Many people travelling abroad, such as those taking holidays to India, are leaving holiday preparations to the last minute, resulting in higher expenses.
While travellers are good at finding cheap flights, they do not make the same effort to find currency exchange deals and some are even travelling without insurance, a survey has revealed.
New research from the Post Office has found that many UK holidaymakers are being caught out when it comes to those extra costs in holiday expenditure.
The survey found that over three million people do not buy holiday cash until 24 hours before they travel, even though this can increase the cost of currency by up to ten per cent.
Travel insurance is not viewed as an essential item – one in five (20 per cent) of those polled said that they travelled abroad without any cover.
Sarah Munro, head of Post Office travel services, said: “We urge customers not to leave their travel insurance to the last minute to ensure that they are covered for cancellation should an illness or an emergency happen before they travel.”
Packing topped the list of the last-minute holiday preparations, with 33 per cent of those surveyed admitting that they did not pack until the day before they were due to travel.
Caxton FX, a foreign exchange company, recently advised travellers to shop around for the best exchange rate deals and to consider using pre-paid currency cards in order to make the most of their holiday spending money.
Written by Alex Cochrane
