Britons, some of whom may have
backpacker travel insurance, are not letting the weak pound stop them from enjoying their holiday, it has been claimed.
Research from Sainsbury's Travel Money has found that many British holidaymakers are taking advantage of cheap last minute deals to ensure they still manage a holiday this year, even as the credit crunch hits.
The survey found the total value of currency transactions made by Sainsbury's Travel Money during January this year was 36 per cent higher than in the same month in 2008.
"British holidaymakers have suffered badly given the declining value of the pound, but clearly it's not stopping them taking advantage of the holiday deals currently available," said Sam Marrs, head of Sainsbury's Travel Money.
"We're not even seeing a decline in the number of people heading to the euro zone, despite them having to pay far more to get the same value of foreign currency compared to last year," he added.
The figures suggest plenty of people will continue to take out
gap year travel insurance policies this year to travel the globe, despite the impact of the recession.
However, Visit Britain has suggested the trend for foreign holidays may slow this summer, as the recession begins to be felt more acutely across the country.
According to the tourism organisation, a fifth of people who went abroad last year are planning to stay in the UK in 2009.
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