International tourists from outside the European Union will undoubtedly see their travels simplified if prices throughout Europe are expressed in the same unit. They will however be less well informed about the euro and the practicalities of its introduction. Improve customer confidence Tourism is one area where consumers will first meet the euro. It is in the interest of tourism operators to make the changeover as easy as possible for tourists, as loss of confidence or difficulty in comparing prices would result in lower sales. Tourists must be made fully confident that the switch to the euro has not led to disguised price increases.
Companies ought to be able to demonstrate that they are correctly following the conversion rules.
Finally, enterprises will need to be able to explain the practicalities of the introduction of the euro and how this will affect price displays, invoicing and settlement processes. Enterprises need to plan for specific communication about the euro, as best suited to the needs of their customers. This plan must be a balance between the need to reassure and inform customers and the risk and cost of information overload. There are a number of ways of communicating towards tourists and the approach taken will differ between enterprises. Various methods are listed below and companies are likely to use a combination of them.