Euro strength benefits U.S.-bound tourists

The rising strength of the euro versus the dollar will greatly benefit tourists from the eurozone to the U.S. this summer, Bank of Ireland economists have said.

At present the euro is hovering around the $0.98 mark, and could reach parity within a month.

“The recent move will certainly help those traveling to the U.S. by making it cheaper to go there. Similarly, but to a lesser extent, it will help those going to the UK,” said Michael Crowley of BoI.

“Now would be a good time for people to head to the U.S. if they want to get a good exchange rate for their euro. It could even get better in the next couple of weeks if it moves above parity, which we think it will over the medium-term view, although it has fallen back over the past few days.”

Crowley said that if the slow upward trend continues, the euro could even go as high as $1.05 or $1.06.

The exchange rate would not necessarily help Irish companies exporting abroad, Crowley added, because most of Ireland’s exports are still within the eurozone.