British travellers heading for Europe or Japan saw their holiday budgets boosted this year, as looser monetary policies pushed the euro and yen down against the pound.
Research by Lloyds Bank showed sterling increased in value against 42 of the 74 currencies it analysed, as well as 11 out of the 16 currencies used by the G20.
The Japanese yen declined 11.8% against sterling in the year to December 3, while the euro fell 5.6% over the same period.
With the European Central Bank (ECB) expected to loosen monetary policy further over the next 12 months, the euro is on course to fall further in 2015, The Telegraph reported.
Europe is the top destination for UK holidaymakers, with 30.5 million visits last year out of 37 million trips in total, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Lloyds said Scandinavian currencies also recorded signficant declines against sterling. The Norwegian krone and Swedish krona were both down 10% against the pound over the past year.
The Russian rouble also slid by 52% over the past 12 months.
However, currencies in China, the US and India were the biggest risers against the pound. After a strong start for sterling, the pound has fallen against the dollar this year and is down 4% compared with a year ago.
Lloyds private banking director Richard Musty said: “The relative strength of the UK economy has been a key factor driving the increase in value of the pound against the majority of currencies during 2014, which has been good news in terms of helping to keep UK inflation under tight control.
“Sterling’s gains have been good news for many overseas travellers from the UK, including those going to Norway, Sweden and euro-zone countries. They have, however, been less beneficial for many UK exporters who have found it more difficult to compete in a number of key export markets.”