The rising value of the Pound has seen the Euro regain the number one position, according to January’s Travelex Travel Money Tracker.

The Travel Money Tracker, which ranks the top selling currencies from Travelex.co.uk, also reveals that winter sun and ski destinations were popular as Britain battled the Big Freeze, and that sales of long-haul currencies are booming.

Travelex Travel Money Tracker January 2010
Rank	Top 25 Currencies	Last Month	Change in Position
1	Euro	2	1
2	US Dollar	1	-1
3	Australian Dollar	3	0
4	New Zealand Dollar	5	1
5	South African Rand	4	-1
6	Canadian Dollar	6	0
7	Swiss Franc	9	2
8	United Arab Emirates Dirham	7	-1
9	Thai Baht	8	-1
10	Japanese Yen	10	0
11	Hong Kong Dollar	11	0
12	Singapore Dollar	15	3
13	Egyptian Pound	12	-1
14	Malaysian Ringet	14	0
15	Bulgarian Levi	19	4
16	Chinese Yuan	17	1
17	Czech Koruna	13	-4
18	Norwegian Krona	18	0
19	Mexican Peso	20	1
20	East Caribbean Dollar	25	5
21	Barbadian Dollar	21	0
22	Mauritian Rupee	28	6
23	Omani Rials	23	0
24	Swedish Krona	16	-8
25	Turkish Lira	22	-3

The Euro has suffered in the opening weeks of 2010 on the back of the deficit concerns for Greece, Spain and Portugal. This has seen the Pound rise to a five month high during January, meaning Brits receive up to an extra €32 for every £500 exchanged, compared to last month¹. This was reflected in the sales figures for Travelex.co.uk, with January sales of Euro up 7% from December and nearly 20% compared to January 2009.

As the mercury plummeted in the UK, Brits escaped to soak up some sun, driving the Mauritian Rupee up 6 places and the East Caribbean Dollar up 5 places, where travellers had the dual benefit of working on their tans and maximising their holiday cash, with the East Caribbean Dollar up 14% compared to last year.

The Caribbean could be shaping up as the best value half-term holiday hotspot, currently providing Brits with fantastic savings. The Pound has increased in value against the Jamaican (up 27%), Trinidad and Tobago (up 16%), Bermuda (up 15%), Barbados (up 14%) and Bahamian (up 11%) Dollars significantly when compared with this time last year.

But the Big Freeze was a bonus for those keen to hit the slopes, which saw Europe blanketed in snow during January, Brits took advantage of the excellent skiing conditions with the Swiss Franc moving up 2 places and the Bulgarian Levi moving up 4 places on the Travel Money Tracker.

Whilst long-haul destinations Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have remained relatively flat on the Travel Money Tracker, online sales for the New Zealand Dollar were up 31% from December, seeing it leapfrog into the fourth spot over the South African Rand. Despite the Pound decreasing in value against these currencies, year-on-year sales of all three destinations on Travelex.co.uk have seen incredible increases with the Rand up 76%, the Australian Dollar up 59% and the New Zealand Dollar up 65%. Recent reports² suggested Brits who had been made redundant during the recession, were taking the opportunity to travel and opting to go long-haul. But the decreased value for Brits also means travellers need to purchase more currency for their holiday and are shopping around for the best value, which is guaranteed by the Travelex Online Price Promise.

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¹ Based on highest January rate against lowest rate in December: 1 Dec (1.0615) and 28 January (1.125)
² http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/6346257/Recession-fuels-rise-in-grown-up-gap-years.html