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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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Maybe you have heard the proverb about the 'day that feeds the whole year'? With Christmas approaching it's the right time for the retail and tourist businesses to push up from the bottom and to see the light at the end of the tunnel after months of sluggish sales before and after the attacks of 9/11.

The tourists and customers have to be lured and the most practicable weapons for this operation remain the lower prices coupled with high quality of services and goods. For the people living on the East Coast of the US and Canada and wanting to pass the holidays far away from their homes there is a big dilemma where to go - on the West Coast, in the Rocky Mountains, in South America or in Europe? Going south where the temperatures are far above the point of freezing isn't a good idea given the holiday specifics - Christmas without winter is the same as celebrating July 4th in a snowfall. In additional to that the explosive political and economic situation in Argentina and shop lootings, these days don't offer ideal conditions for relaxation and joy.

Thus the two remaining 'competitors' for the tourists' money are the West Coast and Europe. Flying in both directions from NYC these days may be extremely attractive for passengers - round trips with economic class cost as low as $200. The 4- and 5-star hotels in London and Paris could be less expensive than those in San Francisco or Los Angeles given the actual low exchange rates of the Euro and the British pound. The Alps resorts compete very successfully with Utah or Colorado because of the expected increase of the hotel and air ticket prices with the 2002 Winter Olympics approaching in Salt Lake City.

But there are many problems that don't allow Europe to take a big lead in a battle of luring foreign tourists during the holidays. One of them is the collapse of some European middle-size airlines in the past weeks - Swissair (Switzerland) and Sabena (Belgium). Everyone can still remember the thousands of people blocked for days at the international airports in Zurich and Brussels desperate to leave these countries. I'm sure none will wish a similar fate for himself and his family during the Christmas festivities.

Another reason why Europe can't attract many more tourists from the US even with lower airfares and hotel prices is the still present fears among the Americans to travel by air after the 9/11. It's not only a fear of terrorist attacks but also a fear that is case of emergency and landing abroad for several days like in September the holidays will be used up.

The third reason why Europe these days doesn't enjoy bigger than last year tourist influx is the coming of Euro notes and coins on 1/1. Everyone expects at least limited technical problems at the beginning of this process and I'm sure none will want to have even such limited problems with his/her money availability during his/her New Year holidays.

But if you're willing to spend your holidays abroad no matter in Europe, in the USA or anywhere else in the world, I can only wish you:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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