Cyprus pound and Maltese lira become euros

Three quarters of UK residents say that they were unaware that Malta and Cyprus were about to join the euro.

Holidaymakers have until January 30th to exchange any Maltese or Cypriot currency as both countries have switched to using euros as their main currencies this month.

Post Office head of travel services, Helen Warburton, said that: "Holidaymakers planning trips to Cyprus or Malta would be well advised to keep abreast of news about price rises."

"The Cyprus pound and Malta lira are two of our top 10 currencies and 2007 sales put them in the 10 fastest growing - so we know that these are among the most popular holiday choices for our customers. We hope that prices will not rocket as they did in 2002 for the original euro currencies."

Caravan and mobile home owners may find that previous value-for-money restaurants and attractions take a little time to settle to the new exchange fluctuations, the Post Office report 'Holiday money end of year' predicts.

07/01/2008 21:44:52