The U.S. stock market felt the impact of the Brexit, and Florida tourism officials feels that the pound’s dive could make the state too expensive for British tourists. A strong U.S. dollar can also mean, local tourists can now have cheaper deals for a European vacation.
In a statement released by the website, George Hobica, president of airfarewatchdog.com, a travel deal website, said “The immediate effect: American visitors will pay less for travel to and within Europe and Britain. If the British pound continues to stay low or fall even more, your trip to England will be cheaper. The pound recently traded at levels not seen since 1985, making hotels, meals, shopping and other purchases at least 10 percent cheaper than recently. It’s good time to buy pounds for an upcoming trip.”
Glenn Jergensen, executive director of the Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council, said “Honestly, I think it is too early to even speculate on it.” In 2015, Palm Beach county had 40,000 tourists from United Kingdom, that’s about 5% of the international tourists who visited the county last year, Discover said.
“I’m not predicting devastation,” said Jerry Parrish, chief economist at the Florida Chamber Foundation. “It’ll have a slight negative effect on the Florida economy.”
“Brits have been active buyers in the Florida real estate market, but investors and second-home buyers are unlikely to make any offers in the near future,” said John Mike, a West Palm Beach Realtor who often travels to Britain.
“British people with money are going to want to see where things are going before they spend big money,” Mike said. “This has given everyone with money pause. They aren’t going to invest money until the currency stabilizes.”
