PHOTO: Palace of Westminster in London. (photo via Flickr\/Berit Watkin) <\/p>\n
Recent terror attacks in London, Paris and other parts of Europe have undoubtedly raised concerns among overseas travelers. <\/p>\n
However, the bulk of touristshave been undeterred by the cowardly actions of a few. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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.\" <\/p>\n
\"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.\" <\/p>\n
Tom Karnes of LaMacchia Travel in Chicago echoed that observation: <\/p>\n
\"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.\" <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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.\" <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
That realization combined with London's and Paris' undeniable draw have helped the destinations withstand not just one, but several attacks. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
\"We do not expect this isolated incident to have an impact on people's decision to travel to the country nor its capital.\" <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
READ MORE:Travel Agents React to London Terrorism <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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.\" <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Excerpt from:<\/p>\n
Travel Community Reacts to London and Paris Attacks - TravelPulse<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 Continue reading