Press Room

Sometimes it Pays to go Too Far on a Stag do
(18 January 2006)

A new survey by NatWest Travel Money reveals that 68% of Brits either have already said, or intend to say, no to expensive stag/hen do’s abroad. With far afield places like Dubai, Las Vegas and even Reykjavik now established favourites for the soon to be married, are those close to the bride and groom being priced out of the party?

With travel abroad by UK residents rising to an all time high of 66 million in 2005*, the popularity of foreign stag/hen weekends is unlikely to wane. With an abundance of low cost air travel, friends of the happy couple can just as easily be expected to catch a plane to Prague as a bus to Blackpool to join in the customary knees up. However, smart stags and level-headed hens determined to take the party overseas can drastically reduce the costs to friends and family by playing to the pound’s strength abroad, but they must choose carefully which town to paint red.

Old favourites like Dublin, Barcelona and Amsterdam will hit British wallets hard on stag/hen weekends, as will other countries using the Euro. A weaker pound means the currency now costs Brits an extra 8% compared to 4 years ago. Even Prague’s reputation as a cheap destination may suffer as currency fluctuations since 2002 mean Brits now get roughly a quarter less Czech Korunas for their pound.

Whilst Euro countries will no doubt remain the most popular destinations for those prepared to travel overseas for their big night out, there are financial rewards for those willing to go the extra mile. Those heading to Las Vegas really will hit the jackpot as the amount of US dollars to the pound has increased a massive 18% since 2002. Russia, new to the stag/hen circuit, is next best value offering 13% percent more Roubles for your pound in just 4 years.

With Eastern European countries now establishing themselves as stag and hen do havens alongside those closer to home, It seems those Brits happy to travel are prepared to go further in search of the perfect party. Robin Cockburn, Head of NatWest Travel Money explains: "We have seen a massive increase in the amount of orders at NatWest for currencies used by popular stag and hen party destinations outside of the Eurozone. In just 2 years demand for the Estonian Kroon at our branches has rocketed by 143%, which mirrors the sudden emergence of the capital Tallinn as a favourite for stags and hens."

Once abroad, research shows that money soon becomes no object for partying Brits. With 42% of those surveyed admitting they are likely to lose track of their spending when using foreign money, its no surprise that nearly half admit to spending more than they intended. A word of warning to women with partners planning to follow a stag abroad, research by NatWest Travel Money found the majority of men are prepared to spend more on a stag do than they are on their partner’s Christmas Presents.

Notes to editors:

• * Overseas Travel and Tourism - Office of National Statistics December 2005
• This survey was carried out by YouGov in November 2005
• A representative sample of 2,120 British adults were interviewed
• Currency orders are those taken from NatWest Global Travel Money Services from 2002 to 2005
• To order foreign currency or travellers cheques at NatWest, you don’t need to hold an account. NatWest Advantage Gold and Premier, Student and Graduate customers can obtain their currency commission-free
• Currency can be ordered at any one of our 1,631 branches, where orders are placed before 2pm on a weekday they can be collected from the branch after 1pm the following day
• Larger branches with a Bureau de Change can immediately supply American Express travellers cheques in sterling, US dollar and Euro along with most major currency notes
• Those ordering NatWest American Express travellers cheques also have the added peace of mind of a free 24-hour, 365 day a year refund service should they lose or have their cheques stolen.