Now all the Christmas bills are in and the credit card statements have been read with varying degrees of horror, the usual bout of post-festive financial indigestion has been sharper than usual on account of the rising strength of the euro.
The toys, trinkets and other must-haves bought in the stores and boutiques of La Cañada and Jerez which were so appealing in the pre-Christmas build-up, do not look such bargains now. Although the euro has seen a near doubling of its value against the US dollar to $1.50 since it hit a low of 85 cents in early 2003, the euro’s strength against sterling has been considerable too. (see graph)

In theory this should be good news for Gibraltar’s local traders as the Rock’s consumers become more selective due to increases in the cost of living coupled with deteriorating economic conditions. Traditional habits though, such as the weekend shopping trips to Spain, are proving harder to break despite the fact that the cost of such trips has risen by 20 per cent since last year, once the strong euro and price increases are factored in.
However Gibraltar’s traders are losing out for another reason. Whilst the euro has greater buying power for Spaniards and other shoppers visiting the Rock, the rate of exchange charged by some local traders when a customer pays euros in cash, is quite simply exorbitant. One complaint received by the Chamber from some recent visitors made the following comment about being charged a conversion rate of E2: £1.
“This is outrageous treatment coming from a locality that has such dependency on tourism. Shame on Gibraltar!”
The market rate at the time was £1: E1.34.
We all know that the euro is not legal tender in Gibraltar and it is up to the trader to decide whether or not to accept payment in euros and they are free to set whatever exchange rate they wish. But charging a rate 50 per cent higher than the market rate seems pretty excessive.
“Needless to say,” the disgruntled visitors said on their departure, “we shall not be returning to the Rock and we will be sure to relay our experiences to all our British and foreign friends.” Is this really the impression we want to create among visitors? It seems clear that the majority of local traders are reasonable on the exchange rate but what can be done about those few traders who think visitors are fair game to be so brazenly exploited?
Inevitably the temptation by some traders to augment profits by levying excessive exchange rates can be great, but the impression left on the visiting tourist does tremendous damage to Gibraltar’s reputation over the time.
A quick straw poll conducted recently, revealed most of the local traders in shops, bars and restaurants who were asked, use a rate of between E1.33 to E1.60 for the those customers paying euros in cash.
One difficulty some retailers face, is keeping up with volatile changes in the exchange rate. Some set their exchange rate for the year and to change the rate on their cash tills can necessitate calling a software technician, which involves additional cost. Also, local retailers accepting euros in cash, have to pay commission on converting them back into sterling at the bank.
Other retailers can be hampered if their merchandise shows both sterling and euro prices on the product’s label. Changing the exchange rate at the till would only confuse the shoppers.
Shoppers who do not have any sterling cash should be advised that the exchange rate for cash will not be as competitive as the market rate. They would then have the option to go to a bureau de change or pay euros in cash. A reasonable loading might be around 15 – 20 per cent over the bank rate.
The easiest way round this of course, is to encourage shoppers who do not have sterling cash to use their credit card instead. Credit card companies charge
a rate that is far closer to the market rate at the time the transaction takes place. It may not be as profitable as a one-off cash transaction charging 50 per cent above the market rate, but neither will it risk damaging the reputation of Gibraltar as a shopper-friendly destination. And, what is more, they may even come back again.

The Annual Careers Fair at the end of February was billed as the most successful one to date.

Support for the fair from local employers has been growing year on year since the first event was held two years ago at Bayside School. In fact, the level of interest has been so great, that the event had to find larger premises last year to be able to house all the employers who wanted to take a stand. The event has been held for the last two years in the new Sports Hall at Victoria Stadium. The fair was organised jointly by Bayside School, Westside School and the Gibraltar College.
This year, the growth has continued with around sixty local employers ranging from Government agencies such as the Health Authority and the Fire Service, to dozens of private sector companies attending. Interest about career options available in Gibraltar was correspondingly high among pupils approaching school leaving age.
Pat Orfila, one of the organisers from Bayside School, was delighted by the response from both employers and pupils alike: “It’s great that employers can see the value of showing what career options are available to pupils when they leave school or graduate from university. Gibraltar’s economy is much more broadly based than it was 20 years ago and the variety of jobs and careers has expanded greatly.”
Derek Sene, Deputy Managing Director of Barclays Bank which took a stand at the fair said: “Our presence in the careers fair further reinforces our commitment to the youth of Gibraltar. Choosing the right career is a significant milestone in anyone’s life and we want the students to feel that we are right there with them making things as easy as possible for them.”
Young Enterprise, a new initiative that is being introduced this autumn at the College of Further Education, also had a presence on the Barclays stand which is primary sponsor of Young Enterprise Gibraltar. Mr Sene said, “The Young Enterprise scheme is new to Gibraltar and introduces youngsters to the business world. The Department of Education has expressed an interest in the programme and the course is to run at the College of Further Education later this year.”
Dee Murphy, Human Resources Manager at Ladbrokes Gibraltar said, “We are delighted to have attended the Careers Fair for the past three years and each year the event has grown in terms of the number of stalls and the level of interest.
This event provides Gibraltar-based businesses with the ideal opportunity to inform the public of the differing job roles available and career opportunities within an organisation.
This year’s event was very well attended and from the moment the doors opened, our stand was inundated with young people and their parents wishing to know more about future career prospects with our company. We found the evening to be both enjoyable and worthwhile and would highly recommend participation to other businesses.”
Similar sentiments were highlighted by Maria Vencino Ramos from the Royal Bank of Scotland, which was among sixty or so organisations present at the fair: “Once again the fair has proved to be an excellent showcase to illustrate to students the diverse and exciting career options in Gibraltar. I am sure students and exhibitors alike benefit greatly from the event.”
Next year, the organisers are looking for even more local employers to be present to make this annual event a continued success.

Young Enterprise coming to Gibraltar
Young Enterprise is the UK’s largest business and enterprise education charity. The charity’s main role is to forge links between educational institutions and commerce. Its mission is to inspire and equip young people to learn about business through real life examples and by showing students how to set up and run their own business whilst still studying. Many head teachers cite the biggest barrier to making the Diplomas a success is engaging with and developing the necessary links with business.

Young Enterprise is planning to begin running a pilot programme at the Gibraltar College from September this year. A steering committee has been set up to introduce the programme to Gibraltar. The Chamber is represented on the steering committee of Young Enterprise and in due course the Chamber will be seeking Business Advisors from members of the local business community. Business Advisors give useful real world experience to students and it also helps company employees with their own personal development.
www.young-enterprise.org.uk