Concerns regarding terrorism in Europe.

[SadieN]

Nope. Could get in trouble in my own neighborhood. We live 30 minutes from the site of the shooting in San Bernardino. DD just got back from Israel.

[sail7seas]

I think it's wonderful many are still of the same thinking. I salute you.

It's obviously such a personal choice, no one can tell another what they should or should not do in this regard.

 

Safe travels to all.

 

[cruisemom42]

Although I did not previously give my opinions here in this thread, I've done so in many others. I continue to plan and hope to enjoy travel to many different locales around the globe, including Turkey. i do not foresee that changing due to this type of random terrorism.

 

As a wise travel expert in the UK has said in regard to the attack in Istanbul today, "Like Madrid in 2004, London in 2005 and Paris in 2015 to name but three major cities that have suffered major terrorist attacks in recent, life will go on and tourists slowly return."

[babs135]

Wouldn't change my plans; to do so would mean that the terrorists have won. Only thing stopping me from cruising at the moment is lack of money :D

 

Have, however booked 10 days in Israel in March. Will just be more aware of my surroundings and if it doesn't look or feel right I will go a different way.

 

Too old to be told what to do by these crazy people. If we were to wait for things to settle down I'm afraid we would never leave our houses, let alone go on holiday.

[slidergirl]

I will still continue to travel and not allow the terrorism fears to alter my plans. Sure, I have no plans to travel to conflict-hot zones, but if the opportunity opens to travel across the Atlantic or Pacific, or down to the South, I'll happily, but with total situational awareness, take the opportunity.

[iancal]

It is a personal decision.

 

If you are concerned you probably should not go. There are plenty of other places to go.

 

We may be driving to San Diego next May. Should we avoid stopping in San Bernardino for the same reason? How about a New England cruise from Boston? There was a bombing in Boston a few years ago.

 

Last time we were in Madrid we had to go a little early to the train station. We were processed 'airport style' security prior to boarding the train. We did not especially like it but that is how the world is today. Terrorism can occur anywhere.

 

We may visit Croatia, Greece, and Turkey next fall. We have no plans to change this tentative itinerary.

Edited January 13, 2016 by iancal

[SPacificbound]

There is absolutely no way I would cancel an air/land DIY trip to Europe or a cruise going to ports of countries in Europe.

 

I have not read the responses on this thread but I am guessing I am not alone.

 

We spent the month of September traveling DIY in Europe and the month of October cruising to many locations in Europe.

 

In May, June and July we will again be cruising to numerous ports in Europe followed by DIY traveling for several weeks.

 

You obviously need to do what you are most comfortable doing.

 

Hopefully you can get your husband to read at least part of this thread.

[6rugrats]

 

We may be driving to San Diego next May. Should we avoid stopping in San Bernardino for the same reason?

 

I am not sure why anyone would go out of their way to drive through San Bernadino :).

Edited January 14, 2016 by 6rugrats

[cruisejunkie76]

Well, just to share an update on the trip in Sept. We had a heart to heart and we ARE going!!! We have even decided to spend some extra time in Venice before the cruise. I really appreciate all of the insight from everyone. We have not really traveled out of the US further than the Caribbean and Mexico. We have had to postpone this trip before because I was fighting breast cancer.

I read hubby all the posts and he agreed life is too short to stay home when we have an opportunity like this.

On another point----he will no longer believe anything he hears on Fox News!!!!!

thank you all!

 

I'm glad you going on the cruise. I'm a female Solo Traveller and have been to so many places in Europe and the US by myself and I enjoyed it. I would not have those experiances if I stayed home because of fear

 

You will love Venice. Just avoide consuming anything on Marcus Square. The Prices are horendous. Just go into a side street :D

[marchie1053]

I don't know where the proper place to ask this question would be.

My husband and I are booked on the Splendour out of Venice in Sept. 2015. With everything going on in the world lately, my husband is very concerned. He has tried to talk to me several times about canceling, I am just heartsick over this. We have already postponed several times--kids in college, major illness, etc. We have been planning on spending 1 week in Italy, before leaving on the cruise.

I am wondering if anyone has ever had these fears, and if you could share some insight.

Thank You!

Deb

 

Less than a week after the Paris attacks, pictures flooded onto Twitter of pavement cafe food with messages superimposed indicating that the terrorists would never win. One of the best I saw was of a large ice cream sundae and a soft drink with the message 'Give them sh*t - we've got the food!'

 

Not to travel is to lose our holidays; to deprive the cafe owners of their living; and to concede defeat to the terrorists.

 

We are back in (semi-rural) France at the moment - not least because it's slightly warmer (and a lot drier) than Scotland. We are not about to stay at home, freezing our bits off, for fear of what might happen - if we stay at home, the hypothermia might get us - more chance of that than of being within catching distance of an idiot with a dodgy backpack ...

 

Steve & Elaine

[GottaKnowWhen]

Well, just to share an update on the trip in Sept. We had a heart to heart and we ARE going!!! We have even decided to spend some extra time in Venice before the cruise. I really appreciate all of the insight from everyone. We have not really traveled out of the US further than the Caribbean and Mexico. We have had to postpone this trip before because I was fighting breast cancer.

I read hubby all the posts and he agreed life is too short to stay home when we have an opportunity like this.

On another point----he will no longer believe anything he hears on Fox News!!!!!

thank you all!

 

I think you are going to love Venice! We spent a couple of weeks in and around Venice a few years ago, we will definitely go back before too long. This fall we will be in Florence instead, it makes more sense for us given our TA departing from Rome (Civitavecchia). And back to the original theme of the thread, no we did not have second thoughts about scheduling this trip given events in Paris, Istanbul etc. I think the terrorists have been causing far more harm by forcing hundreds of thousands of refugees to flood into Europe than they have with the occasional bombing. And those refugees do change the European travel experience. But we will stick to our plans.

[pris993]

I don't know where the proper place to ask this question would be.

My husband and I are booked on the Splendour out of Venice in Sept. 2015. With everything going on in the world lately, my husband is very concerned. He has tried to talk to me several times about canceling, I am just heartsick over this. We have already postponed several times--kids in college, major illness, etc. We have been planning on spending 1 week in Italy, before leaving on the cruise.

I am wondering if anyone has ever had these fears, and if you could share some insight.

Thank You!

Deb

 

We have been traveling to Europe and Israel and Egypt for years... been to Istanbul... Athens, live in California, who would have thought San Bernadino would be a target??? Go, be smart like you would be anywhere. We are leaving for Paris and Israel again in March. The world is not a safe place no doubt but we have missed a lot of experiences if we feared and did not go over the past 30 years.

[moniquet]

Whatever a few people think on CC tourism has crashed in Egypt and Tunisia. I think the figure in Egypt is 80% down. Shame because it's a must see. Turkey is looking volatile now. You can be smart but not much you can do if you are in the wrong place like those ten dead Germans at the Blue Mosque!

[cruisemom42]

Whatever a few people think on CC tourism has crashed in Egypt and Tunisia. I think the figure in Egypt is 80% down. Shame because it's a must see. Turkey is looking volatile now. You can be smart but not much you can do if you are in the wrong place like those ten dead Germans at the Blue Mosque!

 

Not much you can do if you are in the wrong place anywhere, including San Bernardino, Paris, Madrid, London, New York, Boston....

 

I choose not to let fear of the extremely slight chance that I might be involved in an incident of terrorism deter me from traveling. Others make different choices -- but that still doesn't mean the odds are necessarily much lower, unless you choose to stay at home and barricade the doors.

[Extra Kim]

Whatever a few people think on CC tourism has crashed in Egypt and Tunisia. I think the figure in Egypt is 80% down. Shame because it's a must see. Turkey is looking volatile now. You can be smart but not much you can do if you are in the wrong place like those ten dead Germans at the Blue Mosque!

 

Yes, tourism is down in Egypt but not only because of terrorism. The country have a lot of different problems to deal with, besides the terrorism.

I have been in Egypt before the arabic spring started, and I would NOT go back there even if it still would be as safe as it was back then. I several others that I have talked to, they feel the same. There are just better holiday locations out there. I feel the same about Bulgaria, I rater spend a little more and get something better.

W.F.M isn't always about going to the cheapest place.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Extra Kim

[John Bull]

Whatever a few people think on CC tourism has crashed in Egypt and Tunisia. I think the figure in Egypt is 80% down. Shame because it's a must see. Turkey is looking volatile now. You can be smart but not much you can do if you are in the wrong place like those ten dead Germans at the Blue Mosque!

 

Hi, Moniquet,

 

When you quote figures like that you really need to quote your source, rather than merely saying "I think ......."

 

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/egypt/tourist-arrivals

(then click on 10-yr figures)

https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/egypt2015.pdf

http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/egypt/international-tourism

And a dozen other sources, all show the latest available Egyptian tourist figures at about the same level as ten years ago.

Over that period the figures have shown several dramatic falls followed by remarkably quick recoveries.

Those figures won't reflect the aftermath of the Russian aircraft bombing at Sharm El Sheikh because it's too early to know the impact, but yes of course that's likely to result in another big blip.

 

But the only reference I could find to anything like the 80% fall that you suggest was a knee-jerk forecast following that atrocity.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/egypt-tourism-industry-shrink-70-if-british-russian-visitors-stay-away-1527681

 

So where does your 80% drop come from???

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Yes, of the 5 million German tourists who visit Turkey each year, those nine killed near the Blue Mosque were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Same as the ten Germans who were killed on Germany's roads on the same day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A997

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/14/463010061/after-istanbul-bombing-german-tourists-warned-to-avoid-crowds-tourist-sites

 

 

JB :)

[iancal]

Europe does concern me and we are careful. But we still plan to go.

 

But think of this. We live beside a country where anyone can buy semi-automatic and automatic assault weapons, and ammunition, at gun fairs without even as much as a background check. These weapons shoot off hundreds of rounds a minute.

 

This is completely foreign to us and gives us as much concern as we have when visiting Europe.

Edited January 15, 2016 by iancal

[swaddy]

We are cruising the Greek Isles in the summer. If there are any serious concerns, the cruise ship will change the itinerary, as they did when we visited Israel. Went through the port of Calais by coach twice last summer without encountering any of the problems that were filling the news. The newspapers were full of stories about gangs of immigrants, blockades, miles of lorries, we didn't see anything to bother us. Tourism is big business, the different travel companies will do their best not to damage their business by endangering their customers.

[sail7seas]

Perhaps in SOME cases it is a matter of those who have already visited Europe many times, have seen the places that interest them the most are satisfied to stay away for a while?

 

If I'd never been to London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Athens, Munich, Venice, Florence, Copenhagen, Amsterdam blah blah blah, I know I'd be more eager for European travel. Having been to those fabulous cities a number of times, my eagerness to visit right now is commensurately tamped down.

 

[moniquet]

Hi, Moniquet,

 

When you quote figures like that you really need to quote your source, rather than merely saying "I think ......."

 

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/egypt/tourist-arrivals

(then click on 10-yr figures)

https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/egypt2015.pdf

http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/egypt/international-tourism

And a dozen other sources, all show the latest available Egyptian tourist figures at about the same level as ten years ago.

Over that period the figures have shown several dramatic falls followed by remarkably quick recoveries.

Those figures won't reflect the aftermath of the Russian aircraft bombing at Sharm El Sheikh because it's too early to know the impact, but yes of course that's likely to result in another big blip.

 

But the only reference I could find to anything like the 80% fall that you suggest was a knee-jerk forecast following that atrocity.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/egypt-tourism-industry-shrink-70-if-british-russian-visitors-stay-away-1527681

 

So where does your 80% drop come from???

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Yes, of the 5 million German tourists who visit Turkey each year, those nine killed near the Blue Mosque were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Same as the ten Germans who were killed on Germany's roads on the same day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A997

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/14/463010061/after-istanbul-bombing-german-tourists-warned-to-avoid-crowds-tourist-sites

 

 

JB :)

 

The stuff about people killed on roads etc is just a decoy. I really don't understand why you defend the indefensible. Where did the figure of 80% come from...I don't know, there has been so many reports on BBC and Sky etc. But if you need to split hairs a quick Google will tell you that tourism in Egypt has been devastated. Surely you have been watching the same reports as I in the British media.

[Hlitner]

We find this topic almost boring and here is why. Everyone has their own risk tolerance and its simply personal preference. If you are going to ruminate about safety or risk simply stay home! As a long term world travelers, DW and I just do not focus on all the negative stuff since this is just a reality in today's world. Terrorism can strike anywhere, anytime, anyplace! We are more concerned with the comfort of our airline seats (something over which we have some control) then the very slight risk that we will be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As somebody said on another thread, if they drive to Southern California to take a Mexican Riviera cruise they must drive through San Bernadino. We have an upcoming cruise booked that is currently scheduled to stop at 30 European ports (including Istanbul) and have absolutely no second thoughts. But one couple booked on our cruise recently cancelled because of the bombing in Istanbul. And if that reflects their level of comfort, then they certainly made the right decision FOR THEM! So this is not a debate about safety but merely individual decision-making.

 

Hank

[John Bull]

The stuff about people killed on roads etc is just a decoy. I really don't understand why you defend the indefensible. Where did the figure of 80% come from...I don't know, there has been so many reports on BBC and Sky etc. But if you need to split hairs a quick Google will tell you that tourism in Egypt has been devastated. Surely you have been watching the same reports as I in the British media.

 

The comparison with the similar number of Germans killed on the roads the same day (and every day before & since) isn't a decoy at all.

It's merely putting the low risk into perspective.

 

Yes, Egyptian tourism will have taken a big hit following Sharm, same as it has done after previous incidents. Quite possibly for a few months by 80%, as happened several times on that 10 year graph that I linked.

But barring further incidents it will bounce back toward its previous levels, same as it did on those occasions - and the same as has happened in New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Bangkok & a dozen other places.

If there's an 80% drop for 12 months, that's the time to say that tourism is down by 80%

 

References that I've found by googling "Egyptian tourism devastated" were almost entirely comments made immediately after the Sharm incident, even before the smoke had cleared.

 

JB :)

Edited January 16, 2016 by John Bull

[cruisemom42]

Perhaps in SOME cases it is a matter of those who have already visited Europe many times, have seen the places that interest them the most are satisfied to stay away for a while?

 

If I'd never been to London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Athens, Munich, Venice, Florence, Copenhagen, Amsterdam blah blah blah, I know I'd be more eager for European travel. Having been to those fabulous cities a number of times, my eagerness to visit right now is commensurately tamped down.

 

 

I'm sure there are many factors that come into play: what stage of life one has reached, whether one has young children depending on them, whether they are the type of person who visits somewhere once and checks it off a list, or whether travel is something they feel passionate about....

 

For me, there are few places I've visited that I wouldn't happily visit again. I'm particularly drawn to cities such as the ones you list above, and even though I've visited several of them many times, I would go back (and in fact have plans to go back).

[Ladesign]

have been to istanbul many times and deeply saddened by the atrocity .

 

putting things into perspective - 7/7 didnt prevent me from visiting london. 9/11 didnt stop me from going to the USA - going back Tuesday.

 

there is a risk with everything in life. find it a bit odd that a country with so much gun freedom and terrible attacks on schools etc seems to have so many citizens frightened of europe[emoji32]

[euro cruiser]

find it a bit odd that a country with so much gun freedom and terrible attacks on schools etc seems to have so many citizens frightened of europe[emoji32]

I suspect that it has more to do with fear of the unknown; most of us are more fearful, justified or not, of places, people, and situations that are new to us than we are of known people or places, even when they are justifiably frightening.