We look into the first year of the common currency in Slovakia, Poland’s southern neighbour.

John Beauchamp reports

Most Slovaks agree that joining the euro was a good move in the long run, but tourist regions in the country, such as the Tatra mountains which border Poland, have been affected due to the new currency and the financial crisis.

But just how have the numbers dropped? Victoria Csepelova runs a bed and breakfast in Nova Lesna in the Tatra region: “Last year saw a drop in visitors from Poland and the Czech Republic of about 50 percent on 2008. People don’t have work so they have no money, saving what they have to keep a living”.

The introduction of the euro has had a major effect on one of the main pulling factors in the region: skiing. Even though Slovakia this season is fighting to keep its ski tourism on the up, the euro has meant that many Poles still find it too expensive to go there for the white stuff, meaning that they keep to their side of the Tatras, with some Slovaks venturing north of the border too.