TO GO OR NOT TO GO That is the question

Posted on 11/26/2015

“US citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or using transportation. Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowded places. Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events.”

“Exercise vigilance?” In the wake of the horrific goings on of the last few weeks and the sad inevitability it would seem of more to come, what else could the US State Department say? “Stay home and lock the doors” or maybe, “Under no circumstances leave the country unless absolutely vital.” They don’t want to supplement the terror spreading efforts of ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State/Da’esh – I wish the world’s media could decide on one handle for this group and stick with it – but they had to say something right? As a result, last Monday’s weasel-worded global travel alert – just in time for the busiest holiday period of the year - served the CYA purpose of being able to say, “We did warn you” if very little more than that.

The unfortunate fact is that, for all the brave words about “getting on with our lives as usual” and “not allowing ‘them’ to win by giving in to the threat of terrorist attacks” everything has changed in the light of the last few horrific weeks. There again people tend to have short memories on such things. The fact that some of the Paris events took place right around the corner from the site of January’s Charlie Hebdo atrocity would seem to bear this out. Right now however it is a different story. I did my own simple survey by asking my wife today if she would allow me to take our three teenage sons on a short New Year’s break to London like we did last year. Not unpredictably her strident response was, “Are you kidding - Absolutely no way?” She then added that she wasn’t even particularly happy about our 18-year-old going into Manhattan for a NY Rangers - Canadiens game as it is, “Exactly the kind of target ‘they’ might go after.” We who are involved in the business of travel are I fear sometimes too close to it as exactly that – a business – to appreciate the incredibly important role it plays in the lives of our constituents. While in times like this, recreational or ‘discretionary’ travel will be the first to go, its importance to the human condition should not be underestimated. By definition the word ‘recreation’ means ‘creating anew’ something we all need to do on a regular basis.

After the events of September 2001, Arthur C. Tauck head of Tauck World Discovery wrote a note to his customers that said, ”Now is not the time for Americans to become insular. It is my strongest conviction that travel is a key to world peace. By exploring new lands and new cultures we increase our understanding of others and their understanding of us. Ignorance may be bliss but it is also hurtful. It leads to misunderstandings, stereotyping and ultimately hatred.” Well said but, as is so often the case, the final word should maybe go to Mark Twain who wrote, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Amen to that.