May be time to plan that Europe trip if you haven't yet. The Euro and the $ are now close to equal. Yay for us travelers (Americans, that is).

How many more of these threads do we need?
Seriously?

Sorry. I didn't know there were others.

Does it really bother you that much?

Why wouldn't kicking someone who is down hurt? Rubbing salt into the wounds of an EU citizen who may not now be able to travel is simply rude!

Oh, stoppit!

Good grief, some people on this board are nuts.

"an EU citizen who may not now be able to travel is simply rude!"

Those EU citizens stupid enough to have voted for governments supporting the Euro insanity were perfectly able to travel when the nonsense got launched - at a lower exchange rate to the US dollar than it's going to be at when it hits parity.

Those of us who voted for economically literate governments don't have anything to worry about anyway.

About those European trips I've taken when the euro was very strong against the dolllar...

I didn't complain, and I find it hard to believe that Europeans pitied me because the dollar was weak. I think a little glee is in order now, not because of any kind of schadenfreude, but because European travel is a little less expensive for Yanks now than it has been for 10 or 15 years.

Sorry, but I will be spending more in Ireland and Germany at this rate in May. I have gone when the rate was over 1.50 and know many that could hardly afford a nice dinner do we will be helping out many businesses. We have been on the other side of the coin many times. 1.05 yesterday. I think the lounge has a thread about this but first I have seen on euro board.

flpab: I vaguely remember a time when the dollar was close to 1.60, as you mentioned. I traveled then, and I didn't complain about costs.

In 2011, my travel partner's luggage was delayed, and when she couldn't stand wearing the same clothes for another day, she finally broke down and bought an outfit: a pair of pants, a printed T shirt, and a printed top matching the T shirt. It cost her $264 (in Cordoba, Spain). She was pleased with the outfit, but it would have cost less than $100 at Macy's or Nordstroms.

<i><font color=#555555>"I …remember a time when the dollar was close to 1.60… I traveled then, and I didn't complain about costs."</font></i>

I found myself working in Italy and France on numerous occasions during the years and months when the Euro was hitting all-time highs. You bet I complained, and my French and Italian friends complained, too. The rate was hurting their businesses, offering many fewer U.S. customers.

I complained because I'm quite familiar with the value of services and goods in both France and Italy, and there was nothing in either place that deserved the extra 60 cents on the dollar. It's no fun to overpay for anything, but some of us continued to travel, and we have our reasons.

We traveled when the rates were not advantageous to us. I'm sure Europeans will travel too. You just adjust your spending. I live in NYC and a few years ago would see hoards of Irish tourists taking shopping trips.

I remember being in France when the Franc was still in use and it was 5 francs = 1 U.S. dollar.

Pigeon - "I didn't complain, and I find it hard to believe that Europeans pitied me because the dollar was weak." Agree.

And so it goes . . .

The pendulum swings and now it is time for those spending dollars to live better on vacation and it is time for European merchants to expect business from these people to increase and probably by a good margin.

The big losers will be those in the tourism industry in North America who depend upon revenues from free spending European tourists who will probably be spending their vacations closer to home.

As Sarastro points out, currency rates work both ways. My home area will suffer if European tourists stay home; however, the Chinese seem to be picking up the slack... at least on the West Coast.

But it isn't equal, maybe 10% of the USA gets tourists from Europe whereas 3/4 of Europe gets tourists from the USA.

Heck ..good to anyone who can get a deal travelling.

I bought a lot of US$ when our dollar was $1.07 against the US dollar.

Thank goodness because now it will come in very useful.

>>> I found myself working in Italy and France on numerous occasions during the years and months when the Euro was hitting all-time highs. You bet I complained, and my French and Italian friends complained, too<<<

My European friends bought real estate in America.

PS: They bought for cash.


Also, if the eurozone economy picks up due to a more lively export economy, then Europeans will be able to travel more. For the past several years, Europeans have been seen their incomes shrink, and they cancelled their travel plans.

All that said, most people do not travel based on the exchange rate. For most 2-week trips, it rarely makes a noticeable difference.

True, if the last time you (an American) traveled to Europe was when the exchange rate was $1.61, then you will definitely notice a difference if you are arriving next week.

But if the last time you traveled to Europe was last year, not so much.

I have seen it all over the map and we spent for hotels, food and drink but limited "stuff" I bought. I already know what I want and intend to buy this trip. Last year it was around 1.27 and we were happy but this is even better. I put the deposit on the apartment at 1.13.

I wonder how tourism in places like Ecuador that use the U.S. Dollar as their currency will be affected. Maybe it's a good time to snag a cheap cruise standby in the Galapagos if Europeans stay away.