UK consumer spend abroad rises to £35.5 billion in 2014

Spending by UK consumers abroad rose by £3.7 billion to £35.5 billion last year over 2010, according to latest calculations.

This represented an 11.7% increase in the four-year period with Spain being the major benefactor.

British travellers spent £6.14 billion in Spain in 2014 – the most for any country in the world � and £3.91 billion on visits to the US.

Some £3.51 billion was spent across in France, whilst Italy was fourth with £1.68 billion.

The research by the travel money business Centtrip also showed that Romania had seen a 114% increase in spending by UK residents between 2010 and 2014. This equated to an extra £102 million.

Lithuania and the UAE saw increases of 74% while Norway and Mexico saw increases of 69%, 60% respectively.

Analysis by the company found that Britons took more than 60 million trips abroad, with an outlay of £35.5 billion in spending money.

Centtrip co-founder and managing director, Brian Jamieson, said: “Overseas travel is increasing, but as people visit more countries, they need to make sure they are getting a fair deal when buying foreign currency, and keep charges down to a minimum.”