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Browsing Brits miss flights in May

Browsing Brits miss flights in May Duty-free shops will experience particularly hot trade over the forthcoming bank holiday, as 33.5 million Brits look for bargains in airports, with five per cent of holidaymakers missing their flights due to browsing.

May is traditionally one of the busiest months of the year for spending at airports, as travellers take advantage of last minute breaks over the bank holiday and have to stock up on holiday supplies.

Yet travellers are not only interested in sun cream and mosquito spray - they also scour airport shops for items that are tax-free.

According to research from StreamThru, 55 per cent of British travellers will pay out around £50 at airport retailers over the bank holiday weekend, spending an average of 23 minutes browsing through duty-free outlets.

Thirty per cent of women surveyed said they tend to browse for perfume deals and a further 17 per cent look for clothing bargains. Men are typically more interested in electrical items, with 20 per cent saying this accounted for most of their airport spending.

"The month of May is a real peak time for travel in the UK with the two bank holidays providing extra opportunity for Brits to get away," said Mike Atherton, managing director of StreamThru parent company Mantic Point.

"We know that people purposely arrive early to check in and to spend money in the duty-free shops. What has been most surprising from these results has been not only the range of items people are buying but also the fact that some will actually spend more in the airports than when they are away."

Yet more research has also shown that Brits are suckers for souvenirs, spending £1 billion a year on trinkets from overseas. Although local delicacies account for 68 per cent of overseas purchases, a third of people polled by hotel.com said they bought fridge magnets from their destination of choice.

On average, British tourists spend £23.40 on souvenirs, typically buying three items per holiday.

With an average of 18 years of experience behind our agents, Travel Counsellors have so much travelling knowledge that we can bag you a bargain every time.

Not only do we have the best deals available, our agents also offer you a personalised service, meaning that whether you want to buy a fine wine or a keyring when abroad, your local Travel Counsellor will know where the best buys are to be found.

Contact your local Travel Counsellor, to get the lowest price and the sagest advice going.

Airport News posted on 03 May 2007

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