

Long haul destinations continue to dominate the top ten, with the Australian Dollar, South African Rand and New Zealand Dollar holding onto their spots in the top five, the Canadian Dollar at 7^th (down 1 place), Thai Baht at 9^th and Hong Kong Dollar at 11th. The US Dollar, predictably, held onto second spot.

But it’s the ‘antipodean currencies’ – the Aussie, Rand and Kiwi which continue to show huge year on year growth, with sales at Travelex.co.uk up by 61%, 42% and 100% comparing February 2010 to February 2009.

Travelex’s Currency Strategist David Swann said: ‘We’re seeing a big spike in sales of these currencies, year on year. One of the contributing factors we believe, is the corresponding decline in value for Brits travelling to these countries. Brits are worse off by around 22% compared to last year as the Pound has hit 25-year lows against the Aussie, while they are worse off by around 21% against the New Zealand Dollar and 16% against the South African Rand, compared to this time last year.

What this means for travellers is that they will need to exchange more to cover the holiday expenses at destination. We’re also seeing an increase in sales online as Brits shop around for the best value. Travelex.co.uk offers its customers an Online Price Promise, which guarantees the best price foreign currency, commission free, or the difference refunded.’

- Ends -

For more information, please contact:

Katie Sinclair
katie.sinclair@travelex.com
020 7895 4236

ABOUT TRAVELEX:
Travelex is the world's largest foreign exchange specialist with over 760 retail branches in more than 25 countries, at key airport, seaport, rail and tourist locations. Over 40% of travellers - 1.7 billion passengers a year - pass through airports where Travelex operates including the major gateways at Amsterdam, Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Rome, Sydney & Tokyo. Every hour, Travelex provides foreign currency to more than 2,000 customers.

Travelex Online & the Travelex Price Promise:
Travelex.co.uk guarantees the best price, commission-free foreign currency in the UK. Every day Travelex.co.uk monitors the exchange rates of the leading Banks, High Street foreign currency providers (Travel Agencies, The Post Office, M&S) and a basket of other online providers to ensure we offer customers the best deal. In the unlikely event any provider should happen to beat us on any of our 60 currencies, we will refund the difference.

Travelex UK Retail:
Travelex has over 120 stores in the UK, with presence at the major airports including London Gatwick and Heathrow – further we are the only company to provide foreign currency exchange services at all 5 Heathrow terminals. Travelex offers customers the convenience of over 60 currencies, in stock and readily available around the clock from our retail branches, plus help and advice from our expert staff. Additionally, Travelex has a rapidly expanding network of ATMs which offer both foreign and local currency.

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In addition to its Retail operations, Travelex is the world's largest non-bank provider of international payment services, providing integrated payment solutions for businesses. The Group is also one of the world's leading providers of outsourced travel money to Banks, Travel Agencies and other financial institutions.