"Rate-trippers" look to New York for gifts

More than 882,000 Britons are set to fly to New York this Christmas in order to do their festive shopping, new research has revealed.

A total of two million shoppers will head overseas to take advantage of favourable currency rates, with Sydney, Rome and Hong Kong being popular destinations for this purpose in addition to the Big Apple, Cater Allen Private Bank found.

These so-called "rate-trippers" will spend about £263 million on buying gifts abroad this year, with men found to be more likely to take a flight overseas for Christmas shopping purposes than their female counterparts.

"Clearly, the strong pound is having a real impact on shoppers and many are heading abroad to find a bargain this Christmas and take advantage of the favourable exchange rate with the US dollar in particular," commented Sally Ann Watts, head of marketing for Cater Allen.

Last month, Frances Tuke of the Association of British Travel Agents said that Spain is the most popular Christmas travel destination for Britons, primarily due to UK residents owning a high number of holiday homes in the country.

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