The minute you tell Americans not to worry but to be alert, they worry. When the recent Code Orange security alert was reduced to Code Yellow, many Americans sighed with relief while others remained jittery. The mere mention of a possible terrorist attack by Al Qaeda sometime in the next two years frayed a lot of nerves.
Add to the almost constant chatter of national and worldwide security issues, SARS, the economy, the jobless rate and the weak dollar abroad, and is it any wonder that many Americans don’t know whether to attempt a vacation or just barbecue in the backyard?
The summer travel quandary is reflected in a survey conducted in May by the Travel Industry Association, which showed that 80 percent of American travelers intend to take a vacation this summer, but a relatively high 38 percent have not begun to plan their trips.
The leisure travel trend, at the moment, is to take short, close-to-home trips by auto or RV, but there’s also a growing interest in week-long cruises and trips to large cities and major tourist attraction destinations.
Still lagging, however, is interest in traveling abroad. The TIA survey said that while negative perceptions about traveling internationally have softened, “the negative continues to outweigh the positive.” SARS in Asia, not to mention Toronto, the weak dollar in Europe and the soft U.S. economy were cited by TIA as reasons.
The European Travel Commission and its 33 member nations are working hard to promote Europe as a viable destination this summer and fall, but it’s not an easy sell. The war in Iraq, unpopular with most Europeans, has left many Americans feeling they are persona non grata on the Continent. But there has been little to bear out such fear of anti-American sentiments.
“I don’t think you’d feel any resentment whatsoever regarding being an American traveling abroad,” said Miguel Garcia, managing director of the Portuguese Trade & Tourism Office in New York and a spokesman for the ETC. “People shouldn’t feel threatened or unwelcome at all.”
“There were difficult moments for some countries, not all,” said Patrick Goyet, USA Director of the French Government Tourist Office in New York, another ETC spokesman. “As far as I know, I have not heard about incidents toward Americans.”
The general feeling is that Europeans were furious with President Bush, not with Americans in general.
In its June issue, Conde Nast Traveler carried a story based on dispatches by reporters in 17 international destinations. “While they did find some generalized anti-U.S. sentiment (consisting mostly of nasty slogans directed at President Bush during antiwar demonstrations), not a single correspondent was personally harassed. In most cases they were welcomed, and sometimes drawn into conversations about politics,” the story said. G.Y. Dryansky, a correspondent who lives in Paris, wrote: “I found no one who had been on the receiving end of hostility from the French. George W. Bush seemed to be the focus of their anger.”
While Americans are welcome in Europe, it’s going to cost them more money because of the euro’s strength against the dollar.
R.C. Longworth, a Chicago Tribune senior correspondent who recently returned from a European assignment that took him to Berlin, Brussels, Paris and London, offered this assessment via e-mail:
“There doesn’t seem to have been any significant inflation in prices, as expressed in local currencies (the euro and the pound). But, oh my, what a difference an exchange rate makes! Not so long ago, the euro was dipping toward 80 cents to the dollar. Now it’s worth almost $1.18, which means that the same meal or hotel room may cost exactly the same in euros as it did two years ago, but will cost [about] 40 percent more in dollar terms.
“We got out of Bofinger [a tony brasserie in Paris] for less than $100 [for two] two years ago; it would cost closer to $140 now. In a lunch place near my Brussels hotel, I had soup, salad Nicoise and a Stella Artois beer for around 18 euros–that’s about $14.50 before and about $21 now.”
Longworth continued: “The prices themselves are reasonable, by big-city standards, so long as you don’t look for bargains in Paris’ Champs Elysees sidewalk cafes, three-star restaurants, the new Adlon Hotel in Berlin or chic boutiques in London’s West End. The Guide Michelin remains an invaluable guide to good restaurants at moderate prices.
“Taxis vary from city to city, but are comparable to Chicago prices, except in London, where they run higher than on the Continent. In all major cities, it is much, much better to take public transportation, especially subways, not only to save money but to escape the terrific traffic jams.
“Because tourism is down, Europeans–especially hotels–have lots of specials, and it always pays to ask. It’s not rare to find a $350 hotel room going for $120–although it may be back up to $350 next week, for no visible reason. My advice: Pick several hotels in the neighborhood where you want to be and then shop around until you find one that’s offering special prices.”
An ETC sampling of everyday prices for simple pleasures:
– Fish and chips in London costs an average of $4.75 from a carry-out, $7 to $10 in a pub where it’s usually served with another vegetable.
– Coffee at a Paris cafe costs from about $1.75 to nearly $3, depending upon the district.
– Coffee and cake in Vienna ranges from $7 to $11.75, depending on where you go. Cafe Central or the famed Sacher are on the high end.
It’s the contention of the ETC and Portugal’s Garcia that Americans still want to travel to Europe. “People need to be tempted,” he said. “If they find something interesting, pricewise, they’ll travel. Some tour operators are more aggressive than others, and they are offering good value for the money.”
In Lisbon, he said, two people can expect to pay about $60 for dinner in a quality restaurant. “Go to places the locals go,” he said.
“The secret is to shop around and compare,” said France’s Goyet. He said 46 million Americans have visited Europe at least once in their lives, and 35 million have visited France.
Goyet noted that Americans who used to book deluxe hotels go to four-star properties, and people who went to four-star hotels book three-stars.
Garcia suggested that Americans looking for value in Europe visit the ETC’s Web site at www.visiteurope.com/specials. The Web site not only lists money-saving specials, but also provides easy links to its 33 member countries.
The ETC also has teamed up with MasterCard, which has special discounts when you use the charge card. In addition to checking out Web sites–Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity–Garcia noted that travel agents are knowledgeable about summer travel sales.
Garcia and the ETC offered other money-saving suggestions:
– Buy as much of your trip as you can before you leave. Car rentals, for example, are always less expensive if reserved in the U.S. And Eurail Passes must be purchased in the U.S.
– Consider a river cruise, which is all-inclusive, or visiting smaller cities and towns, which are less expensive than the capitals.
– Visit city tourist offices for information, maps and discount cards that may be good at some restaurants and for shopping.
– Use public transportation rather than taxis, and trains between cities.
– Students can benefit from an International Student Identification Card, good for discounts on transportation, lodging and entertainment. Check out www.statravel.com, or phone 800-781-4040.
– Ask for value-added tax-refund forms when shopping.
– Use charge cards and ATM cards–make sure your PIN will work in Europe–for the best exchange rates.
– Plan to relax and have fun. Blend in, and don’t live in fear.
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E-mail Alfred Borcover: aborcover@aol.com
