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The Olympics, Mardi Gras festival and a Taylor Swift gig are among the top live events Brits want to head to next year. A poll of 2,000 adults found one in five (21 per cent) would love to one day attend a match at the World Cup, while 16 per cent want to dance the night away at the Rio Carnival.
Experiencing the Cherry Blossom Festivals in Japan and having a pint of stout at St Patrick’s Day celebrations also ranked highly in the top 30. It emerged 27 per cent have specifically travelled abroad to attend a live event in the past, and 21 per cent are hoping to travel for an event in the next year.
Thanim Islam, Head of FX Analysis, at Equals Money which commissioned the research, said: “These events so many are travelling to are not just individual holidays – they are engines of economic transformation. Hosting major events with worldwide appeal inspires travellers to plan their next adventure and invigorates local economies – whether it’s a one-off concert or an annual occurrence.
These events can stimulate growth by creating jobs, boosting tourism, and nurturing local businesses. The economic impact can even cause local currencies to increase in value. This is a boost for locals but can make exchange rates for travellers unpredictable.”
The research also revealed 32 per cent admit they don’t consider local exchange rates when they travel, and as a result, another 32 per cent believe they’ve lost money because of poor rates. On average, these predict they have been left out of pocket to the tune of £90. Some believe they have lost up to £500. All while almost 28 per cent say they struggle to stick to a budget while on holiday.
On top of losing out on money due to poor exchange rates, people also struggle with understanding how to travel to the event when they’re in a different country, and where the best places to stay for it are. But despite many experiencing difficulties organising an event, only one in ten have booked theirs via a travel agent, even though a third of those polled would be happy to pay more for a holiday if they were getting expert and local insight on the destination from a travel agent. And 63 per cent expect a travel agent to be able to offer advice on currency exchange rates when booking through them.
Thanim Islam from Equals Money, which specialises in international payments, added: “Checking for good exchange rates is an essential step in ensuring your hard-earned money goes further. Exchange rates fluctuate, and even the slightest variation can have a significant impact on your budget. This is also an issue for travel agencies themselves, which have to handle many transactions across different currencies each day.
Equals Money helps create a consolidated end-to-end payments journey for travel agencies so they spend less time thinking about receiving and sending payments and have more time to focus on delivering quality consultations.”
TOP 30 EVENTS BRITS WOULD LOVE TO TRAVEL ABROAD FOR
- FIFA World Cup game
- The Summer Olympics
- Oktoberfest
- UEFA Champions League game
- Rio Carnival
- F1 Grand Prix
- UEFA European Championships game
- Cherry Blossom Festivals
- Sydney New Year’s Eve
- Chinese New Year
- Carnival of Venice
- Mardi Gras Festival
- St Patrick’s Day in Dublin
- The Winter Olympics
- The Ashes
- Eurovision
- Day of the Dead
- ICC Cricket World Cup
- Super Bowl
- T20 World Cup
- Cannes Film Festival
- Tour de France
- Coldplay 2024 tour
- The Ryder Cup
- Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
- Andrea Bocelli concert in Brazil
- The Masters
- Rock in Rio
- The Eras Tour (Taylor Swift)
- Burning Man
