Travel Abroad? Euro Vs Rest of World

As we gradually move into spring and the Christmas holidays become distant frost-tinged memories, more and more of us are starting to discuss where we’d like to spend our holidays this year. The current economic climate has certainly had an effect on where and when we are likely to travel in 2009, with a weak pound and an extremely competitive travel insurance market to consider, is the rest of the world really a cheaper destination than the Euro zone?

In a recent report by Mintel, the consumer and market research company found that although the recession has affected many, for much of the country the effects have been significantly less ‘severe than perceived or expected.’ They also found that despite the exaggerated affect of the economy on the travel industry, many of us are still considering overseas travel, and being more inclined to travel outside of the Euro zone.

Since we moved into 2009, many articles have been written of the benefits of travelling to destinations that lie just outside the Euro zone, such as Turkey and Croatia respectively. The pound still retains some strength against the lira and the kuna, and in terms of tourism pros – both of these are destinations experiencing an increase in popularity due to investments in accommodation and self-promotion over the past few years.

Turkey is all its glory

Similarly, these destinations prove well financially due to their relative proximity to the UK in comparison to the rest of the world. However, in terms of travel insurance, destinations outside of the Euro zone typically call for higher premiums and so travellers should take this into account. In a recent press release form a top insurance provider, discussing the Mintel findings, it seemed obvious that one of the factors that is keeping the travel industry certain that 2009 won’t be such a bad year is the fact that the more people who travel further, the more insurance they are going to pay.

Many insurance companies like the Post Office are pointing out the benefits of annual travel insurance, particularly for those who are considering going abroad more than once. Yet, in order for those planning one trip to save money on your holidays this year, it will take the weighing up of three primary factors, including: distance, the exchange rate, and whether you are inside or outside of Europe. Once these have been considered, I expect that Europe may well look, at least, almost as enticing as it always has done for us.

Melbourne: The Perfect Destination to Spend your Travel Money

The current financial climate and “credit crunch” is causing prospective holidaymakers to consider traveling outside of the Euro Zone to make the most of their travel money. To many, Australia seems a safe bet in terms of value for money (after the initial flight costs, at least) due to the pound’s relative strength against the Aussie dollar over the past year – especially in comparison to its performance against the euro and the US dollar. Interestingly, some speculators are anticipating that Melbourne is the destination of choice for 2009.


Melbourne may not have been famed for its tourism credentials in the past, but recent developments are showing that it is becoming as popular with visitors as its contemporaries such as Sydney and Brisbane. The Opodo Travel News reports that, ‘according to Tourism Victoria, travellers are attracted to the city's “world-renowned, cosmopolitan lifestyle”,' causing bookings to increase by 400 percent!


Situated on the Southern Australian coast, Melbourne is a city that is celebrated for its multicultural heritage. Nearly a quarter of the city’s 3 million+ inhabitants were born in other countries, including: United Kingdom, Italy, and China – and as a consequence there is a rich variety of places to visit, cuisine to try, and culture to sample. There is an established commercial arts scene of pop music, theatre, and film, as well as many institutions that are considered alternative, such as: street art and indie music.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Subsequently, there are many festivals and events that take place in the city over the course of the year. Perhaps most notable is The Melbourne International Comedy Festival which takes place over three weeks around April Fools Day every year. Running since 1987, the festival showcases local and international comedians and comediennes specializing in stand-up and cabaret.

Melbourne’s permanent sights range from the architectural to the natural. The former is exemplified by such delights as the Royal Exhibition Building, a World Heritage Site and host to many exhibitions.

Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens

For flora lovers, Melbourne is also considered Australia’s Garden City and includes many parks and gardens. The Royal Botanic Gardens is renowned for its size at 354,000 metres square and for containing over 10,000 species of plant. In recent years the area has been subjected to severe water conservation in order to deal with continual dry conditions. The organisers, therefore, have to take great care of the environmental implications of the gardens, whilst the diversity of plant life is a draw for a vast range of unique and interesting fauna.

Saint Patrick’s Day in New York

New York City is a popular destination and reportedly receives 47 million people a year, including over a million from the UK and over 250,000 from Ireland respectively.

Significant holidays, such as Christmas and New Year, also attract the crowds who flock to the city to stock up on presents and celebrate with thousands of other revellers. So why don’t us Brits consider spending Saint Patrick’s Day in The Big Apple in 2009?

New York City holds one of the longest running Saint Patrick Day parades in the world. 2009 will be the 248th year that fifth avenue (between 34th and 59th Street, central Manhattan) pays host to the parade involving some 150,000 marchers – and an additional 2 million spectators. The popularity of the celebration is no doubt due to New York’s own Irish community, which is the sixth biggest minority in the city today.

Manhattan’s Irish Heritage stretches back to the potato famine of the mid-1800s. This resulted in almost 2 million people leaving the country with many of them heading west, landing in New York, and subsequently settling in the city due to arriving with very little money. Since then the Irish community has become well established in the area, with examples of Irish influence in the religious, political, and business/service sectors exemplified by the many Irish bars across the city – and the popularity of products such as Smithwick’s Ale.

An additional plus to the multicultural character of New York City, is that in terms of accessibility, the city is one of the best places to easily experience a diverse range of cultural influences. Alongside the Irish community, there are many Puerto Ricans, Chinese, Italians, Dominicans, and West Indians – who have all had an impact on the city. And therefore, for the brief visitor to the city, there is an awful lot of choice concerning sights to see and cuisine to sample.

Yet with today’s economic climate, it is probably the thought of travel money that is at the forefront of most people’s minds. From a British perspective, over the last year the pound has suffered a massive fall against the US dollar as well as the Euro but since February, or so, has showed a slight increase which bodes well for the 17th. As it stands, £1 gets you $1.42 but is closer to parity with the Euro (€1.13), so looking at the figures for the past year (and the percentage change) the weakness of the pound is not likely to differ too much between the two destinations.