Millions of Brits are planning to snub the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer by deliberately booking a holiday abroad to coincide with the sporting event.
With thousands of people from across the globe heading to the UK for the world’s biggest sporting occasion, it seems that many Brits will be going in the opposite direction.
Research by foreign exchange firm Travelex has revealed that around a third of Brits going abroad this summer based their departure dates around the Games.
It was found that 35% have already booked a summer holiday, with three quarters of these saying the Olympics had affected their departure date in some way.
Based on its research, Travelex estimates that around ten million Brits are planning to leave the country at some point during the Games.
The period before the start of the Games is likely to be the busiest for British holidaymakers, with the foreign exchange company estimating around four million Brits will leave the UK in the five days leading up to the Olympics.
“While the Olympics should be a fantastic spectacle it seems a large number of Brits would prefer to watch it from afar,” Elvin Eldic, from Travelex, told the Daily Mail.
More than a quarter of those surveyed in the research said that they intend to book a holiday that side-steps the Olympics.
Not only this, but it was found that 10% of people have even changed the dates of a holiday they had already booked in order to get away before the event begins.
The most popular reasons for people heading overseas were to escape the visiting tourists and the inevitable blanket television coverage.
“We have had customers who just want to get away from it all while the Olympics are on,” said Bridget Keevil, a travel agent with Travel Stop.
“We have seen a definite rise in inquiries and bookings for that period – some people have said they want to get as far away as possible – even to places like Vietnam and Thailand.”
The Games have even prompted people into leaving the country, with one in six saying they would otherwise have holidayed at home were it not for the Olympics.
People living in and around London, as well as those in Weymouth and Windsor, are the most likely to go abroad while those in Northern Ireland and Wales are the least likely.
If you are planning a trip abroad, investing in a prepaid travel money card is a good way to avoid high bank charges and expensive foreign ATM fees.
