After Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, announced her plan for tax cuts, the value of the country’s currency plunged. Now the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the British pound is outrageously good for American travelers. The dollar is now worth about £.90. That’s almost one for one. Considering that the pound was worth around two dollars as recently as the 2006-2008 period, that means the dollar has more buying power now in Britain than at almost any time in memory.
That is a kind of luxury travel in itself. It’s fun to go cruising around feeling rich. But before you plunk your money down for a quick trip to Britain, there are some other things to consider. After the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II, travel media were reporting a tourism surge to England that caused hotel and airline prices to spike, which could cut deeply into any currency exchange advantage.
According to CNN, “On the day of the Queen’s death, travel app Hopper reported a 49 percent spike in flight searches from the US to London compared to the previous day.” According to CNN, many hotels were full and hotel prices had as much as tripled.
But it’s always difficult to sort through varying reports and statistics. One report does not necessarily reflect the whole of the situation for travel to the UK—and things change from day to day.
To get a broader picture, I spoke to some tour operators who deal with the market on a daily basis. Kama Winters, president of Delta Vacations, told me this fall will be an excellent time to travel to Britain because of several factors: fewer crowds, strong dollar, and cooler temperatures; along with the post-lockdown return of great hotels, experiences, activities, and tours that are coming back online. COVID numbers are down, and most travel restrictions have been lifted.
Amelia Sugerman, senior manager of corporate communications for mega tour operator Collette, confirmed that the company has seen a rise in interest for travel to the UK, and people want to go right away. They are looking for close-in departure dates. “We have recently seen a surge in folks who are booking departures for the remainder of 2022,” she told me. “This may be a result of pent-up tourism, the exchange rates being in the favor of Americans, [and] a drive in media publicity due to the Queen’s passing, and cheaper flights to London from the United States.”
Luxury and expedition travel specialist Abercrombie & Kent has bookings to the UK come in strong for departure dates next year. Pamela Lassers, the director of media relations for A&K, told me, “We are indeed seeing growing interest in travel to Britain, with guests making plans to travel next year for a once-in-a-lifetime Inspiring Expedition hosted by Geoffrey Kent, or to attend events or festivals which require planning far in advance, such as the Chelsea Flower Show and Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.”
I spoke by phone to Paul Barry, CEO of Avanti Destinations, a leader in providing independent travel packages to Europe for decades. Paul Barry is a Briton and was in Britain when we spoke. He’s got his hands on the travel market all over the world, especially in Europe where he started his travel industry career. He gave me a different picture than what I had seen in reports. By now the Queen’s funeral is over. The fanfare is fading. London is off into a new phase.
“London is very busy now,” he told me. “Everybody’s out on the streets walking around. The hotels are very full. There are lots of tourists, lots of people coming back into the city to work. Things are very busy. The demand for hotel rooms is strong on both the leisure and the corporate fronts. We’re seeing hotels—because they do dynamic pricing now—increase their prices quite dramatically.”
Mr. Barry had not seen hotels with tripled rates, he said, but he had seen some doubled.
“I had my son in London, and the prices were 600-700 pounds a night for some nice hotels,” he said. “It was more than double what I’ve seen in the past, so I ended up booking him on points.
“I think the message for the American traveler is that London is a great city to be in. The exchange rate is great. Restaurants are open, and very busy. Everything’s very affordable here.”
What you purchase in the UK now is a bargain; but if you’re not already there, it’s a different story. If you booked a package two months ago, you would have gotten a much better rate than if you book now.
“If you book last minute, you’re going to pay last-minute rates at hotels,” he said, “which are very high, because they’re very full. And hotels and other parts of the hospitality industry still have not fully staffed up to the levels seen before the pandemic.”
Barry warned against the strategy of waiting to the last minute, thinking you’ll get the best pricing. It’s obviously not true now, and in late booking there can be issues of quality.
“One thing you can’t get last minute is the best quality tour guides,” he said. “There is a big advantage in pricing, availability, and quality with booking in advance.”
While this is not a good time to book Britain for travel immediately, it’s a great time to book in advance. Avanti, like most tour operators, locks in the rates once the purchase is made.
The great buying power in Britain right now may not last long. Barry cited some historical precedents that support the idea of making hay while the sun shines.
“It was a bit of a flash crash,” said Barry. “The pound went down to $1.04. Three or four days later, it has bounced back up to where it was before the flash crash. Now the pound has been slowly sinking. Now it’s about $1.10. This is the lowest drop in 37 years, since March ‘85.”
In that year, the pound got down to $1.05-$1.06. By June it was back up to $1.30, and by the end of the year it was at $1.44.
Paul said he did not observe an uptick in tourism after the Queen’s death. “I don’t think the two were related,” he said. “Tourism has just been very strong to the UK. A part of that is because it’s a very heavily vaccinated country. My mother just had her fifth COVID jab. Most people have had four jabs. It’s a very high percentage rate.”
The death of the Queen didn’t register as an effect on Avanti’s business.
“We didn’t see a reaction,” he said. “Not from what we saw from the US market, not to what we saw on our business levels. It may have made some difference to shorter-haul markets that react very quickly, but certainly not that we saw from the US market.”
The Queen’s funeral was Sept. 19. The fanfare has died down. The Coronation of King Charles will take place June 3, 2023, and that will no doubt draw many tourists.
“That will be right after the Chelsea Flower Show,” said Barry. “There will be a lot of great events next year in Britain and, assuming the exchange rates remain the same as now, it’s going to be the most affordable it’s been in more than 40 years, probably in living memory. If people book with Avanti, we lock in the exchange rate for the whole trip.”
Mr. Barry is expecting 2023 to be a great year for Britain’s tourism. That’s partly because the country will be finally really pulling away from COVID.
“There will be a lot of events next year,” he said. “Many of the yearly events were canceled during the pandemic, and even in ‘22 they were subdued; but in 2023, they’ll be back in full swing.”
Some of the most famous of the events are Wimbledon, The Chelsea Flower Show, The Henley Royal Regatta and The Ascot Races. Lesser-known events that are worthy of attention include the Jane Austen Festival, Notting Hill Carnival, Leeds International Festival of Ideas, Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival, Derry/Londonderry’s Halloween celebration, and Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland.
“London’s going to be back in full splendor in ’23,” said Barry. Avanti publishes an e-brochure that can help dig beyond the surface of things to do in Britain.
David Cogswell is a freelance writer working remotely, from wherever he is at the moment. Born at the dead center of the United States during the last century, he has been incessantly moving and exploring for decades. His articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Fox News, Luxury Travel Magazine, Travel Weekly, Travel Market Report, Travel Agent Magazine, TravelPulse.com, Quirkycruise.com, and other publications. He is the author of four books and a contributor to several others. He was last seen somewhere in the Northeast US.