Posted at 12:15 p.m., Friday, July 6, 2007
Stronger Canadian dollar good for local tourism
Advertiser Staff
The Canadian dollar climbed to a 30-year high against the U.S. currency today, bolstered by higher oil prices, a strong economy and a looming interest rate hike.Hawai'i's tourism industry benefits from a stronger Canadian dollar because it increases the buying power of visiting Canadians when they convert their currency into U.S. dollars.
The number of Canadian visitors to Hawai'i rose 1.6 percent through the first five months of this year compared with 2006, and the amount they spent is up 3.4 percent to $274 million during the same period.
Canada's currency advanced as high as 95.53 U.S. cents, pushing past the 95 U.S. cents mark for the first time since May 1977. It has risen 10.8 percent so far this year.
One of the strongest performers in currency markets Friday, the Canadian dollar rose after Statistics Canada reported that the economy created 35,000 new jobs in June, about double what economists expected.
