Agrees Sujit Mittra, manager, public affairs & communications, Amex. Mittra says: ``It's just been introduced. And it will take at least two years for it to find acceptance.'' As of now, Mittra says that the segment of people, both corporate and otherwise, asking for Euro is not large. ``It's a transitory phase,'' he adds. Consumers' understanding and comfort level with Euro has to improve to make it a more popular currency with the Indian traveller, he says.

Even after the launch of Euro, most travellers are carrying the localcurrencies of the European countries they're visiting, says Mittra. They'll take time to realise that there's no hassle in dealing with Euro, he says. But he's positive about Euro's future. He says that even though a tourist is carrying Deutsche Mark this season, in his next trip he's more likely to carry Euro. For, by that time his comfort level with Euro would have gone up.

But right now, the majority in the business feel that Euro is not as popular as it should have been. The spokesperson for Associated Forex Services, a moneychanger, says that only business clients prefer Euro at present. And, with the vacations approaching, Euro will pep up further, he says. According to him, Euro is hassle-free because it is a vehicle currency. There's no need for any conversion at most of the European places if one has Euro, he adds.

B K Forex, another moneychanger, is more or less in a similar situation. The spokesperson here outrightly admits that travellers to Europe are not interested in buying Euro. He says:``People have no confidence in Euro.'' He adds that even big sellers of Euro are not giving enough Euro stock to the forex dealers because acceptability of the currency is low. But, says Mittra of Amex that supply will always be according to demand. And most of the time, Euro demand is rather low. ``Since demand for specific currencies is more, dealers like to build up an inventory of such currencies.''

However, Mittra adds that if dealers and moneychangers feel that they need a greater supply of Euro, they can always contact Amex, the issuer of Euro-denominated travellers cheque, with remittances.

Gurcharan Singh, incharge, forex, D'Pauls, explains why Euro's not doing so well. ``Euro opened at a very high rate and was over-sold,'' he says. And that created problems later on -- Euro is much more expensive than a dollar. And dollar continues to be bullish.

But according to Gurcharan Singh, the Indian traveller who's on a leisure trip shouldn't mind paying a little extra for Euro cheques because hisentitlement is anyway limited to $2000. It's a different matter, though, says Gurcharan Singh, that Indians are not aware about Euro yet. And therefore the masses prefer dollar. Asked to give a ratio, he says that on an average, only to 2 to 3 per cent of the travellers are buying Euro, and the rest are buying either dollar or local European currencies. But with improved customer awareness, Euro will look up, he says.

And how will that kind of awareness come to the people? Says Tyagi of Densons: ``The moneychangers and forex dealers must convince the travellers that Euro is a convenient currency. For that, even the dealers should collect more information on the new currency for latest updates.'' Also, one should be fair in recommending currencies, says Tyagi. For instance, at present, Densons is recommending Euro and local currencies such as Deutsche Mark and French Franc in the ratio of 80:20 to an Europe-bound traveller.

``This is to play safe,'' he says. Since there are some remote places in Europewhere Euro may not be acceptable, it's always better to carry a mix of currencies, adds Tyagi.

Meanwhile, the trend of carrying Euro will take at least another six months to pick up, says Tyagi. And if this time travellers are ignoring Euro, next time they won't, he says.

Although business is low in Euro, dealers and moneychangers would like it to be otherwise. Says Tyagi that while customers can save on conversion charges with Euro, the currency is quite beneficial to the dealers. He adds that dealers get a better rate on Euro. They save on settlement and other miscellaneous charges, while dealing in Euro, adds Tyagi. According to him, the maximum trade now is in Deutsche Mark for the Europe-bound.

Then there are some moneychangers like New High Flying Travels who haven't yet started trading in Euro. The reason: ``There's no demand for Euro. No part has so far asked for Euro.''

Surinder Nanda, general manager, Fincap Services, however, is waiting for the peak tourist season to begin. Till now, Nandasays, people have been shy of buying Euro because it's expensive and fluctuating. And people obviously prefer a stable currency. Even regular corporates prefer dollar because of its stability. ``But we'll get a clearer picture once the tourist season begins,'' Nanda says.

So while the forex dealers wait for Euro to do better so that their business improves, they may also attempt to teach a thing or two to the Indian tourist about the currency. And if all goes well, the Indian traveller would be much smarter when he travels to Europe next time around.