Traveling Amid Terrorism

One of the main concerns of the traveling public today is “is it safe” to travel?

Common sense tells us that it depends on where you plan on traveling and if there has been any United States State Department warning of traveling to that destination. We are discovering that in today's world, terrorism knows no boundaries, and even though it has been relatively rare, it is slowly becoming a concern for a lot of folks.

One publication that I read recently stated that “your odds of dying in a terrorist attack are still far, far lower than dying from just about anything else”. The odds of an American being killed in a terrorist attack have been about 1 in 20 million (that's including both domestic and overseas attacks). North America suffers far fewer terrorist attacks than most other regions of the world, considerably smaller than the risk of dying from many other things such as post-surgery complications to ordinary gun violence to lighting.

We've just returned from a cruise on the Danube River, in fact, we were in Budapest on Thursday, the day before the Paris attack on Friday. We were expecting some serious security procedures in both the hotel and on the cruise ships (we were on three of them), but it was business as usual that entire week. The locals with whom we were in contact in the cities did not seem to be worried or concerned and we did not notice any enhanced security as we walked around seeing the sights and shopping.

The airport security was understandably more attentive in all the locations we traveled through, Budapest, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, and DFW. But...as a traveler, that doesn't concern me. I want them to be thorough so I don't mind taking a little more time at the airport in anticipation of the potentially increased security.

Bottom line is that we want our clients to travel safely wherever they plan to go; it continues to be a top priority. We provide the facts, as we know them, so our clients can make an informed decision about the safety of their destination. No one, not even our government, can say with certainty that any destination is 100% safe. There are some things we encourage our clients to consider as they travel. Among them are:

• Leave your itinerary, and passport data page, with a friend or family member back home so you can be contacted in case of an emergency.
• Remain alert to your surroundings at all times.
• Avoid all demonstrations; don't stick around to “see what it's all about”.
• Do not display expensive looking jewelry, large amounts of money, and for sure, don't leave luggage unattended in public areas or accept packages from stranger.

Those are just a few of the suggestions we make, but for sure we encourage folks to continue to enjoy the adventure of travel, just exercise caution. You can bet, the experienced travel counselors at The Travel Factory will be more than happy to help you with any travel need you might have. And we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. If you need us we are at 4150 Southwest Drive, Ste. 120; call at 698-1421 or 800-760-4040. Or enjoy our website: www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.