PHOTO: Palace of Westminster in London. (photo via Flickr/Berit Watkin)
Recent terror attacks in London, Paris and other parts of Europe have undoubtedly raised concerns among overseas travelers.
However, the bulk of touristshave been undeterred by the cowardly actions of a few.
The consensus among the travel community is that destinations like London and Paris remain as enticing as ever. Although some travelers have been turned off to them following recent attacks they aren't giving up travel altogether.
"I still have clients planning to travel to London, Paris, Dublin, Barcelona, Russia and especially Italy this summer and fall. The concerns have been few and no one has canceled," Angie Hendricks, President and CEO of Travel Leaders in Oklahoma City, told TravelPulse in a statement. "Of course, that can change at any minute but we are optimistic."
"I have several clients traveling to Europe next month with layovers in London and none are fazed by what is going on," Annie Charkalis of Naples, Florida-based Wanderlust Adventures told TravelPulse. "Most of them are doing trips of a lifetime and won't let these acts of violence interfere with their trips."
Tom Karnes of LaMacchia Travel in Chicago echoed that observation:
"We have not seen any cancellations because of the recent attacks in London but there is definitely a sense of awareness," Karnes said in a statement. "Clients are looking to have more dialogue with our specialists than ever before, they are looking for reassurance as well as insight."
Rey Alton, senior travel advisor of Travel Leaders in Houston, points out that any dip in interest in Europe signals opportunity for other destinations as travelers aren't being scared into submission.
"With the latest terrorism incident, some clients are more cautious when booking travel to Europe," Alton said in a statement. "For any clients looking to hold off on Europe for a little while, we are working with them to find other travel destinations. Recently, we have booked trips to Hawaii, Dubai and the Maldives, so people are still traveling."
"Our clients still want to travel and they understand that no destination is ever 100 percent safe, no matter where they travel, including in the U.S.," added Alton.
That realization combined with London's and Paris' undeniable draw have helped the destinations withstand not just one, but several attacks.
"England and London are specifically are very resilient tourism destinations," World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) President and CEO David Scowsill said in a statement following March's attack near the Palace of Westminster that left five people dead.
"We do not expect this isolated incident to have an impact on people's decision to travel to the country nor its capital."
Scowsill's assessment proves accurate even three months after earlier attacks in London. According to research from ForwardKeys, as of June 17, forward bookings for international arrivals in London for July and August are 12 percent ahead of what they were at the same point last year.
Despite a slight slowdown in bookings following the June 3London Bridge attack, ForwardKeys' research failed to uncover a significant wave of cancellations for air travel to the U.K.
"One needs to bear in mind that even though we have seen something of a slowdown in bookings for the U.K. in recent weeks, the forward booking situation for July and August remains extremely healthy and there has been a sustained positive trend in bookings for the U.K. throughout the year so ForwardKeys remains bullish on the U.K.s tourism performance in summer 2017," ForwardKeys CEO Olivier Jager said in a statement accompanying the data.
READ MORE:Travel Agents React to London Terrorism
In April, VisitBritain announced the U.K. was off to an unprecedented start to the year for inbound tourism, hosting 5.2 million visitors in January and February alone.
"This record-breaking start to the year once more underlines the strength of our tourism industry," Tourism Minister Tracey Crouch said in a statement. "Our fantastic welcome and world-class attractions are continuing to attract huge numbers of visitors from across the globe, which is great news for the whole country."
On Tuesday, the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau announced that the City of Light saw a "sharp recovery" in tourist numbers over the final weeks of 2016 and the initial months of 2017 after a year of decline.
While high-profile terror attacks tend to make and stay in the news, Dove Blanton of North Carolina's Dove Travel Inc notes that terrorism still ranks behind hurricanes and other weather events when it comes to what causes travel agents and their clients the biggest headaches.
"Many that are still traveling are not going to let these acts keep them home, they feel that only lets the bad guys win," Blanton told TravelPulse.
You may use your Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook information, including your name, photo & any other personal data you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on TravelPulse.com. Click here to learn more.
Excerpt from:
Travel Community Reacts to London and Paris Attacks - TravelPulse
- Seaching for Condors in the Andes [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Visiting "The Mayor" again [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The fantasy boot in my dream of childhood [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Day 53 54 55 [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- www.acb.my [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- day 22 [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Hoover Dam Grand Canyon Byrce Canyon and another little incident... [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Amazing first week [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- It's Been Awhile [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Busan [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Existential Migration: Feeling at Home as the Foreigner [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Passport Chop [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Travel Photography with a Disposable Camera (it’s NOT an oxymoron) [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Miss Travel Girl [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Cape to Cairo [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Alison Travels [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- True Nomads [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- How the Economy Affected 16 Travellers in 2009 [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Do Travel Disasters Make the Best Travel Stories? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Mother of All Trips [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- A story by Kudra Ricketts [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Auckland City [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Another Published Article Penny [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- A Sparkling Xmas Surprise Penny [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Sandboarding [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The Way Of Make Money In Runescape [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Highway 1 California [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- cancun on thanksgiven [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- On tour with Louise and Zane 46 students [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Hvad vi har lavet siden Gili [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Thailand Check. Laos here we come. [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Team America [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Tour Operator of Bangladesh Sundarbans Adventure Tour Package [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The Last Leg [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Dec 13 2009 [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Latest Border News [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The Wandering Soul’s Wander Tales [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Adventure Rob [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The Golden Papaya [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Support Passports with Purpose 2009 [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Vagabonding at 60 [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The Books that Inspired Us to Travel in 2009 [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Zululand drakensberg Lesotho and the wild coast [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- The Beautiful Higlands [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Loch Ness to Inverness and Culloden [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Aqaba The Little Merman [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Royal Deeside and the Castle Trail [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Southward in the Rain to Glamis Castle and Crail [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Iguassu Falls [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Stirling Castle and Edinburgh [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Edinburgh Old Town [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Galapagos II [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- El Chalten and Fitz Roy Massif [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Semuc Champey [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Mechanical Problems in Flight [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- "ACDC Tour Budapest without a satnav" [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Liat Airlines Stay Away [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Bariloche [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Lundi Macon [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Planning Australia Tour in Best way [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Family Fun In Breckenridge Colorado [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- 5 Weeks in Australia [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- The Movies and Music that Inspired Us to Travel in 2009 [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- A wonderful Japanes experience [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- So traveling again to a new part of the world [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Kangaroo roo roo a pinapple shake a tree.... [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Cutting wedding cost in the depression [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Pineapple Farm [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- South India Chennai Pondicherry Auroville... [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Back to Amarpurkashi Village Life... [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- MIA [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- The most northern of Thailand [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Photo's [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Trip to Marleshwar [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Season's Greetings from Berkeley [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Small hiccup [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Thailand Laos and Vietnam in Three Weeks [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- On the road again [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Part Two The Map Part Way in Cabal [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Heading Back North [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]