to stag abroad or not to stag abroad - 16/06/09
2009 has seen a change for everybody, “le crunch” and the falling value of the pound have been critical on important stag weekend decisions. Stags are naturally to be enjoyed as much as possible (responsibly of course), they are one of the few times you can let your hair down, look after your best mate before he embraces his nuptials and spend high quality time with the boys. Let’s face it when things are tight you do think twice before giving it the full twinkle, but that shouldn’t stop you – like any decent event it’s all about smart planning. It’s the difference between legend and lost causes.
Even in these “correcting” times the euro stag doesn’t have to cost a fortune, admittedly at the time of this article the euro-zone (ie those countries that have the euro as their currency) is running in the region of 10% heavier than it was last year all round the pitch (and that’s after a recent mid year decline in the Euro’s strength). That said don’t automatically write off the euro zone, countries like Ireland, as they head deep into a significant recession, are offering some fantastic deals. At StagWeb our Irish deals are better than ever. There’s no denying Barcelona, Rome and Paris are expensive but then again they are 3 of the most amazing cities in the world, and as a back drop to the stag weekend they provide one hell of a platform. You could say the same for Ibiza. Plus it’s StagWeb’s business to get you the best stag weekend deals in those cities and we can.
The popular Baltics (Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius) are still trading a little high but with the fragile state of their economies and significantly declining tourist numbers good deals are readily available. In terms of value they remain well into the top half of the table.
Good old Prague is still remaining a firm favourite with only a slight fluctuation of -3%. We would expect this to reverse to a positive gain for the pound in the near future.
What might surprise you is there are still sizeable bargains to be had in particular Poland (Gdansk, Krakow, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw) where the pound is actually stronger by 20% than it was a year ago! Hungary (Budapest) is +6% better for us, it’s incredible value. The reason being that these countries have suffered badly with the economic squeeze, they have their own currency and it is not yet pegged to like for like values with the Euro.
It’s also worth noting the airlines are doing their best to provide bargain fares and have been prolific at providing fantastic offers. The trick with booking flights is getting in there early, especially if you see an incredible deal, and being a little flexible on dates. 2009 might be the year to go Thursday-Saturday and enjoy a day of rest on your return, or Saturday – Monday or Tuesday, with a short working week to follow. Do your research and don’t forget to check out StagFly to find flights.
To give you some idea of relative values here’s what’s happened to the pound’s value in the last 12 months in StagWeb’s European destinations:
| currency | 01 June 2008 | 01 June 2009 | % change |
| Euro (Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Slovakia, Slovenia) | 1.27 | 1.16 | - 9% |
| Koruny (Prague - Czech Republic) | 31.83 | 30.96 | - 3% |
| Kuna (Zagreb - Croatia) | 9.22 | 8.52 | - 8% |
| Krooni (Tallinn - Estonia) | 19.93 | 18.13 | - 9% |
| Lita (Vilnius - Lithuania) | 0.9068* | 0.8170* | - 10% |
| Lat (Riga - Latvia) | 4.4537* | 3.9733* | - 11% |
| Forint (Budapest - Hungary) | 306.3 | 323.49 | + 6% |
| Zlotych (Gdansk, Krakow, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw - Poland) | 4.3 | 5.15 | + 20% |
| Kronor (Gothenburg - Sweden) | 11.87 | 12.17 | + 3% |
Please note these prices are approximate and rounded to 2 decimal places, results provided by www.xe.com. * These results provided by www.oanda.com.
We expect the pound to strengthen more and more against the smaller currencies, let’s face it we’ve been knocked around quite a bit, but it is likely that gains against the euro, whilst forthcoming, will be slower. However don’t let that put you off, finally for the first time in the last 6-12 months euro stag options are looking attractive again. Get the right deal in the right location and pay the right price for the flight and you’ll be back on a winner!
We’ll be telling you about America in the next article, and while the pounds not back at 2 for 1 on the dollar, it’s climbing back from sub 1.50 to 1.64 as of today’s date (that’s a 9% gain).
If you want to discuss any aspect of national or international stag weekends and the best deals available then don’t hesitate to contact us, we have unrivalled experience and we’re ready to help. You’re successful stag weekend, whether it’s in the UK, Europe or the USA, is our goal and we want you to be totally prepared, happy and receiving great value – no one does it better!
