Travel Brave: Everything You Need to Know About Traveling in Heated Times
To travel, as Hans Christian Anderson once notably said, is to live.
However, the world the Danish writer explored in the 1800s looks vastly different to the world we explore today. Travel is still just as vital, but now it is more accessible, more expeditious, and far less perilous.
Still, in light of a new travel alert issued by the US State Department surrounding travel to Europe, twenty-four hour broadcasts relaying predominantly the most extreme information, and an inclination towards amplifying the perception of threat, travel anxiety is more prevalent than ever.
With so much information flying around, there are many questions to be asked:
- What is going on?
- Should we be scared?
- Is it still safe to travel?
- Why does the US State Department assume that Europe, a continent with a population of over 742 million people, spread over 50 countries has the same level of threat across its 10,180,100 square km?
Okay, maybe the last question is a matter of particularity, but still — with so much information being disseminated across a 24-hour news cycle, it’s hard to assess whether or not it’s time to cancel all travel and head for our underground bunkers.
(Spoiler alert: It’s not.)
So, for the sake of a little clarity and hopefully a whole lot of serenity, it’s time to look at the situation at hand. First things first…
What are the facts?
It can sometimes feel like a scary world, but what’s the reality?
The US State Department’s warning notes:
The large number of tourists visiting Europe in the summer months will present greater targets for terrorists planning attacks in public locations, especially at large events. This Travel Alert expires August 31, 2016.
That is terrifying — terrifyingly vague, that is.
The State Department issues alerts like these to ensure that US citizens are ultimately prepared. When you position this warning in the context of all the relevant facts, it’s a simple way to let would-be travelers know to keep both their eyes open — in case would-be travelers were walking around with one-eye shut.
However, with the US election cycle in full swing, the reality of Brexit looming not so far behind us, and recent tragic events across the globe — issues surrounding terror and terrorism have been dominating mainstream media. This means that travelers are inundated with a lot of scary information, and it makes travel alerts like the one above seem a lot more threatening.
Oscar Ybarra, social psychology professor at the University of Michigan, notes:
“When something goes wrong, we tend to judge that it’s much worse than it might be … We think it’s better to be safe under those circumstances by not doing anything even if we forgo the benefits of having new experiences.”
In light of recent terrorist attacks, apprehension surrounding travel is understandable, but that (logical) apprehension is often exacerbated by media that predominantly focuses on the most doom-and-gloom kind of information.
The problem is, if we operate under a magnified perception, then we miss out on new experiences for no reason and to the detriment of our happiness. If you examine the statistics in a balanced and unbiased manner, the world is still a scary place — just not for the reasons you might think.
According to data collected by the U.S. State Department, between the period of 2001 to 2013, 350 American lives were claimed over sea due to terrorist events. Comparatively, during the same period, the number was almost 10 times higher, at 3,030.
And while Europe has been feeling the heat more recently, many US cities are statistically more dangerous than European travel destinations due to things like gun violence and street crime.
If that’s not enough context, try this:
- Your risk of being killed in a car crash: one in 19,000
- Your odds of being killed by gunfire in the United States: one in 32,250
- The odds of drowning in your bathtub: one in 800,000
- Your odds of being struck by lightning: one in ten million
And terrorism?
One of the biggest myths about terrorism is that terrorists are masterminds able to outsmart every intelligence agency across the globe. It is difficult to establish exactly how many plots have been thwarted, but the most recent NSA data suggests 54.
And while attacks are more likely to happen at large events, security agencies exist to establish the threat-level and put sufficient measures in place to protect civilian lives.
Oh, and about that ‘mastermind’ thing? The Scientific American’s, Michael Shermer, wrote a piece entitled “The Five Myths of Terrorism,” which notes:
“A third flawed notion is that terrorists are diabolical geniuses … according to Johns Hopkins University political scientist Max Abrahms … “terrorists targeting the American homeland have been neither sophisticated nor masterminds, but incompetent fools.””
That’s not to say the threat of terrorism isn’t a very real one, especially in light of the recent attacks in Paris, Brussels, and Orlando, but that doesn’t mean the threat is as omnipresent as it’s made to seem.
Travellers are already aware of the fact that there is an incredibly small risk of terror (or anything bad, for that matter) happening when they go abroad, but it’s crucial to remember that even in light of recent attacks much closer to home, the risk increases only infinitesimally.
What is the worry?
Recent attacks, and the fear that comes with them, are starting to have an impact on the travel industry. Responding to global events, roughly 10% of American travelers have abandoned their trips overseas, according to data collected from a YouGov survey. These cancellations have eliminated an estimated $8.2 billion dollars from the economy.
The same survey noted that almost 25% of travelers had delayed their plans, and 18% had changed their travel destination deemed to be ‘safer.’
Speaking to the Independent on Sunday, Andrew Swaffield, chief executive of Monarch, delivered pertinent advice to travelers everywhere:
“We must make sure life goes on and that ISIS isn’t sending us back 50 years …Those of us who enjoy travelling have to speak out and say: there is always going to be an element of risk in travel. We need to find a way to operate in a world that is less safe.”
He went on to issue a stark warning: “Otherwise, you are saying to terrorists: ‘You can wipe out a market for a very low investment,’ and they will try it elsewhere.”
Other than the risk of travelling back in time and economic downturn, giving in to anxiety rooted in one in twenty million chances is the start of making your world shrink — it takes away the desire to explore it, but it won’t take away the importance of doing so.
As Swaffield said, by living a less-lived life, terrorist aims are (in part) achieved. The goal of these groups is to instil fear and communicate power. Associate Editor of the Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Robert L. Leahy, PHD, notes:
“The strategy of ISIS is to make themselves appear relevant and powerful. There are over 300 million people in the European Union and 300 million people in the U.S. and almost none of us have anything to fear … By frightening people, getting on the news, raising doubts and fears, and striking at symbolic targets, terrorists momentarily change the narrative — they become powerful, important, something to take seriously. But they are not an existential threat. France, Britain, and the U.S. are not going to be “conquered” or “defeated” by these actions. But for a moment in time, it puts a small group of ardent extremists on the same level as nation states. It becomes a momentary “equalizer.”
Surely you’ve heard — ‘don’t let the terrorists win,’ right? Well, that.
What about the questions from earlier, though?
- What is going on? Um, bad stuff and good stuff — you know, just like always.
- Should we be scared? Just the healthy amount.
- Is it still safe to travel? Absolutely.
- Why does the US State Department assume that Europe, a continent with a population of over 742 million people, spread over 50 countries has the same level of threat across its 10,180,100 square km? Well, that, you’ll have to ask them.
Anxiety is a symptom of 21st century living — because nowhere and nothing is truly safe, and while this has always been true, never before have we had this notion broadcast to us with such consistency.
Fear sells, and nothing keeps consumers’ eyes turned towards the media with such tenacity than information that seems vital to safety, but is actual integral to unnecessary panic.
It doesn’t matter if you are in a Parisian restaurant, an airport in Brussels, on the London underground, in an Orlando nightclub, at a soccer match in Iraq, or a park in Lahore — the threat of terrorism won’t go away, but the opportunities you have to go and remind yourself how beautiful the world is might.
Be vigilant, be practical, and be cautious, but don’t be afraid — the world is a scary place, but more than that?
