New research by the UK’s fastest growing online independent travel agent has revealed that 42% of British holidaymakers carry all of their spending money on them at all times whilst on a trip to a foreign country, whilst 72% claim to ‘not trust’ ATMs and banks abroad. A poll by online travel agency sunshine.co.uk has discovered that two fifths of tourists from the UK carry all of their spending money around with them on holiday at all times, rather than leaving some…
New research by the UK’s fastest growing online independent travel agent has revealed that 42% of British holidaymakers carry all of their spending money on them at all times whilst on a trip to a foreign country, whilst 72% claim to ‘not trust’ ATMs and banks abroad.
A poll by online travel agency sunshine.co.uk has discovered that two fifths of tourists from the UK carry all of their spending money around with them on holiday at all times, rather than leaving some of the cash in a hotel room or safe.
The study, of 1,391 British holidaymakers, aimed to find out more about the attitudes of Brits towards spending money and banking abroad.
42% of the respondent admitted to keeping all their spending money on them at all times whilst on holiday. When asked to explain their reasons why, 57% said they were concerned about leaving it at their accommodation due to the risk of theft.
Just over 1 in 10, 11%, of the people surveyed by sunshine.co.uk who carried all their money on them, explained it was due to the fact they undervalued the foreign currency they had on them and ‘didn’t think about the true amount’ they were carrying.
Of those who did carry all their money on them at all times on holiday, the poll found that the average amount was the equivalent of around £300. When respondents were asked if they would carry £300 around with them back home in the UK, 78% of them said that they wouldn’t. When asked ‘why?’ 1 in 3, 34%, said they would ‘fear losing it or having it stolen’, despite their apparent lack of concern about this on holiday.
Of the respondents who didn’t carry all of their money around with them on holiday at all times, 64% feared they’d ‘spend it too quickly’ if they did so and 16% said they wanted to hold some back in case they lost the money on them or had it stolen.
72% claimed they did not trust banks and ATMs abroad, but half, 54%, still used them to get access to more funds for their holiday.
Chris Brown, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk and recent ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the Channel 4 series, commented; “I can see why some holidaymakers would want to keep their money with them at all times, but I would strongly advise against it. Most hotel rooms have a safe in which travellers can keep their valuables and they are normally very secure.
“When carrying all your spending money around, you run the risk of losing your bag or wallet or, worse, having the funds stolen. It’s best to have a budget per day and take a little bit of spending money out with you whilst leaving the rest back in your accommodation, providing it is secure. Plus, it really is easy to spend money quickly if it’s just all there in your purse or wallet.”
He concluded, “As far as ATMs abroad are concerned, most people don’t have a problem with them and they are usually perfectly safe. The only thing tourists should be aware of is the charges that come with withdrawing money abroad, as they can sometimes be very high.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
