Holidaymakers Flock To Turkey To Bag A Bargain - And £1.22 Pints

Planning a last-minute bargain break? Well, with pints as cheap as £1.22 ($1.55), Turkey might just be the destination for you.

The last time the average pint was this price in the UK was 28 years ago - which explains why holidaymakers are flocking to Turkish resorts to party like its 1990.

In fact, the booze has become so cheap that these £1.22 pints are 45 percent cheaper than the average £2.25 ($2.86) pint in another popular holiday spot: Palma Nova, Majorca.

This is down to the country's ongoing currency crisis. With the latest drop, people changing £500 ($634.20) in Lira will get on average £235.75 ($299.03) more than they would have a year ago.

This has resulted in Turkish resorts being full of holidaymakers gleefully upgrading their breaks.

Thomas Cook's manager in Dalaman, Richard Ward, said: "Those on bed and breakfast or self-catering holidays are trading up to the higher end restaurants.

"Luxury leather shops are enticing more customers than ever."

As holidaymakers try to make the best of the problems brought on by economic woes and a trade row between the US and Turkey, foreign exchange bureaus are running out of the Lira.

Prices are almost half those in Spain and Greece, with reports of the Post Office this week offering an exchange rate of £1 to 8.16 Turkish Lira - an all-time record.

It has seen unparalleled demand off customers for the struggling Lira - with orders up 198 percent in its stores and 598 percent online.

PA

More than ever demand for Turkish holidays is soaring, as bookings to the popular holiday destination are more than 60 percent ahead.

Jet2, the UK's second biggest tour operator, has also doubled the number of its airline seats to Turkey in order to capitalise on the boom.

Online travel agency On The Beach has also seen bookings to its resorts increase more than any other destination in 2018.

Marketing boss Alan Harding told The Sun: "In-resort costs are the cheapest they have been in years."

The Sun reports that savvy holiday-makers can now pick up a week in a luxury hotel, on its own private beach, from just £310 per person, including flights and breakfast.

PA

Shopping is even more of a bargain with high-end designers, such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes have queues forming outside.

At Chanel, a classic camera case bag is selling for 18,500 Lira, the equivalent of £2,308 ($2,925) and 25 percent cheaper than the £2,911 ($3,689) it costs on a European Chanel website.

After years of price rises in Euro destinations, as the Pound took a battering, it seems many British travellers are seeing the Lira's drop as great news.

Topics: News, Turkey, holidays, currency

Rachael Grealish

Rachael is a NCTJ qualified journalist from West Cumbria, with a passion for news, features and journalism. Outside of work Rachael loves plenty of coffee, running and reading.

@RachaelGrealish