Tourism Cage Match: Paris v. Detroit

On Sunday, what has been described as a "game-changing" evolution in trans-Atlantic travel regulations will take place, when the open-skies agreement takes effect. Current regulations force carriers to base flights out of their own countries only, and place restrictions on which airlines can use which airports. The new agreement means that any airline can fly from any city to any airport. The move will undoubtedly increase competition between airlines, resulting in shorter flying times and greatly reduced fares. (A new European airline is already in the works that promises to send passengers from Liverpool to Baltimore for a mere 16 bucks.)

This is great news... if you live in Europe. New fares may apply to folks on both sides of the drink, but Europeans are finding great opportunities to spend their euros in the United States, while American tourists find that a dwindling few countries even accept dollars at tourist attractions anymore.

The effect of the dollar's fall on American tourists has been much discussed, and this European travel season for American tourists is shaping up to be the most painful in a five-year-slump. Stories about $40 ice cream or $10 bottles of water are scaring American tourists away from European summer jaunts, and make lower airline prices sort of look like the free food and drinks at Caesar's Palace.

Non-stop flights from European cities will no doubt open up new American markets to European travelers. And therein lies perhaps the one consolation for the dejected American Europhile: "I may have lost Paris, but they're only gaining Detroit." I mean, where would you rather vacation?

Photos: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images News; JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images

It reminds me of a joke well-known by Manhattanites: Q: "Why are New Yorkers so depressed?" A: "Because New Jersey's the light at the end of the tunnel."

Europe, welcome to New Jersey.