Forget the currency, lets do business: UK village offers euro for the pound

With an eye on tourism and the local economy, the village of Dunster, Somerset in the UK has become the first place in the country to accept the euro on a par with the pound sterling, hoping to lure more visitors from continental Europe.

Some businesses in the Dunster have started accepting the euro on a par with the pound, with Dunster's Yarn Market Hotel being the first to introduce the euro-for-pound rate just before Christmas.

Reports said that the hotel's owner Antony Brunt cited the mini-boom experienced in Northern Ireland during recent months, where shoppers in the Irish Republic reportedly went cross-border in droves to take maximum advantage of the drop in the value of the British pound sterling.

Brunt, who is also chairman of Exmoor Tourist Association, said he saw a "degree of traffic" from southern to northern Ireland ahead of the Christmas season where similar offers matching the pound to the euro were made.

He was reportedly optimistic about turning the current doom and gloom of the tourism industry into a success by being proactive and going after business that is out there.

The fall in the value of the pound vis-a-vis the euro has made the UK a lot cheaper for continental visitors, reducing their cost of tourism and exploration.

Consequently, a number of other businesses in the village have taken cue from the hotel's initiative, and started offering a straight euro-for-pound exchange rate, such as the Coastal Living clothes shop.

The local Medieval Norman castle is said to be a hot tourist attraction, and the exchange rate benefits are only a measure to ensure that the visitors spend some of their cash in the local economy of the village, who's main street of medieval houses and history of cloth making make for a memorable, and cheaper, visit.

Tourism is said to be a major industry for Dunster, and the move by local businesses is said to be one to attract tourists, including European, foreign and domestic.

Reports said that locals were of the view that given the economic scenario, most Britons would prefer to stay in the UK, even as the devaluation of the pound makes it a more attractive destination to foreigners.