2008 Woodie Awards
State of U.S. dollar challenges travelers
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Editorial
These are trying times indeed for Americans wishing to travel overseas this summer with the current state of the dollar, but now a famous American author's old stomping ground in Venice, Italy has come to the rescue, kind of.
According to the Associated Press, Ernest Hemmingway's former watering hole in Venice, Harry's Bar, is now offering a discount to Americans due to our current economic situation.
A sign outside the bar reads in English: "Harry's Bar of Venice, in an effort to make the American victims of subprime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20 percent discount on all the items of the menu during the short term of their recovery."
For those in Venice wishing to go drown their sorrows at the bar, not so fast.
The discount does not include alcoholic beverages, according to the Associated Press.
According to Philip Petulla, Rueters writer, the proprietor of the bar, Arrigo Cipriani, said there is no need to show a passport, and the bar will make the assumption based on American accents.
Sound like an easy scam for a non-American to fake an accent?
Don't worry about Harry's Bar, they are one of the most expensive bars in Venice, so they will be all right.
What they are trying to do is build up tourism from America, which has declined in Europe due to the current state of the dollar, according to Petulla.
According to Petulla, in 2002 when the euro became Europe's main currency, a dollar was worth about 1.10 euros.
Right now it is worth about 0.64 euros.
Several UTC students will be going overseas to Europe and other places this summer, both on class trips and vacation, and many will have to shell out several weak dollars to do so.
For those students going to Scotland or England, the exchange rate is even worse than the euro, as the dollar is currently worth about 0.51 pounds, according to xe.com.
There are still many countries where the dollar is exchanged at a great rate that could be a possibility for an affordable summer destination however.
Checking exchange rates could land travelers in other great destinations they might have missed otherwise.
According to Rebecca Ruiz, Forbes writer, one great destination is Guatemala, where one could stay in a "gorgeous" hotel, eat great food and visit colonial towns and Mayan ruins very inexpensively.
According to the Associated Press, Ernest Hemmingway's former watering hole in Venice, Harry's Bar, is now offering a discount to Americans due to our current economic situation.
A sign outside the bar reads in English: "Harry's Bar of Venice, in an effort to make the American victims of subprime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20 percent discount on all the items of the menu during the short term of their recovery."
For those in Venice wishing to go drown their sorrows at the bar, not so fast.
The discount does not include alcoholic beverages, according to the Associated Press.
According to Philip Petulla, Rueters writer, the proprietor of the bar, Arrigo Cipriani, said there is no need to show a passport, and the bar will make the assumption based on American accents.
Sound like an easy scam for a non-American to fake an accent?
Don't worry about Harry's Bar, they are one of the most expensive bars in Venice, so they will be all right.
What they are trying to do is build up tourism from America, which has declined in Europe due to the current state of the dollar, according to Petulla.
According to Petulla, in 2002 when the euro became Europe's main currency, a dollar was worth about 1.10 euros.
Right now it is worth about 0.64 euros.
Several UTC students will be going overseas to Europe and other places this summer, both on class trips and vacation, and many will have to shell out several weak dollars to do so.
For those students going to Scotland or England, the exchange rate is even worse than the euro, as the dollar is currently worth about 0.51 pounds, according to xe.com.
There are still many countries where the dollar is exchanged at a great rate that could be a possibility for an affordable summer destination however.
Checking exchange rates could land travelers in other great destinations they might have missed otherwise.
According to Rebecca Ruiz, Forbes writer, one great destination is Guatemala, where one could stay in a "gorgeous" hotel, eat great food and visit colonial towns and Mayan ruins very inexpensively.
