Puny pound makes cheap London a big hit with holidaymakers

LONDON: The weak pound has made London a top holiday destination for Europeans, according to a new study.

Online travel agent eDreams reported a 24 percent increase in the number of visitors to London from European countries over the past year.

The drop in the value of the pound - which currently sits at €1.13 against the euro, according to currency converter XE - meant cheaper flight and hotel options for travelers wanting to spend their holidays in the UK – with a reported 7 percent decrease in the prices of return long-haul flights.

Even UK citizens are opting to spend their holidays in the country rather than traveling abroad, with the report citing that London rose from fourth place to first most-preferred vacation spot among nationals.

This all comes despite a number of terrorist attacks, which include those at London Bridge, Westminster Bridge and Borough Market.

"We’ve also seen that several large European cities which have suffered terror-related incidents in recent years have welcomed a greater number of bookings from Europe in 2017 so far, suggesting that traveller numbers have remained resilient,” said eDreams CEO Dana Dunne.

The report also predicted top travel destinations for UK citizens in 2018, with Istanbul topping the chart.