No – not the gobble, gobble kind.

I’m talking Turkey, as in Istanbul … the stunningly beautiful, exotic city straddling the Europe/Asia border where our WOW! Travel Club voyage will commence and end in June.

I expected the question.  It came earlier this week: “We are having some concerns about flying into Istanbul in light of ISIS now in Turkey. Can you give us some guidance?”

There are a multitude of good, logical answers:

• Turkey is a huge country and the border with Syria is hundreds of miles from Istanbul
• ISIS is more likely to target the New York Subway system than anywhere in Istanbul
• We’ll pick you up at the airport and whisk you straight to the ship for embarkation
• The cruise line will not risk harm to their crew or their vessel and will, if necessary, change the embarkation city

But it’s a bigger question than Turkey.  I’m talking about the whole wide world – because “stuff” can (and does) happen, and the resultant headlines strike fear and dread.  Whether it’s Cuba or Cabo, Dubrovnik or Damascus, Hong Kong or Haiti, or New Delhi, New Orleans or Newtown, Connecticut, we Americans want to be good citizens of the world, informed and intelligent.  So we watch the TV news, listen to newsradio or read the newspaper.  The trouble with those sources is the headlines or sound bites.  Sensational.  Negative.  Lurid.  Frightening.  They scare the *%#@ out of us.

What’s a traveler to do?  What’s a travel planner to do?

Don’t Take My Word for It

I can’t be objective.

I own a travel business.  And (thankfully), I’m a pretty fearless traveler.

So I called some customers who just returned from Egypt.  Egypt … that country that not so very long ago was the subject of screaming headlines about Tahrir Square, Arab Spring, Tear Gas, Muslim Brotherhood and a Military Coup d’etat.

I asked Bob and Julie, “What should I tell people who are concerned about traveling to Turkey?”  (By the way, they are coming with me to Turkey and Greece …)

Here’s what they advised:

• Be smart.  Be respectful.  Don’t be stupid (if you wouldn’t walk alone at night in an unfamiliar neighborhood here – don’t do it somewhere else, either).
• Consider cancellation insurance with liberal provisions that allow you to protect most of your financial investment.
• Have perspective.  Consider that compelling headlines will always be negative and sensational but they don’t tell the complete story.
• Recognize that tourism is an important source of revenue.  Security will be beefed up at sites frequented by tourists.
• Consider who you tell and when you tell them because lots of people will challenge you: “You’re damn crazy to go there!”
• Weigh the risk vs. the gain.  If you want to see real pyramids, you’ve got to go somewhere other than Vegas.
• You meet the nicest people when you travel.  You gain insight and understanding about history, issues and cultures when viewed from a different perspective.  You come home smarter.
• Don’t give up your dream … the world is a wonderful place to explore and experience – but you gotta leave your bubble.  It’s worth it!

The Riskiest Place to Travel – It’s Not What You Think

Can you guess the most dangerous place I’ve ever taken my customers?  The place where more of my travelers have been victimized than anywhere else in the world?

That would be Mexico, right?

Wrong.

Well, then it must be India.

Nope.

Rio de Janeiro?  South Africa?  Russia?  No to all of these.

The answer: Florence.  Florence, Italy.

I’ve had more people robbed and pick-pocketed in Florence than anywhere else.  And yet nobody emails me with concern about going to Florence.  I myself was pick-pocketed in broad daylight, on a busy street in Madrid by a little gypsy lady who I knew was trying to rob me!   (I’ll share THAT story another time.)

The Bottom Line

Despite the relative bubble we live in, no place is safe.  Whether it’s terrorism, natural disasters, mass shootings, pandemics, pirates, Putin . . . we should probably all stay home under the covers.  But then comes an earthquake and the roof caves in.  Who wants to live a life like that??

My philosophy is Go. Go Now.

I also believe that Americans should be good Ambassadors to the world – especially the developing countries.  To those places where everything isn’t squeaky clean and where we have our most basic assumptions tested and where we really, really get how blessed we are.  Not all of us have the right blend of curiosity and courage and cash to undertake such adventures.  But those who do … well, my advice is, “Go.  Go Now.”

Mark Twain was right.  Twenty years from now (or two or ten . . .), you’ll mostly regret the things you did NOT do.  To paraphrase, you’ll mostly regret NOT going, NOT exploring, NOT risking, NOT expanding your horizons.  NOT living the life you dreamed before fear took you hostage.

’tis a great, big, wondrous world we live in . . . 

Oh! The Places I’ve Been! . . . 1) Rio, 2) Panama, 3) Sri Lanka, 4) Maui, 5) Morocco, 6) Slovenia, 7) Ireland, 8) Egypt, 9) The DMZ, 10) Cambodia, 11) Vietnam, 12) Kenya, 13) Cuba, 14) Paris, 15) Istanbul, 16) India, 17) San Diego, 18) Mexico, 19) Puglia, Italy, 20) Dead Sea, Jordan and 21) Peru! WOW!

Comments?  What’s YOUR philosophy?