Fewer Britons have taken foreign holidays so far this year but those heading overseas are splashing out more on spending money, a survey revealed yesterday.

Sales of foreign currency rose six per cent in the first three months of this year compared with January-March 2009, the poll by American Express global foreign exchange services showed.

This is in contrast to actual numbers of UK citizens travelling abroad, which fell 10 per cent in the first two months of this year compared with January-February 2009.

While the euro and the US dollar were the most-bought currencies, a number of Far East currencies rose up the foreign exchange table in January-March 2010.

These included the Thai baht, the Singapore dollar, the Japanese yen and the Malaysian ringgit.

Another rising currency has been the South African rand, with American Express predicting further big sales ahead of the football World Cup in South Africa this summer.

Big fallers in the first three months of this year were the Canadian dollar, the Barbados dollar and the Gambian dalasi.

Terry Perrin, director of trading and business development at American Express global foreign exchange services, said: "New year is traditionally a time when purse strings are tightened but currency sales in the first quarter were up six per cent as holidaymakers increased their spending money."

He went on: "The favourites of 2009 are likely to continue their popular streak into the summer of 2010. We expect Spain to remain the number one package holiday destination this summer for British families and 2009 currency climbers - Turkey and Egypt - are likely to continue their growth in popularity.

"This could be due to the increasing popularity of the all-inclusive holiday versus the pay-as-you-go trip."

These were the top-selling currencies in January-March 2010: 1. Euro; 2. US dollar; 3. Australian dollar; 4. Egyptian pound; 5. New Zealand dollar; 6. Thai baht; 7. United Arab Emirates dirham; 8. Turkish lire; 9. Canadian dollar and 10.Swiss franc.