Ah, Europe. Cobblestone streets, scrumptious and decadent delicacies, awe inspiring architecture, and a culture which can not be fully comprehended and absorbed unless you experience it first hand. Some of my fondest memories include strolling the “Champs Elysees†in Paris, or lounging with an espresso on the grandiose “Spanish steps†in Rome. Unfortunately if any of this sounds appealing and worthy of a ring to your local travel agent, you might want to put away the travel maps and reconsider.
The U.S State Department issued a travel warning earlier this week, which according to CNN states that “U.S citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when travelingâ€. This according to U.K paper the Guardian, follows “speculation that al-Qaida was planning a commando-style attack similar to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 66 people were killedâ€.
Americans inteviewed across the pond, seemed to take the warnings as nothing more sinister than a change in wind direction. "My initial reaction was to be concerned, but in New York terror attacks happen so regularly we're used to it",stated Bergen Swanson a tourist from the Big Apple. Another group visiting from Michigan seemed to be more concerned with the lousy weather than al-Qaida's terror threats stating "If anything serious did happen we could just pretend to be Canadians" reports the Guardian. Â
The U.S alert has triggered a domino effect of precautionary warnings. In what comes as no surprise in this post 9/11 world both Canada and Britain have jumped on the travel fear bandwagon. Surprisingly followed by an unprecedented Japan that stated "If an indiscriminate attack takes place in such a large region there is a very good chance that Japanese tourists could be involved". This leaves an even deeper thorn in the side of Europe’s tourism industry, which like everything else has been floundering due to a global recession.
In the U.S.A, a country which has always battled with it’s own segregation and divisive ideologies, not to mention the way the rest of the world already perceives us. Do you think that this is a wise move, or will it just be labeled as unnecessary fear mongering? And are we really protecting ourselves by living with such restrictions, or are we damaging ourselves as a nation far more by deprivation of travel, and knowledge of other countries?
For a list of other travel warnings, and or destinations Americans should reconsider before planning a vacation visit the U.S State Department .Â
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