British and Germans are biggest holiday spenders

UK consumers are Europe’s second biggest spenders when travelling, with only the Germans spending more money when they are abroad, figures showed today.

Britons spent €2.6bn on credit and debit cards in Europe during 2004, nearly double the €1.38bn European visitors spent in the UK during the same period, according to MasterCard.

The group, which analysed more than 350 million cross-border payments made in 24 countries using its cards, said the UK had seen a 37% increase in debit card usage abroad during 2004, compared with a 22% increase across the whole of Europe.

But at the same time credit card spending by Britons in Europe fell by 7%, although at a total of €2.4bn, it was still well up on the €277m spent on debit cards.

Britons spent most money in France at €797.8m, while the Germans spent the most in the UK at €341.7m.

The Germans were also the biggest cross-border spenders in Europe, spending a total of €3.5bn on cards abroad during the year, followed by the British and the Dutch at €2bn.