Expats cash in on dirham strength

Travellers to Europe are set for cheaper holidays this summer due to the increased strength of the UAE dirham.

The Euro is trading at a 20-year-low while the British Pound is the weakest it has been for two years, meaning holiday-makers are getting more "bang for their buck".

A lot of the price increases being witnessed across the euro zone and the UK, such as for car rental, hotel rooms and for day-to-day expenses are largely being out-run by the increased purchasing power of the dirham.

Joe Hepworth is the CEO and Founder of the British Centres for Business and the Middle East Director of investment consultancy firm OCO Global. He told the ARN News Centre the current rates are very welcome.

It's not only travellers who are benefitting, of course. The same advantages come into play transferring money to the UK and to the euro zone.

This British citizen living in the UAE, who sent a lump sum home recently, said it's a silver-lining in a world of rising costs.

The common currency of the euro zone has been in decline as fears of a recession intensify on the back of rising uncertainty about energy supply to the bloc, with Russia threatening to further reduce gas supplies to Germany and the broader continent.

Pound sterling has also been hit by similar fears as well as a healthy dose of political turmoil being added to the mix, as Joe Hepworth explained.

And Hepworth added the weakness in the Euro and British Pound could continue for some time yet.

He said the current variables that have led to the dollar's strength, and therefore the dirham's strength, are on-going meaning purchasing power on a trip to Europe or sending money home should remain favourable for quite a while.