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To American Express President Reed foreign travel is not only a business but a creed as well. Travel dollars, he preaches, build up foreign economies and cut taxes at home. U.S. tourists last year spent $100 overseas for every $36 that foreign nations received in aid from the U.S. Government. Reed contends that the spread can be increased still more through what he calls "Point Five—the economic power of the U.S. consumer directed to overseas nations through tourism." As a result, Reed is welcomed by foreign government officials as a genie who magically produces dollars—with a little effort and investment on their part. Many European countries are now earning more dollars from U.S. tourists than from any other source; e.g., the $126 million Britain expects to net from American visitors in 1956 is more than twice as much as it will pull in from U.S. sales of British autos.
Good Will Ambassadors. Realizing that Americans do not endear themselves to foreigners merely by spending money, Reed also admonishes tourists to be "ambassadors of good will." His company passes out booklets setting down Reed's thoughts on tourist diplomacy (sample thought: "Everywhere the tourist is creating an impression"),
Paris hotel now costs from $7 to $12. France's famed food is a bargain: Michelin's Guide lists 2,000 restaurants that will serve a meal for a maximum $1.70 (tip included). In Paris, the visitor can take a $13 nightclub prowl that includes a dive billed imaginatively as "the center of the former underworld," where everything is faked but the check. The Crazy Horse Saloon has a floorshow featuring cowboys, Indians and cowgirl stripteasers.
Prices are still low in Spain. More than 250,000 U.S. vacationers are expected this year, v. 50,000 in 1953, when Ralph Reed persuaded the Spanish government to join American Express in a travel promotion program that touched off Spain's tourist boom. Palma de Majorca, in the Balearic Islands, is still the top tourist attraction, but the coves of Spain's Costa Brava and Malaga's sandy beaches will pull thousands of American sun worshipers.
House on the Hill. Germany is scheduling dozens of outdoor drama and music festivals, from the elaborate medieval pageantry at little Landshut in late June to September's Festival of Berlin, for which orchestras, ballet troupes and theater companies will assemble from all over Europe. Salzburg's festival in honor of Mozart's 200th birthday will be one of the musical highlights of the year. Prices are moderate: from $3 to $5 for a good dinner, $10 for a first-class double room with bath.