New York a shoppers' paradise
WHILE it provides a headache for some, the dollar's continuing slump is offering a bonanza for British shoppers and holidaymakers.
US shop prices were already lower than here, but the gap has widened dramatically in the last six months as the pound has soared from $1.57 to $1.82, a new 11-year high.
For British travellers that effectively means US retailers are having a one-sixth off sale - on top of any January discounts.
At jeweller Tiffany & Co, a solid gold Elsa Peretti bracelet, which costs £4,450 in Britain according to the online catalogue, is £3,022 - before import taxes - in America. In an added bonus, gold itself hit a new 15-year high of $430.50 an ounce.
The dollar's 16% fall against sterling offsets the VAT on online purchases from US websites.
Canny travellers are starting to take note. 'We're getting more enquiries about short breaks to America,' said London travel agency Real Holidays. 'We haven't really seen that before.'
British Airways said passenger numbers to America jumped 4.3% last month, with New York its most popular long-haul destination.
It also said current cancellation rates are 'at normal levels' despite the security clampdown and full-year sales should top forecasts.
New York shopping savings will pay for a trip and other costs, from restaurant bills to theatre tickets, will also be lower.
The same is true in other US destinations from Las Vegas, where your losses at the tables will be less painful in pounds, to Hawaii, where three-star hotel rooms off Waikiki Beach start at £38 a night.
Travellers will need to be careful to get the full benefit of the exchange rate. Travelex, which dominates airport bureaux de change, was yesterday giving as little as $1.758 per pound, a thumping six cents below the City rate.
