Amex predicts that British travellers will lose nearly £1 billion this year, after a study showed an average of £15 per person per trip is wasted due to lack of knowledge of local currencies.
The results of a recent independent study from American Express Global Foreign Exchange Services reveal that an astonishing one and a half million adults in the UK do not know the Dollar is the official currency of the USA.
Of the survey respondents, a quarter of women and 12 per cent of men thought there were fewer than 50 currencies in the world, when there are in fact 176, while 5 per cent were unaware that France uses the Euro.
Leisure travellers appear particularly ignorant of the currency question, however, with nearly half of those who responded to the survey (46 per cent) admitting to being confused by conversion rates when on holiday.
Nearly one in three holidaymakers feel they are left unwittingly short-changed after shopping on holiday, while nearly two thirds simply spend more than they budgeted for. Astonishingly, six per cent say the reason for this is they think of local currency as “monopoly money”.
Helen Grace, vice president of American Express Global Foreign Exchange Services said: “As British travellers look to broaden their destinations and avoid the Eurozone, knowledge needs to increase to help holidaymakers avoid blowing the budget or being caught out by currency confusion.”
One hopes regular Business Traveller readers are more knowledgeable, but if need be the Plan & Book section on our website might be a handy tool – see online news April 19 and click here for our currency convertor.
Visit americanexpress.co.uk/businesstravel
Report by Sara Turner
