The travel story of 2015 has been the strong dollar vs. the weak euro. People are flocking to Europe in droves to take advantage of strong pricing. But is it really that cheap? Let The Traveling Professor's , take a look and see if now is really the time to take a tour to Paris, a trip to Rome, or a jaunt to Spain.
I ran my first tour back in 1992 to Spain. Since then, I have seen a lot change in the travel business. One thing I could always rely upon was that travel was going to get more and more expensive each year - until now. I can remember traveling to Paris in the 1990's and easily be able to afford luxury hotels. Airfares were dirt cheap. Italy was a bargain for Americans. Then in the 2000's things began to change. But let the good times roll again! It is time to go back to Europe and I will tell you why.
Since The Traveling Professor has been running small group tours to Paris, Italy, Spain and other destinations in Europe, every year the price of a tour goes up. In fact, on our first tour to Paris back in 2008, we could run a tour for $999. Since then I have added many, many amenities and improved our tours significantly, but the price has gone up too, almost three times the original amount. But just because of the weakness in the US dollar, costs on running a tour to Europe have risen significantly. But now, the US dollar is stronger than it has been in about 15 years and for the first time since I have been running tours, prices have gone down. NOW is the time to go to Europe.
When the euro was first introduced about 15 years ago, it cost about 95 cents to buy one. It was a true bargain to go to Europe. I remember staying in 5-star hotels in Paris for under $200 per night. The same hotel is four times the price now. I can remember purchasing a R/T flight to Paris for $351 on American Airlines. In the last few years, the euro has gone as high as about $1.50. Now that the dollar is strong and oil is under $60 a barrel, what can we expect in prices on your next tour to Paris or Italy?
I ran my first small group tour to Paris in 2008. The cost was $999. But while it is true I have upgraded hotels and offer far more services such as professional guides since then, the cost of running a tour to Paris has more than doubled. When I ran my first small group tour to Italy back in 2011, we could offer a great tour for just $1,499. But now that cost is up by over 1/3. Again, we have upgraded hotels and offer more professional guide services. I'll explain why Europe has gotten so expensive and why the trend will continue to go that way.
In a few years, it may either be too impractical or too expensive for the average American to travel to Europe. In my opinion, there are a few reasons why it may soon be nearly impossible to take that trip to Rome you always wanted to go to. The cost of a trip to Paris may be prohibitively expensive by 2020. Hotel and restaurant prices in Spain might be out of reach. Read my blog post to find out why Europe travel to Paris, Italy, or Spain might be a good idea now instead of later.