The pound may buy fewer dollars and euros than it did before the Brexit referendum but Britons are traveling to other countries in record numbers.
UK residents made 18.5 million trips abroad in the three months through November, 10 percent more than a year earlier, according to data from the Office for National Statistics published Friday. Almost 80 per cent of them were to other European countries.
By contrast, the number of trips made by overseas residents to the UK was up just 3 per cent at 9.5 million, despite an 11 percent jump in visits from North America. Foreigners spent £5.7 billion in the UK, less than half the amount Britons spent abroad.
The figures suggest the weaker pound is proving less disruptive to international tourism than many had expected. Sterling has fallen 16 percent against the dollar and 10 per cent against the euro since the June vote to leave the European Union, making it cheaper for foreigners to come to Britain and more expensive for Britons to travel abroad.
News by Bloomberg, edited by Hospitality Ireland
