Cheap holidays: France is not good value for money, say Brits

British people think France is the last place to go for a cheap holiday, according to a new Post Office Travel Money survey.

It appears that British people have made their minds up about the French without even visiting the country: 49 per cent who had never been to France felt it was not a value-for-money country, And of those who had been to France, only half thought it represented good value for money.

Based on responses from 2,085 UK adults, the survey showed that of those countries in which holidays had been taken, Turkey was seen to be the best value-for-money destination, followed by mainland Spain, Greece and Portugal.

Based on perception rather than actual visits, the country seen as offering the best value was Bulgaria, followed by Turkey, mainland Spain and Croatia.

Of countries not visited, Dubai was bottom of the list, with only 38 per cent deeming it a good value-for-money destination.

Turkey was the destination to which most people would return. Around two-thirds of people who had been before said they would go back, while 63 per cent would return to mainland Spain.

But - on a value-for-money basis - only 29% would go back to Dubai, only a third would return to France and only 40 per cent would make another trip to Italy.

The survey also showed that, on average, people set aside £552 in spending money while on a break but overspend by £242.

Also, 27 per cent chose a destination as they had found it to offer good value on a previous visit.

Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, said: "Our new research shows the extent to which value is a determining factor in destination choice.

"Holidaymakers can best arm themselves with information that will help them to make informed decisions about value by monitoring exchange rates to see where sterling has strengthened most this year."

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