Are you addicted to buying souvenirs on holiday?

Half of Brits addicted to buying souvenirs: £1.9billion spent this summer is the headline from research* conducted by Debenhams Personal Finance, and has revealed exactly how hard-hitting our obsession is.  It shows that nearly half of us are addicted to buying souvenirs and we are spending £1.9billion as a nation on objet d’art, otherwise known as ‘tat’, during our summer holidays! But how is this holiday obsession affecting our bank balances?

The data has revealed the average Brit spends £30 on holiday mementos with 23% of us spending up to £50 and 16% spending up to a whopping £100. Southerners are more frivolous when it comes to buying souvenirs with 25% spending up to £100 each holiday with Northerners in comparison typically spending up to £20 (27%). The high spending is surprising, considering 15% of Brits take six months to pay off holiday debt.

Country Facts

Spain tops the list as the destination we most love to buy our ‘tat’ from, with 34% of us saying we have bought souvenirs from the sunny destination. America (27%) is in second place, followed by France (23%), Greece (20%) and Italy (18%).

Who Buys this ‘tat’?

Doctors, nurses and dentists are most likely to buy holiday ‘tat’, with 61% saying they purchase something every holiday. This is followed by artists and designers (60%), sales professionals (60%), shop floor staff (59%) and administrators (52%).

Travel Money Savvy?

Andy Newman, Head of Personal Finance at Debenhams, commented: “We were surprised to see just how much we are spending on holiday souvenirs as a nation.  With our research revealing that 58% of Brits fail to exchange their leftover currency and over a third exceed their holiday budget, it seems that as a nation of travelers, we could certainly benefit from a financial tip or two.

“We don’t want to spoil people’s carefree approach when on holiday but we do want to encourage Brits to purchase their holiday cash in a smarter way so they can shop guilt-free. With our Click & Collect service, travelers benefit from the best exchange rates and therefore get more money in their pocket.”

“The average spend on souvenirs, £30, is less than the amount consumers could save if they pre-ordered all of their currency at home, so for the savvy currency shopper, their mementos need not cost them a penny.”

The most unusual ‘tat’ purchases have been outed as snake wine, bags of sand, a dead snail, an antique cello, a toilet roll holder and even an Elvis costume, however, the most common items of ‘tat’ Brits buy are:

• Fridge magnet (47%)
• Artwork / postcards (32%)
• Glass / mug (29%)
• Keyring (26%)
• Clothing (22%)

So what do we actually do with our holiday memorabilia once we are home? 30% of us actually throw it away, or simply put it away never to be looked at again.

Andy Newman, Head of Personal Finance at Debenhams, added: “We offer customers an extra 20% free when you bring back currency and load it onto a Debenhams gift card , meaning you can buy more things you really do need and want when back home.”

For more information visit Debenhams Travel Money.

*Based on an independent survey of 1,008 UK respondents. August 2017.