Euro strength

Phil_Soulman

Phil_Soulman

Active Member
Hi all,

I've just returned from 2 weeks in Halkidiki, Greece! One thing we noticed was the shear amount of people who were walking about but not sitting in bars and spending any money - the bars were dead and the drinks were more expensive than England! We also noticed how much money we spent compared to other years and it was clear that going to this location was no longer a cheap holiday......I wonder how this will pan ot next year and the affect it will have on tourism? How are people finding the spending in Ibiza this year? The prices are the same if not more and the pound is weak to the euro - 2009 us going to be quiet unless something changes IMO, never mind the new laws 8)
 
It really sucks, doesn't it? My sis is a rep in Corfu at the moment and she has told me she may have to come back as the cost of living is just taking the p*ss. I'm off to Ibiza next week and wasn't clever enough to buy my Euros way back when I first booked last November, before the rate got even worse. However, it was still shocking, even back in Nov! It's virtually like for like in the rate and this terrifies me. I was truly astonished by how much everything was in Ibiza last year and I am fully expecting it to be ten times worse this year, hence why I've extended the old overdraft, just in case!!!!!
 
the cost of living in the euro zone has risen only by inflation this year. living here i wouldn't call ibiza prices astonishing, a little higher than the mainland maybe, but then we are a small island with all the problems that brings for the retail sector.

the main problem is for british tourists who are now going to have to add around 25% to their budget to pay for the same as they got last year. if only they'd joined the euro on day one when a pound =ed 1.60 euros?
 
Have just come back from Majorca and the beer prices had not gone up from last year a pint of beer still 2.5 euros , food had gone up a bit as had the supermarket prices and sunbeds on the beach etc , but the main prob was the poor euro as a previous poster said its now nearly like for like, like i said a pint costs 2.5euro thats probably about £2 so just about as much as at home , for me the price increases started years ago but we probably did'nt notice it as much as we were getting 140-160 to the pound not the derisory 121 i got , but the experts say get used to it as the euro is positioned where it really should be against the pound and it is unlikely it will go up to the heady heights of a few years ago.So looks like i will have to take a bit extra when i go to Ibiza in 8 weeks.
 
correct wayne. you won't see any discussions like this on the german or spanish forums unless of course they're all laughing about how ridiculously cheap 'fancy' london town is these days.
 
Welcome to my world!

It's interesting to hear the Brits complain about this. I have always thought of the UK as one of the most expensive places to visit.

I remember going to Ibiza when the dollar was actually worth MORE than the euro. Ibiza wasn't cheap then either. :?
 
and i can remember when the pound was almost one to one with the dollar!

and i also remember when 1 pound would buy you 4 dollars - hence in the slang of the day 2 shillings and sixpence was known as half a dollar ( there were 20 shillings in a pound and 12 pennies in a shilling)
 
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It's interesting to hear the Brits complain about this. I have always thought of the UK as one of the most expensive places to visit.
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I wouldnt say it's a complaint - more an observation on the change, and more so, how will it affect Ibiza over the next few seasons if things don't improve! I dont really care, i'm going anyway 8) but some people may find that 25% is just too much (brits anyway)
 
I think its already starting to affect the islands already , i go to Majorca every year at the same time ,end of May to early June and this is the quietest i've seen it , and there were a lot of people saying it was now too expensive to visit and would be looking at cheaper options such as Bulgaria and Turkey although they are now much dearer than they were you can still get a beer in Bulgaria for about 70-80P.Also lots of the bar owners were complaining about the lack of trade and were trying allsorts of gimmicks to get people in and spend their money , to quote one of the bar owners " something has to be done soon or we will be closing". Not sure by who or what needs to be done but thats how he felt.
 
Next season will be the big test as I would imagine many people will have booked their trips this year without a thought on the value of the euro to the pound etc till it was too late!
 
Phil_Soulman said:
I wouldnt say it's a complaint - more an observation on the change, and more so, how will it affect Ibiza over the next few seasons if things don't improve! I dont really care, i'm going anyway 8) but some people may find that 25% is just too much (brits anyway)
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But, as Stephen intimated, of all the main nationalities that travel to Ibiza (or Greece), it only really affects the Brits. And the Americans, of course, but that's a different story.

I'm just happy the ruble is so strong 8) In theory, the only substantial increase in our travel expenses this year should be the airfare (damn oil prices!). If anything will put a damper on overall travel, that's the key factor.

Interesting to read these complaints, though. Surely you all recognize that in most of these destinations mentioned, the problem is not local prices, but the weakening of the pound and dollar. Perhaps Brits and Americans might not be travelling as much next year, but others will. (Russians, for example, are flying all over the place!).

Even more fun is that London and the US are becoming increasinly cheap. If I restrain my natural born instinct to think in dollars and try to think in rubles, for example, I'm amazed at what I can get for my ruble in these places.
 
on the other hand, i can see my spanish dwelling colleagues suffering as they exchage their gibraltar earned ponds into euro.

:spank: but hey the cost of living in gib is so high, they still do better than us gibraltar resident. But my choice to live gib side of the border and for me the right one, but hey still fel for my mates been hundreds of euros worse off
 
americans deserve to throw the biggest fit, our dollar is horrible, everything is almost double from the last time i went to europe in 2001
 
Morbyd said:
... the only substantial increase in our travel expenses this year
should be the airfare (damn oil prices!) ...
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not "only "airfare - this skyhigh oilprices have an "substantial" impact
on probably almost everything you can think about ...
 
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