European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Currency Shock Low Dollar pinches travellers in Europe by Alan Riding new York times i t s one thing to hand Over an unfamiliar Bill or a few strange coins after a pleasant hour at a Paris sidewalk cafe. It s quite a different thing to find that you be just spent $10 for a Coke and Sandwich and a touch of ambiance. Quot Don t think in dollars if you want to enjoy yourself a wily world travellers advise. But that is just what american tourists have been doing throughout Western Europe this year. And the results have ensured that their vacations will be remembered. Quot people used to talk about the Rich americans coming to Europe and buying everything in sight Quot said Brent Morris of Boulder colo., As he and his wife looked at shop windows in Vienna. Quot now we can t buy a thing. Everything is More expensive even Mcdonald  the explanation is quite simple. The Dollar is considerably weaker against Western european currencies than it was last year. In fact it has fallen to its lowest level against the West German Mark since the currency was created in 1948. Nonetheless Many american tourists come psychologically unprepared. Quot eight years ago prices were just the opposite Quot recalled George Lamartiniere who was visiting Paris from Alabama. Quot this time we had to give up going to Rome and Florence and stayed with friends in Grenoble to  Marcia Burros who is from Washington said she was going about London on foot to save Money. But then she looked Down at her toes sticking out of her sneakers. Quot do you know sneakers Cost $65 Here Quot she said. Quot How do the britishers do it Quot from clothes to gasoline meals to hotels prices Are now higher in Western Europe than in the United states. Some tourists caught Short of Cash or traveler s checks lean on their credit cards determined not to  their vacations. But Many admit to taking buses rather than taxis to skipping lunch in favor of a Good dinner and even to forgoing presents for the family. Quot i can buy the same thing cheaper Back Home Quot said a new yorker in Vienna. Surprisingly though americans have not stopped coming to Europe. During the first three months of 1990, the number of americans entering Italy Rose by 4 percent Over last year. Swiss officials anticipate a 5 percent increase in american visitors this year. France s tourist promotion Agency also reported 10 percent More americans with Paris As their destination. Yet much of the increase May have happened before the Dollar really began to fall in june. With rare exceptions americans have been replaced by japanese a although the yen is also weak in Europe a and italians As the big spenders in Many european capitals. But whether in search of culture Good food or family roots millions of americans continue to be drawn to Europe principally Britain France and Italy. Once Here though Many this year Are spending As much time looking at Price tags As at the sights. And those who visit More than one country become experts taxis Are cheaper in Madrid than in Rome meals Are cheaper in Brussels than in Oslo and the sales tax in Paris is one to watch out for. Those who travel first in Eastern Europe and then head West Are in for a bigger Shock than if they had come directly from new York. A we came in from Czechoslovakia and the Price of everything More than doubled Quot Mark Gallagher a teacher from Manheim pa., noted after arriving in West Berlin. Quot there a soft drink Cost 15 cents. Here it costs $1.20.�?� since the economic unification of the two Germany in july however East Germany is no longer a bargain. Scott Gordon from Boston paid the equivalent of $17 for a night at a youth Hostel in East Berlin and he thought the rate a bit High. At the other end of the scale a double room at the legendary Ritz in Paris costs $590 a night. In theory with most major european currencies except the British Pound following each other prices should not vary much within the Region. But frequently they do. A coca cola costs the equivalent of $1.25 in Berlin and $3 in Rome a medium priced dinner for two without drinks costs $70 in Geneva and $130 in Rome a medium priced hotel costs $80 in Vienna and $160 in Rome. Indeed by most accounts Rome prices Are hard to top. Mesite Zegiri visiting Rome from Worcester mass., said she found Italy much More expensive than Germany and the Netherlands. Quot food is twice As High As Back Home Quot she said. Quot take pizza. For $3 or $4, you get a full 10-Inch  in the states. Here you get a strip and it in t As  her husband Agim added his experience. Quot gasoline must be five times higher Here than in the ., and Highway tolls Are outrageous Quot he said. Quot the trip from Bari to Rome Cost me $33 when it would have Cost me $18 to go from Boston to  the latter trip is nearly twice As Long. If not five times More gasoline prices in Europe Are More than triple what americans  at Home. Recent averages in the United states for a gallon of  coping in different ways by Norm Zeigler travel outdoor writer for american service members and their families travelling in Europe begins every time they leave their Home or base. And that Means they feel the Pinch of the Low Dollar much More intensely than americans who Are abroad Only briefly on vacation or business. The Impact on go travel has been varied. Bob Wyatt assistant managing director of scheduled airlines travel offices said in Frankfurt that he thought the Low Dollar had caused an upswing in Sato s Leisure travel business. Sato operates 67 travel offices on army bases throughout West Germany. Quot a lot of people Are travelling on the bus Tours and these types of things because they could t afford to go on their own Quot he said. Wyatt said in Many cases bus Tours that include accommodations and some meals Cost less than a train ticket alone. Wyatt said Sato has served More travellers this year Quot than any historical data or projections would have indicated. The soldiers Are looking at the army in Europe s future and saying this May be my last Opportunity in Europe. I May not get another tour Over Here. I d better take advantage of it now Quot but though the volume of travellers has been High several tour operators have reported that their customers Are More careful about spending Money once they reach their tour destination. Because of the Low Dollar this years bus travellers Are even More Likely than in the past to stick to the guided Tours and group meals rather than strike out on their own Wyatt said. Comments by visitors to the recent Germany is Wun Derbar travel fair in Kaiserslautern West Germany showed that individual american travellers Are finding different ways to Cope with the Dollar s dive. Capt. Kurt Weinelt of sector operations Center 3 at Sembach a West Germany said he and his wife Mindy Seldom eat at guest houses or restaurants anymore. Quot we always pack our  Weinelt said they travel Only on their own. Quot we never go on tour buses because it s too  they have become experts at planning their own trips. Quot there s a lot you can see but All you need is a Good map and a tour Book Quot Mindy said. The Weinelt who have two Young children generally avoid hotels and pensions staying instead at Paris and its sights such As notre Dame have remained popular with americans despite the dollars woes. Was $1.21 for self service and $1.42 for unleaded according to Runzheimer International a Chicago based company that tracks travel costs. In London last month gasoline was about $4.89 for an american gallon. In Paris it Cost $4.03 in Rome $4.98. Spain which for Many years was a Penny Pinchers Paradise is rapidly catching up with the prices elsewhere in Europe and the Dollar has done its bit. Five years ago one Dollar produced twice As Many pesetas As today. Quot i bought a pair of Levi s in new York for $20,�?� said Patricia Lopez Talieja a Young spaniard who now lives in new York. Quot Here it would Cost me four times As  Young people backpacking with crumpled copies of Europe on $25 a Day find they have to improvise to Ake ends meet. Quot we had to sleep on Radiator vents on Tolje streets because the hotels in Paris Are so pensive Quot recounted Brian Pagnella a 19-year-old m Bowling Green miss. But not everything inspires complaints. Museum trance fees Are usually reasonable a $5 for the lure in Paris $4 for the Prado in Madrid $6.80 for the Isican museum in Rome a and walks along the Seine Paris through Rome a Centro Sorico and beside the to eau in Lake Geneva Are still free. Quot sure i was shocked by the prices Quot said Bernice h Ogan a social worker from Naples Calif., Quot but what i Ime to Rome for has no Price. I would t come Here to shop. For me the big lure is artworks and monuments a id even outside the museums there is so much to s  Eft for 0 Liv a the lower priced Quot Zimmer Frei Quot places private Homes that rent out one or More rooms to travellers. Planning their own itinerary is also something at which John and Louise Enright have become expert. A we get some information and then we map out our own route Quot Enright said. Enright a staff sergeant with the 524th Maint co in Kaiserslautern said the Low Dollar has definitely reduced the number of trips they make. Most of their travelling has been within Germany but recently Louise a parents came to visit and they made a trip together to the Netherlands. Quot we ended up putting everything on a credit card Quot Louise said. This postponed some of the immediate expense but ended up costing More in the end because the credit card company a conversion rates Are not As Good As those at military Banks. One couple who say the dollars woes have not affected them much Are master sgt. Don and Doris Dumrauf. Quot i m German i get paid in Marks Quot Doris said. Dumrauf with the 2134th comm so at Sembach a said they usually drive their own car rather than take bus Tours. Capt. Tony Crowder with the 601st tac control Wing at Sembach said for him and his wife the Dollar s to a Impact has meant that Quot we re not travelling As much e re not going downtown to  Crowder who has Ben in Germany three years said they Haven t topped travelling but Are making trips less frequently. A a re doing groups opposed to individual stuff Quot he spid. Crowder said they Are on the Lookout for other ways save Money on their travel budget. Quot we re talking out going to arc. Its the first time we be done  Harry Connors Public affairs specialist for the 4rmed forces recreation Center in Garmisch West g Ermany said the lower Dollar has had no noticeable feet on arc s summer volume. Arc hotels normally have an occupancy rate close to 100 percent tips time of year. Quot this is our Peak season Quot Connors spid. He said arc has no Way to determine if there bps been an upsurge or a decline in reservation requests. I Connors said he thinks one of the major effects of the jew Dollar has been on travellers choices of destinations. Quot from talking with people in be heard a tremendous amount of people Are heading East because the Dollar has some value  in ., vacationers sticking closer to Home by Robert Reinhold new York times recession looms across the United states and wary vacationers Are camping out eating in and heading Home Early to save a few dollars. From the Lush Tiger River Valley in the san Diego zoo to the Rocky coast of Maine the travel Industry had its toughest summer in More than a decade. Travel officials see the decline in tourism As an Early warning of economic troubles a sensitive barometer of falling consumer Confidence. Quot people Are watching what they spend they fear a recession if a recession is not already in Progress Quot said Jeff Jouett spokesman for the 74-year-old zoo which imposed a hiring freeze recently after attendance slumped 12 percent compared with last year. Quot consumer Confidence is  compounding the Industry s woes Are Sharp increases in gasoline prices that happened after the iraqi invasion of Kuwait. And a round of fare increases ranging from 5 percent to 10 percent recently announced by american Northwest  am United Twa and other airlines seems certain to further depress Leisure travel. Quot i be had a lot More customers Call up get prices and then say it s really out of their Price Range right now Quot said Magda Corbin a co owner of Azer travel in los Angeles. Instead people Are taking cheaper Shorter vacations closer to Home. Quot normally we go to Florida for a week but we just went to Cape cod for the weekend Quot Deborah Ginter of Middletown r.i., said. Quot we have had a Lousy vacation this  thus even As Revenue was Down 10 percent this summer at the Chatham bars inn on Cape cod mass., the number of visitors was up 10 percent at the nearby beaches of the Cape cod National seashore. Quot people May be doing More outdoors one shot kind of vacationing Quot said Anthony Bonanno chief Ranger at the 48-mile coastline. The Midwest and Rocky Mountain states provide the main exception to the trend. State officials report that Leisure travel this year is up 7 percent in Illinois 5 percent in Missouri and 12 percent in Idaho. A spokeswoman for Yellowstone National Park in Northwestern Wyoming reports a Banner year for the Region. She said that visits Rose to 526,260 in june As against 472,856 in june 1989, and that the visits recorded last month had set a record for july. At Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado a prime tourist attraction visits were up 15 percent in june Over last year. Near Saugatuck mich., a Lake Michigan resort popular with chicagoan the family run Crane orchids was reporting a Good summer at its bed and breakfast inn and restaurant. Midwest officials attribute their Success to prices that Are lower than on the two coasts More aggressive promotion and a relatively stable midwestern Economy. Quot we re now opening the Book on the Midwest Quot said Dick Matty administrator of Wisconsin tourism development who expects spending by visitors in the state this summer to match or surpass last year s increase of 18 percent. But elsewhere the Story is mostly negative. A in Washington visitors to the monuments along the mall Are scarcer this year. Sales of hot dogs and snacks at the dozen stands operated by guest services inc., were Down 17 percent last summer and Are slipping again this year. The smithsonian institution s air and space museum reported 100,000 fewer visitors in june compared with last year. A at colonial Williamsburg attendance is steady but hotel occupancy has declined sharply to 66.9 percent last june from 72.4 percent in june 1989, said or. Roy Pearson director of business research at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Quot we seem to be a victim of Shorter stays Shorter trips and Shorter times on the Road Quot he said. A in the Northeast where the recession has been entered nearly All resorts report a bad summer. Visitors tended to make Day trips to Martha s Vineyard leaving Many of its 2,000 hotel and Motel rooms vacant. A in Southern California attendance at theme Parks and similar attractions is weak. The number of visitors is Down about 10 percent at sea world in san Diego and 6 percent at the Hearst Castle at san Simeon Calif. Although attendance by Southern californians is holding up Park officials say visits from out of state Are off More than 25 percent at Universal studios in Hollywood and 5 percent at Knott s Berry farm in Buena Park. Disneyland which does not disclose attendance figures is no exception Industry sources say. Like most theme Parks it has recently raised its admission rates in this Case to $25.50 from $23.50. A in the Southwest the grand Canyon National Park last month saw the first decline in visitors in a dozen years to 400,358 from 471,813 a year ago. A the situation in Florida is difficult to gauge because of the openings of the Disney Mem studios theme Park last year and Universal studios Florida this summer. Orlando where both Are located has been booming As a result and Universal studios says it has had a Quot very solid very comfortable Quot debut since opening june 7. But experts foresee a softening in Orlando this year. In Miami attendance at both the Miami a aquarium and the Parrot Jungle was Down 3 percent in june from last year. % not Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes wednesday september 12,1990 Yellowstone National Park is one of the few  Regions where tourism has boomed this year. The stars and stripes a a a Page 15