Brief by Central Staff
Tourism – July 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
If you work around tourists in Central Colorado, you might want to brush up on your high-school German, Spanish, French, or Italian, as merchants tell us that we’re seeing quite a few more foreign tourists this year, most of them from Europe.
The U.S. dollar is weak in comparison to the Euro, which means that America is a bargain. A few years ago, the dollar and Euro traded about even. In mid-June, a Euro was worth about $1.53.
And even if we think $4 for a gallon of gasoline is outrageous, it’s about $8 a gallon in Germany, so America looks like a great deal. And many German tourists are fascinated by the American West.
“We’re a pretty good deal this year for European tourists,” said John Engelbrecht, director of the Salida Chamber, “so maybe that will make up for any decline in other tourists on account of gasoline prices.”
