Tourist Currency Rates (Thursday 18th March 2010)

Travelling abroad on holiday or business? Check out our tourist rate guide to see how much your pound will get you when you buy currency at your travel agent or bureau de change. Here's what your £ Sterling is worth. The rates shown below are updated daily at approximately 09:30am.

	Currency	Rate
	Australia - Dollars	1.5995
	Bahrain - Dinar	0.5347
	Barbados - Dollar	2.8307
	Bermuda - Dollars	1.4169
	Brazil - Real	2.3463
	Bulgaria - Leva	2.002
	Canada - Dollars	1.4825
	China - Yuan Renminbi	9.6745
	Croatia - Kuna	7.4277
	Czech - Koruny	26.4131
	Denmark - Kroner	7.89
	Dominican - Pesos	49.56
	Egypt - Pounds	7.4807
	Euro	1.0758
	Gambia Dalasi	36.2921
	Hong Kong - Dollars	11.2061
	Hungary - Forint	268.1572
	Indonesia - Rupiah	12214.44
	Israel - Shekels	5.2509
	Jamaica - Dollar	124.122
	Japan - Yens	131.4914
	Jordan - Dinar	0.9968
	Kenya - Shilling	107.6099
	Malaysia - Ringgit	4.7227
	Mexico - Pesos	17.8145
	New Zealand - Dollars	2.0713
	Norway - Kroner	8.5515
	Philippines - Pesos	63.1286
	Poland - Zloty	4.019
	Russia - Ruble	41.5862
	Saudi Arabia - Riyals	5.4441
	Singapore - Dollars	2.0194
	South Africa - Rands	10.5866
	South Korea - Won	1578.8825
	Sweden - Kroner	10.2408
	Switzerland - Francs	1.5542
	Thailand - Bahts	46.3632
	Turkey - New Lira	2.2086
	United Arab Emirates - Dirham	5.28
	USA - Dollars	1.4361

European Euro: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

Remember the rate you will actually get could change as trading rates vary throughout the day.

Tourist Exchange Rates

If you are travelling abroad this year and looking to buy foreign currency for wherever you plan to go, you'll no doubt be checking out foreign currency tourist rates. But what do all these tables of tourist currency exchange rates mean and how do you know your getting the best tourist currency rates for your hard earned cash?

The foreign exchange market is arguably the largest market in the world mainly because unlike many other financial markets the whole world is its trading ground. It operates 24 hours a day except on weekends to make up for time zones and means that it trades trillions of US dollars every day.

Tourist currency exchange rates are based on the manipulation of two variables:

1. Spot Exchange Rate - This is the current market price of the actual physical commodity. Put into simple terms, it means that on the day you physically buy your currency this is what it is worth as long as it is delivered that day and paid for by cash. The opposite to this rate is the Forward Exchange Rate which refers to an exchange rate that is quoted and traded today but delivery and payment on a specific future date.
   
   
2. Commission - this is charged per transaction either by a percentage of the transaction or a fixed fee or both.

Currency providers will make profit on currency tourist exchange rate by buying currency for a lesser price that what they are selling it for. For example if the provider is selling euros £1 €1.15 and they are buying for £1 €1 then the provider has made €0.15 profit on each £1. Making it a very lucrative buiness

BEWARE:

• Some banks will charge a handling fees or delivery charges on currency tourist rates if you order below a certain amount so be sure to check exactly what fees you are being charged.
• Watch out for Commission free offers as often they will merely include this within their Commission calculation and no real saving is made.
• Ultimately, always shop around for the best tourist currency rates in the market today.