Analysis of the adoption of the euro on European tourist flows

Abstract

[eng] This research had as a primary objective to analyze the impact of the policies carried out by the European Union on the tourism. These policies are aimed to integrate the European countries on a single and open market. To achieve this objective, the main macroeconomic variables of the countries which adopted the euro in 1999 are analyzed. In this way, the countries exposed are Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Nether-lands, Portugal and Greece. The results showed an increase of the tourism ac-tivity on those countries that adopted the euro. Moreover, results showed a high sensibility of the tourism sector to the economic fluctuations. Despite a single currency wants to be a strong instrument to face these fluctuations, the euro zone nowadays seems not to be an optimal integrated area.