Dollars Go A Long Way In Europe

R O M E, June 8 -- With the U.S. dollar riding high and great deals on airfares, more Americans are treating themselves to a foreign vacation this year.

International air travel from the United States is up 11 percent this year, while domestic air travel is flat.

Tourists tend to go where they can find a bargain, and for Americans, the bargains are overseas this year.

The dollar buys 10 percent more in France, Germany and Italy than it did a year ago — and 28 percent more than it did in 1999. That means hotels, meals and other expenses cost less for Americans.

"I think the dollar's stronger," said one man visiting Rome from Sarasota, Fla. "I was here two years ago … I think the dollar is much stronger today."

Tim Smith, an American visiting Rome's ancient Colosseum, said he was enjoying the Italian cuisine.

"We're having nice dinners, including a drink before dinner and wine with dinner, for two people, for $50," said Smith, a manufacturer's representative from Connecticut. "It's significantly less expensive over here, even than staying home."

Italy is expecting a record number of Americans this year: 4 million.

Some Americans are going farther afield than Europe. Valerie Brezina traveled with a group of friends from Texas to Kenya.

"I was surprised at how inexpensive it was. I expected the airfare to be double what it was," she recalled while visiting a giraffe park outside the capital, Nairobi.

Brezina and others are taking advantage of special offers from the airlines.

Earlier this year — with the stock market uncertain and foot-and-mouth disease raging in Britain — Americans were slow to book summer flights. Now the airlines are sitting on a lot of empty seats.

"So therefore they're giving all kinds of discounts," said Richard Copland, president of the American Society of Travel Agents. "When you add that to the strong dollar, this is the time to travel to Europe this summer."