Monday 30 September 2013

Brits get more active on holiday

A recent poll carried out by the Post Office Travel Money Activity Barometer uncovered that over 75% of British adults questioned aged 18-64 wanted to "have a go at a new sport or physical activity while on holiday."

Most popular activities Brits want to try on holiday

·         Rally car driving was top of the list for the over 55's. 58% of adults aged 18-64 wanted to give it a go.
·         Scuba Diving 49%
·         Water Skiing 47%
·         Jungle Trekking 45%
·         Sailing 44%
·         White Water Rafting 43%
·         Canoeing  41%
·         Paragliding 41%
·         Snowboarding 41%
·         Surfing/Kitesurfing 40%

(Figures are based on the Post Office Activity Barometer poll which asked UK adults aged 18-64 what they wanted  to try on a future holiday. Source: Omnibus research by Populus (26-28 July) among 1,664 UK adults aged 18-64.)

The study revealed that three quarters of British holiday makers want to experience a memorable new activity whilst away from home and two thirds of the group questioned had already tried one of the 27 activities they were questioned about on a previous holiday.

Water based sports as a group were incredibly popular with over 40% of people choosing one of these activities which included Scuba diving, water skiing, sailing, white water rafting, canoeing and surfing. 

Family, work, home maintenance and other commitments seem to prevent people from trying new activities at home. On holiday people are away from their normal routine and want to use their leisure time to try something new and exciting.

The Post Office study also showed the average amount people are willing to pay for an activity and compared this to the actual cost of each activity. As you can imagine prices differ widely from ne destination to the next.

Activity
Amount people are willing to pay for the activity
Closest to the amount people are willing to pay
Over budget
Rally Car Driving
£111.77
£166.97 Subaru Rally Experience - Australia
£338.67 Subaru Rally Experience France
Scuba Diving
£83.12
£35.56 1 x Dive Gozo Discover
£80.00 1 x Dive Portugal Discover
Water Skiing
£64.29
£43.33 1 x 30 Min lesson Maldives Beginner
£71.11 1 x hour lesson Portugal introduction to water skiing
Jungle Trekking
£80.46
£15.41 1 x Day Jungle trekking in Khao Thailand
£600 1 x Day Gorilla Trekking Tour Rwanda
Sailing
£74.79
£51.23 Half Day Sailing Experience South Africa
£300 2 x Day RYA Start Yachting Introduction to Sailing Majorca
White Water Rafting
£67.88
£40 3-4 Hours Austria Rafting
£80.03 4 x Hours Switzerland River Rafting
Canoeing
£56.93
£4.33 1 x Day Hire in Hungary
N/A
Paragliding
£95.37
£55.33 Tandem Flight Portugal
£106.67 Tandem Flight Spain
Snowboarding
£80.80
£466.94 2 x Hour Private Session Bankso Bulgaria
£192.67 2 x Hour Private Lesson USA
Surfing/Kitesurfing
£58.67
£44.44 1 x Hour Private Kitesurfing Lesson Greece
£75.56 1 x Hour Privte Kitesurfing Lesson Egypt

If you are planning to try a new activity whilst on holiday the cost of that activity can vary significantly from one destination to the next. Most people expect to pay more for an activity than the cost in many destinations apart from Snowboarding and Rally Driving where the actual cost far exceeded the desired cost. It is therefore wise to do your research before you book your trip to ensure that you get best value for money especially on high value activities.


To help your money go further whilst abroad check out our travel money comparison table to find out who is offering the best travel money deals. 

Monday 23 September 2013

MoneyGram International gets closer to consumers by acquiring money transfer companies based in Greece

International money transfer services provider MoneyGram acquires super agent  Advanced ChronoCash Services (ACCS) and has signed an agreement to acquire MoneyGlobe Payment institution. The acquisitions are thought to help MoneyGram get closer to consumers and add cash to account services.

ACCS have a loyal retail agent base in over 400 locations and has been a great partner to MoneyGram.  "By acquiring the company, we will now be able to continue to expand the network directly in partnership with our agents who serve our consumers every day." explained Carl Scheible the executive vice president  of Europe and Africa at MoneyGram.

MoneyGobe on the other hand provide cash to account money transfer services from Greece to Bangladesh. MoneyGram hope the acquisition of this company will enable them to be able to offer a technology-driven solution to people based in Greece with money transfer requirements. 
  

MoneyGram has acquired ACCS through a share purchase agreement and has signed an agreement to do the same with MoneyGlobe subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals in the hope of capturing a larger market share in Greece once the country begins to recover and new opportunities arise.