Brexit uncertainty: Best non EU countries to visit

As we approach summer holiday season Brexit negotiations are still in a state of flux, despite the date for Britain to leave the EU being pushed back to the 31^st October 2019. EU countries such as Spain and Italy have previously been firm favourites for British travellers looking to get away during the summer. This year, several travel companies have revealed a drop-in profit as less people are travelling to the EU, and instead choosing to holiday further afield.

Research by consumer awareness campaign,Travel Insurance Explained sought to find the cheapest and most popular non-EU destinations based on stats including the price of beer and the average accommodation cost.

Rebecca Kingsley, Brand Manager at Travel Insurance Explained, said: “With Brexit being postponed, and the Pound to Euro exchange rate constantly fluctuating, British holidaymakers are looking to travel elsewhere this summer. While the countries in the EU have always been the UK’s go-to, they’re not looking as rosy as before – stats have shown people are looking to book this summer’s holiday outside Europe. This comes in hand with the fact that EHIC cards may no longer be valid in EU once we leave”

Unsurprisingly, the most popular non-EU country was the US; it had a huge 3.4m British visitors in 2017.  The vast country has almost every climate or holiday type you could ask for – sunny beaches, snowy mountains, exciting cities, and vast lakes with surrounding forest. However the vast selection doesn’t come cheap, it was estimated travellers will spend around £200 a day when visiting the US.

Up next was United Arab Emirates who had over 1m British visitors. UAE has two impressive cities: Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Their main attraction being the second-to-none skyscrapers – including the record-holding BurjKhalif. UAE has become hugely popular in recent years seeing a 63% growth in tourism since 2013. However, similar to the US, the flashy skyscrapers come at a price, with an average daily spend of £205.

In third place comes India which had 1m Britons travelling to the country in 2017. India’s main attraction is its incredible mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. The country also has many other incredible temples and cities with world famous cuisine and fantastic street food. Another attraction of India is the prices – on average a £74 daily spend.

The fourth most popular attraction was Pakistan with just over 600k GB travellers in 2017. Like India, Pakistan has some of the most amazing temples and fortresses in the world, some dating back to the 1600s. The country also has vast mountain ranges for the nomadic traveller. Pakistan comes in at the cheaper end of the spectrum with an average daily spend of £62.

Coming in at the fifth place of this list is Morocco; it saw 586k British holidaymakers in 2017 with a large 29% increase in travellers since 2013. The country has some beautiful cities such as Marrakech, which has many amazing markets to visit where visitors can buy hand made fabrics and exotic food. Not to mention the hundreds of miles of picturesque beaches.