Resort prices falling despite pound pressure

Afall or hold in local prices around Europe has cushioned British holidaymakers against a drop in the value of the pound since last summer, new research shows.

Sterling is down 8 per cent on this time last year, and further against the heights of last summer when a pound bought €1.43. Travel experts anticipate an expensive time for Britons in resorts on the continent this summer. The EU referendum could mean sterling might fall more.

But according to research into in-resort costs across Europe by the Post Office, food, drink and supermarket shopping at some of the most popular tourist destinations still offers value. The report found that since 2014, when sterling began to surge, prices have fallen in every country or area surveyed, except in Ibiza and Turkey.

Since 2011, the report found that costs in Cyprus had fallen 45 per cent, 30 per cent in Croatia and 28 per cent in the Algarve. Even France and Spain had 3 per cent drops.

Sunny Beach, Bulgaria (pictured), was the cheapest destination for the third year running, with the total of the 10 costs considered by the Post Office, including a three-course dinner for two, a tabloid newspaper and a bottle of lager, amounting to £41.55. The Algarve, Portugal, was next cheapest at £47.04, followed by Limassol in Cyprus (£51.82).

Sorrento, Italy (£96.91), Nice, France (£96.99), and San Antonio in Ibiza (£113.69) were the three most expensive of the 20 resorts considered.

Andrew Brown, from the Post Office, said: “There is no escaping the fact that sterling is weaker this year than last, resulting in price rises in 80 per cent of resorts surveyed. However, looking at previous years, European resort costs have fallen quite significantly in the longer term.”