AirBnB will be raking in an expected £3bn in revenue this year and easyJet should be exhibiting a stellar summer performance, given their skyrocketing spring revenues, testament to the British proclivity for travel. However, it seems that families will be £2.5bn out of pocket before even considering the cost of flights, transfers, accommodation, or even spending money.
We are a nation of currency hoarders, with airports benefiting the most: amidst national data on exactly how much the nation pockets up abroad, a staggering £2.5bn is brought back unused only to nestle in coin-jars nationwide, in fact it’s enough to pay for every school uniform in Britain! Totted up, a whopping £819 million worth of Yen, Euros, Dollars, Rupees and other currencies is currently stagnating unused in sock drawers and glass-jars across the nation, that’s about £90 per household.
The nationwide survey around holiday money unveiled:
- 60% of travellers – 27.1 million – over budget on the amount of cash taken for spending money on holiday
- A total of £2.5billion in foreign currency comes home with us unused
- Roughly £90 is brought back in excess currency per trip
- 65% – 29 million – of us say we’re currently hoarding excess currency from previous trips abroad
And our favourite ways to use our leftover £90 are:
- 27% – 12 million – of us save our spare currency for our next trip
- 19% – 9 million – spend at duty free
- 10% buy gifts or souvenirs. Regional food specialties, fridge magnets, Toblerones, chocolates for the office and novelty souvenirs are top favourites
- Only 9% currently change it back
- 6% keep the currency as a souvenir, give it to friends or just leave in the hotel room.
Totted up, £819m worth of currency is sitting at home in piggy-banks, coin jars and boxes under the bed right now.
Our favourite ways to store leftover currency are:
- 31% of us – 9.6 million – store excess currency in piggy-banks, coin jars and boxes under the bed
- 19% – 5.9 million – elect to use the ever-reliable kitchen and sock drawers to hold an average of £503 million across the nation
- The trusted travel wallet holds 28% of our holiday cash
