$70 may not sound like much after booking flights, accommodation and tours, but it’s still not the amount you want to be wasting on something like international ATM fees.
Apparently that’s exactly what millennials are doing when they head overseas, because they’re yet to realise just how much their banks are charging them for withdrawals.
A study conducted by Westpac found those younger holidaymakers think their international ATM fees are around $3 per transactions, but it’s actually more like $7 per transaction.
That misjudgement is costing them an average of $70 per person, per trip or roughly $183 million all together, per year.
“The research shows millennials don’t know the cost of using international ATMs, a cost which can quickly chew through their budget, but can be reduced through some simple research.”
Ashley Gray, Westpac Head of Youth and Millennial Markets
When Westpac broke the news to these younger travellers and told them how much money they were wasting on withdrawal charges, they were shocked at first (obviously) and then the majority said they would rather spend the money on practical things like food and drink (61 percent).
In total, the emerging market spends a whopping $11.3 billion overseas annually on things like shopping, gifts, visiting attractions, souvenirs and extreme sports – so the stuff you’d expect them to be buying.
“I encourage millennials to thoroughly research their destination in advance and create a daily travel budget that takes into account current exchange rates, the cost of food and drinks, transport and sightseeing expenses.” Gray added.
“It’s important to be realistic when planning a budget. To help, Westpac has an online budgeting tool to get you started.”