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How travellers are benefiting from Britain's decision to leave the EU
17 Aug 2016
New research by Hopper's chief data scientist, Patrick Surry, reveals that the cost of airfare to Britain has plummeted to the lowest level in more than three years. Although the impact on airfare prices was not immediately felt, within a week of the 23 June vote, the cost of airfare from the US to most major European destinations had fallen 10-15% with the cost of round-trip airline tickets from the US to Heathrow (LHR) falling 15% and US to Gatwick (LGW) fares dropping 10%.
US to London Historical Price Trend – Courtesy Hopper.com
Along with this drop in airfare cost, US travellers can also enjoy a strong dollar relative to the UK pound, which has fallen to its lowest level since the mid-1980s, recently trading below $1.30 in the wake of the BREXIT vote.
GBPUSD Spot Exchange Rate, 12 months – courtesy Bloomberg.com
The diminished value of the British Pound is especially relevant to US travellers who historically spend more when visiting the UK than any other group of international travellers.
Top 10 Spending Countries during Visits to the UK for at least 1 Night, 2015 – courtesy Office of National Statistics
European car rental company Auto Europe reports that US travellers renting a car in the UK are enjoying significant savings after the vote for Britain to leave the EU, with the biggest savings coming when travellers rent intermediate-sized rental cars or smaller.
jill111 via pixabay
Comparing the average per-day rate before and after the BREXIT vote, US travellers renting a car with Auto Europe in destinations within the UK have enjoyed an average per-day retail price decline of 9.1% for mini class cars, 12.7% for economy class cars, 12.6% for compact class cars, and 6.4% for intermediate class rental cars (comparing new bookings made by US residents for destinations in the UK June 23-July 31, 2016 vs. May 15-June 22, 2016).
If exchange rates and seasonal pricing trends hold, travellers can anticipate rates for airfare and rental cars to drop even lower following the busy summer season when many travel companies and tour operators drop their rates to account for reduced demand.
If you are considering a trip to London or another destination in the UK, now is the time to book.
About Joe Hessert
Joe Hessert is a digital marketing manager at Auto Europe and maintains a personal blog at joehessert.com. He earned his MFA at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and his writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review, New Haven Review, Fjords Review, McSweeney's and elsewhere. He writes about the international travel industry, digital marketing trends, and entrepreneurship.
