British tourists heading Stateside this year will get more bang for their buck. A fall in the value of the dollar means that UK tourists changing £500 into US dollars will receive £46 more to spend than last year.
Post Office Travel Money reveals that the pound is at a five-year high against the dollar.
In last month’s Post Office Travel Money Holiday Costs Barometer Orlando was one of the 10 cheapest destinations when it comes to buying meals, drinks and other tourist staples.
Elsewhere, the prospects also look promising this summer for UK holidaymakers because sterling is stronger than a year ago against all of Post Office Travel Money’s top 40 currencies.
Eight currencies are worth over 20 per cent more than in May 2013 including Turkey (Turkish lira +28 per cent), Jamaica (Jamaican dollar +24 per cent) and Thailand (Thai baht +20 per cent).
Sterling has risen by 3 per cent against the euro as well, which means that Eurozone visitors can expect to get over £14 extra cash on a £500 currency transaction.
Rising / falling – currencies and how much more £500 will buy you:
| Currency | % +/- 2014 v 2013 | May 2014 | May 2013 | £500 buys +/- |
| Indonesian rupiah | +30.1 | 17,869.8047 | 13,735.3780 | +£115.68 |
| South African rand | +28.2 | 16.9929 | 13.2504 | +£110.12 |
| Turkish lira | +27.6 | 3.3737 | 2.6439 | +£108.16 |
| Russian ruble | +25.2 | 55.8943 | 44.6380 | +£100.69 |
| Jamaican dollar | +23.7 | 173.5624 | 140.2658 | +£95.92 |
| Brazilian real | +21.7 | 3.4386 | 2.8254 | +£89.16 |
| Australian dollar | +20.9 | 1.7624 | 1.4582 | +£86.30 |
| Thai baht | +20.1 | 51.6596 | 43.0266 | +£83.56 |
| Malaysian ringgit | +19.8 | 5.1645 | 4.3100 | +£82.73 |
| Mexican peso | +19.7 | 20.8361 | 17.4107 | +£82.20 |
| Canadian dollar | +18.7 | 1.7735 | 1.4939 | +£78.83 |
| Dominican peso oro | +16.7 | 67.8169 | 58.1246 | +£71.46 |
| Kenyan shilling | +14.4 | 136.5922 | 119.4070 | +£62.91 |
| Norwegian krone | +12.8 | 9.6362 | 8.5410 | +£56.83 |
| Japanese yen | +12.6 | 163.7747 | 145.4774 | +£55.86 |
| Chinese yuan | +11.8 | 9.8056 | 8.7711 | +£52.75 |
| Vietnamese dong | +11.2 | 32,154.7664 | 28,908.6533 | +£50.48 |
| Egyptian pound | +11.2 | 10.8412 | 9.7472 | +£50.46 |
| Barbados dollar | +11.2 | 3.1269 | 2.8127 | +£50.24 |
| Singapore dollar | +11.1 | 2.0013 | 1.8014 | +£49.94 |
| Trinidad/Tobago dollar | +10.9 | 10.0977 | 9.1043 | +£49.19 |
| East Caribbean dollar | +10.5 | 4.2109 | 3.8116 | +£47.41 |
| UAE dirham | +10.5 | 5.9553 | 5.3906 | +£47.41 |
| Omani rial | +10.4 | 0.6131 | 0.5551 | +£47.30 |
| Hong Kong dollar | +10.3 | 12.3750 | 11.2178 | +£46.76 |
| Qatar riyal | +10.3 | 5.8159 | 5.2741 | +£46.58 |
| Jordanian dinar | +10.3 | 1.1234 | 1.0188 | +£46.56 |
| Czech koruna | +10.2 | 31.1390 | 28.2668 | +£46.12 |
| US dollar | +10.1 | 1.6420 | 1.4910 | +£45.98 |
| Swedish kronor | +9.7 | 10.5297 | 9.5954 | +£44.36 |
| Hungarian forint | +7.9 | 348.0724 | 322.7273 | +£36.41 |
| New Zealand dollar | +7.3 | 1.8808 | 1.7531 | +£33.95 |
| Mauritius rupee | +6.8 | 46.9705 | 43.9685 | +£31.96 |
| Polish zloty | +5.0 | 4.8324 | 4.6005 | +£23.99 |
| Croatian kuna | +3.5 | 8.6964 | 8.4000 | +£17.04 |
| Danish kroner | +3.4 | 8.6451 | 8.3572 | +£16.65 |
| Bulgarian lev | +3.4 | 2.2455 | 2.1714 | +£16.50 |
| Euro | +3.0 | 1.1810 | 1.1470 | +£14.39 |
| Icelandic krona | +2.8 | 171.2321 | 166.5955 | +£13.54 |
| Swiss franc | +2.4 | 1.4362 | 1.4024 | +£11.77 |
(Featured image: Thomas Galvez)
