Bulgaria's Brexit dividend

Holiday resorts in Bulgaria have seen a rush in bookings from British holidaymakers as families seek out alternative summer destinations, amid uncertainty around the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.

More popular tourist spots in the eurozone have become pricier as the pound has slumped against the euro since the vote to leave the EU in 2016.

The Guardian newspaper reported that British families are taking action to guard against future changes in the event of no deal Brexit.

Banks currently give about 1.11 euro ($1.27) to the pound, a sharp drop from just before the referendum, when 1 pound bought 1.3 euro. Expectations are that a no-deal Brexit will result in a further drop in the value of sterling, making this summer even more expensive for anyone travelling to Europe.

With January being the busiest time for holiday bookings, travel agents report that more people are opting for all-inclusive deals, securing all-inclusive costs for food, drink and accommodation.

UK travel agents have recorded strong sales despite the Brexit uncertainty, with travel company Tui saying summer 2019 was ahead of last year.

Bulgaria, a low-cost destination for both sun and skiing holidays, has seen the benefit of the currency uncertainty.

The Association of British Travel Agents (known as Abta) said there had been an increase of almost one-third in the number of holiday bookings to the country this year compared with 2018, when there had already been a rise on the previous year.

"People are looking at different destinations and the length of time that they go in order to make sure that they can get the best value for money when they are being increasingly cost-conscious," said Abta.

For the second year in a row, Bulgaria was named recently as the cheapest holiday destination of the year in annual report.

The Post Office report compares the average prices that holidaymakers will have to pay for eight essential holiday items in 42 destinations. The items include a coffee from a local cafe, a large bottle of mineral water, sun cream and a three-course evening meal, including wine, at a local restaurant. Flight and hotel prices are not considered.

The total cost of items at Bulgaria's Sunny Beach resort, located on the Black Sea coast, came to just more than 36 pounds ($46). Marmaris, a Mediterranean resort town in Turkey, was ranked in second place, with a total cost of just more than 45 pounds.

Plovdiv, the oldest city in Bulgaria, has been officially inaugurated as the European Capital of Culture for 2019.