Travel Tips

Travel Tip: How the U.S. Dollar is Making Travel More Affordable

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Image Credit: Stephanie Ervin

Right now, there’s a worldwide buyer’s market when it comes to travel, and you can thank an incredibly strong U.S. dollar for that.

The U.S. currency’s value is up 4.3 percent since the presidential election, and while the surge is putting pressure on U.S. exporters, it represents a great opportunity for U.S. travelers.

The Euro is now down to about a dollar five, and could be at parity soon.

That makes it much more expensive for Europeans to travel.

What’s the result? Lots of empty seats across the Atlantic.

Many airlines and hotels are significantly dropping fares and rates—not just for this month, but through the end of March.

In the Caribbean, where occupancy is down 25 percent from last year, many hotels and resorts are either offering a flat 25 percent discount off their rates, or promoting “stay three nights get the fourth night free” deals, which also represents a 25 percent discount.

On airfares, it’s now cheaper to fly from New York to Europe than New York to Boston.

Some airlines are throwing in value added promotions, including free stopovers at hub cities and free onward travel to many of the routes in their network.

Don’t just check online for these deals.

It’s often better to call the hotels and airlines directly, because many of these discounts are not heavily promoted.

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