Post Office head of travel Sarah Munro said: "The Pound Sterling is recovering just in time for the summer holiday season and combined with the price reductions for fuel and car rental, drivers in the United Kingdom can travel more miles for the same amount of money." She added: "This year’s report shows more evidence of price cutting activity to boost tourism in popular European summer holiday resorts."
"The huge drop in car hire costs in countries such as Portugal and Greece is great news for tourists and is another factor that should be taken into consideration when choosing a holiday this year." Currently Switerzerland is the cheapest place to buy unleaded petrol, costing 91 pence per litre. Austria and Spain are the best overall value and drivers in those countries will pay something in the region of one pence per litre for unleaded petrol, though quite a bit more for diesel. The best value destination for car rental was Portugal where a 21 per cent drop in price has occurred since last year, with Greece and Sweden next in line. The Netherlands proved to be the most expensive of the 34 countries surveyed by the Post Office and in Holland petrol is about a third more expensive than Austria and Spain. The car rental company Europcar.co.uk has advised travellers this summer to re-discover the joys of holidaying at home in a hire car.
Marketing director for the firm Catriona Lougher said: "In a bid to save cash, families are reducing costs on car maintenance and even downscaling their car to a more economical vehicle." America is also expensive for car rental but the UK is getting cheaper. While car rental costs in Florida have rocketed due to rising fuel costs in the United States of America, Great Britain is now 10% cheaper for petrol than it was in 2008. This is due in part to the effect of the weaker pound against the dollar and it is estimated to be two thirds more expensive to hire a car in the states this summer than last.