Euro currency. More good or more harm?
Wouldn't tourists love to receive and use the natural currency of the country that they're visiting? This is a big part of tourism as well.
What's the point of it since isn't it that we all fought hard for our own countries independence and identity?
Answer:
I visited Austria in the year that the Euro was introduced there. As I have German I was able to ask the Austrian staff in the hotels what they thought of the Euro. All of them regretted it and said that "prices have gone up".
Your questions seem to predispose you against the Euro, the common currency of the European Union.
When I was in Germany in 2002, the shopkeepers often preferred Deutschmarks or Dollars to the Euro - nevermind that the Deutschmarks were to be turned in by 2000. This tells me there was an active underground market. Whether it exists today, I do not know, but it is likely far weaker as credibility in the Euro has increased.
As far as hurting tourism, I can so see no reason; in fact, it should assist in tourism by encouraging cross-border travel. Among other impacts of the E.U. are a reduction in travel restrictions, making it easier to cross between several countries by lowering the bureaucratic hurdle. Previously, a traveller between France, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic needed to exchange Francs for Marks, Marks for Lira, Lira for Kroner, each transaction incurring a time cost and a monetary cost. Thus, the only industry hurt would be that of the money-changers.
As far as losing investors, hardly. With greater confidence in the currency (and more transparent governance), the E.U. has enjoyed increased investment between member nations, as well as in the form of FDI.
Money has little to do with culture and way of life, other than it exists to facilitate transactions and serve as a store of wealth. There are exceptions - the rock currencies of indigenous peoples in Polynesia are noteworthy contributors to their particular culture. Otherwise, coin and currency have been used in Europe for millenia, and have changed name, form and allegiance often.
If you really want to receive the "natural currency" of the country you are visiting, it would be wise to pay visit to a numismatist. But if your enjoyment of Belgian beer and hospitality is diminished because you pay with a Euro, perhaps you should enjoy another beer or two and just let it go.
Lastly, the nations remain independent in having their own languages (and local dialects), own cultures, and own traditions. Where sovereign nations enter into communal agreements to make some decisions jointly does not repudiate independence nor identity, but rather remains an exercise thereof. France is still just as French as before it entered monetary union with Germany - and still as sullen.
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