European vacations are getting cheaper than they have been in years. With the dollar gaining 14.6 percent on the euro and 12.1 percent on the British pound over the past 12 months, large numbers of U.S. tourists are already booking vacations to Europe for the coming year. The stronger dollar means prices on everything from French hotel rooms to Italian wine are falling for U.S. travelers. Airline fares, too, are easing, as more trans-Atlantic flights are scheduled and fuel costs start to come down. As a result travel agents are seeing a sharp rise in advance bookings to Britain and the Conti- nent. AAA Travel, a national agency, says its advance bookings to Europe are up 116 percent over last year. (Italy’s bookings are up 236 percent, England’s are 79 percent higher and Spain’s have climbed 170 percent.)
How much cheaper, in U.S. dollars, did a 100- euro-per-night Paris hotel become in 2005, according to the News Wire on page 359?