Euro falling in value against the dollar, higher airfares in 2011

The recent bailout of Ireland doesn't seem to have assuaged currency traders. In fact, fears that Portugal, Spain, Italy and even Belgium might need cash infusions has driven the euro to levels it hasn't seen since mid-September. At one point today, it was trading at $1.29 to the dollar.

Since the money woes of European governments won't be cleared up any time soon, it seems a likely bet that the euro could be weakened even further, good news for North American travelers hoping for their dollars to go further abroad. Stay tuned!

Airfare Predictions for 2011
In less positive news (at least for travelers on the American side of the pond) the New York Times today published an article predicting a significant uptick in travel costs in 2011. Using corporate travel planners as their "canaries in a coalmine", they examined what sorts of contracts these folks were able to get for their clients.   In general, airfares will rise 3% to 7% varying by destination and class of service. Hotel rates are also expected to rise a bit, though since they've been at record lows for nearly two years, that increase doesn't seem as worrisome. Read the article for the full story.