Today’s
Travel Scenario:
How has
the current climate impacted the industry?
By Susie
Davidson
Advocate
Correspondent
BOSTON - “Travel is an industry which is always directly influenced by world events such as war, natural disasters, political unrest, economic conditions both here and abroad, and as we have seen, terrorism,” says Peter Levine, Marketing Director at Grand Circle Travel in Boston.
“Middle
Eastern travel is particularly vulnerable to these and other factors, given the
historical and religious significance of the region. Although there is no way
to predict the duration of the present conflict, past cataclysmic events in the
Middle East have resulted in travel dropoffs lasting about six to 12 months. Of
course, this can also be affected by factors such as personal reasons for
travel, the degree of crisis, and the presence of travel advisory
warnings.”
How does
this translate to Israeli travel? As we well know, the impact is real.
“The
word ‘travel’,” says Shimshon (Sam) Erenfeld of
Brookline’s Bler Travel, “has become synonymous with terror, fear,
caution and security warnings.” The reality? “The media usually
creates an impression that the situation is far worse than it really is. I just
came back from a long visit to Israel,” he reports, “and found that
people go on with their lives. They rationalize: ‘we can’t let the
terror win,’ ‘statistically it's more dangerous to drive a
car,’ or ‘the increased security will help.’” (Most
stores and public places do body searches upon entry, he says.)
Travelers
are still purchasing tickets daily for Israel, for business or personal travel.
“Some,” he says, “have been there before, and know the
difference between news and reality.” He mentions the recently publicized
Marriott boycott. (The international hotel chain allegedly sent a February 2002
letter to a Jerusalem travel agent addressed to "Yerushalaim, Occupied
Territories." It has since been confirmed by the ADL that the letter
originated from the Switzerland-based International Air Transport Association,
which has apologized and taken full responsibility.)
Yet some,
Erenfeld acknowledges, are opting for non-Israeli Jewish sites or European
pilgrimage tours. “People travel for vacations, to get away, or to
celebrate occasions like bar mitzvahs. In the past year we have seen that
instead of the often long-time dream of Israel, some are visiting Poland,
Prague, the Baltic States, Spain and similar places with ties to Jewish
history, for both education and recreation, either independently or in group
tours.” Although percentages are difficult to ascertain, he says tour
operators report the same trend.
“This
year we are doing more trips closer to home: more Canada, more Mexico, even
U.S. travel, and ocean cruises,” concurs Levine. "People often shift
their plans during times of uncertainty.”
“What
we are seeing,” says Raphi Bloom of Jewishroutes.com, which calls itself
the most comprehensive Jewish travel site on the web, “is a huge increase
in kosher and Jewish travel offerings for kosher cruises, exotic tours or heritage
trips, from Alaska to Europe to the Far East, with, sadly, almost minimal
travel to Israel.
“We get a lot of hysterical questions from U.S. Jews on the 'anti-Semitism sweeping across Europe'. We recommend taking certain precautions when traveling in cities with large Muslim populations, but we encourage people to go nonetheless. U.S. travel to Europe has declined somewhat, but Europeans are still traveling, and there are a large number of popular European kosher summer vacation resorts.
“Some
larger Israeli tour operators have taken to running resorts for summer and
chagim (holidays) in Europe.” A self-described online travel magazine
where tour operators and resorts advertise hotels, packages and tours,
percentages are again elusive.
One thing,
however, seems clear. It is vital to continue to support Israel, in good times
as well as bad.