Dollar makes Europe dear

The weak dollar means that destinations like the United States are becoming increasingly popular among tourists from the Euro zone, but what about people from outside the Euro zone? Hasn’t the depreciation of the dollar made Europe and Belgium incredibly expensive for people from countries whose currencies form part of the dollar zone?

Tourists from countries like New Zealand say that even if the prices haven’t gone up too much in euros, the cost to them has often doubled.

Still they remain enthusiastic about Belgium.

As a result of the weak dollar tourists often have less to spend. Souvenir shops in Brussels are feeling the pinch. Many tourists are spending less.

Despite the extra cost the number of foreign tourists visiting Brussels has not fallen.

For a couple of years now the number of American tourists has been growing.

The number of Japanese tourists has decreased though, but that is a different story.

A spokeswoman for the Flemish Tourist Board says there are fewer Japanese tourists, but that has more to do with the scrapping of the direct air link between Japan and Brussels than the depreciation of yen.

Even despite the strong Euro tourists with a keen nose for a bargain maintain they can still make a killing.