Random Thoughts

April 16, 2003

Traveler‘s Tales

“Are you from the United States? Are you from the U.S.? Are you from California?“
The man‘s face hovering over us was foreign and dark-complected; his words were rapid, low and urgent and his expression alive with the need to know. He seemed thrilled to find two American travelers at his cafè table in the old town Plaka section of Athens.
“Yes, we‘re from the United States,“ I said. “We‘re from Northern Michigan.“ A place much better than crowded, crime-stricken California, I thought with a sense of pride.
It felt good to announce that we were there because tourism is down all over the globe by 40 percent -- and maybe more. During a visit to the Greek isles and Turkey over spring break, my wife and I heard from many sad-faced merchants and restaurateurs that they expected a disastrous year. In Turkey -- a Muslim country that is just getting its tourist act together -- they expect that the tourists won‘t be back for years and years, especially the Americans, who tend to spend big, leave tips, and aren‘t cheapskates on every bargaining encounter.
Friends visiting Mexico and other parts of Europe told similar stories of dwindling crowds and empty scenes. Americans just aren‘t traveling much.
It‘s a shame because from what I saw, there‘s nothing to fear, and there are huge bargains on airfares, meals, lodging and tourist trash.
Plus, there is a welcoming attitude. Athens was plastered with graffiti and signs opposing the war, but it was obvious that those feelings were directed at the policies of the Bush administration, and not American travelers. Tourists, after all, are the bread & butter of places such as Greece, Mexico, Disneyworld, the Holy Land and other popular destinations.
Imagine if tourism in Northern Michigan fell by 50 percent because people were afraid they might get eaten by bears or captured by the Michigan Militia and you can grasp the absurdity of the current fear of travel.
True, if you travel, I suppose you run the risk of getting exposed to some mild “attitude“ from an ignoramus from Germany or wherever, which might be about as bad as a drive-by cat-call by a yokel teen from Alanson.
It‘s not all shish kebob and souvlaki out there, however: The London press reported on Arab feydaheen guerrillas bound for Iraq, who opined that they thought it would be a very good idea to kill any American women, children or old folks within reach. Then there was the nightclub bombing in Bali and the like to remind you that the world can be a dangerous place.
On the other hand, something like 40,000 Americans are killed right here on our home turf in auto accidents each year, and we have rock bands like Great White blowing up discos with their stage shows; so if you stay home you‘ve got that to worry about. Your best bet, perhaps, is to hide under your bed and hope that the mold, dust mites or an asteroid doesn‘t get you.
Fear is an unpleasant creature. On our last night in Athens, we stayed at a pension hotel called John’s Place, where a family rents rooms to travelers from around the world. Going out for dinner, we passed the family gathered around their television set, watching the U.S. troops attacking Baghdad. Over there, the TV news isn’t sanitized for consumption as it is here in the U.S. -- there were plenty of pictures of Iraqi kids blown to bits by U.S. bombs -- arms and heads missing, and wailing mothers. So the family looked up with alarm and fear on their faces as we walked past, and it flashed before me that they were afraid of us, the rich Americans from the land of smart bombs, armor-piercing shells and oil wars. It was an ugly thing to swallow -- for that week, at least -- that much of the world considered Americans to be the “bad guys.”
Now, however, you can feel the world breathing a sigh of relief as it spins below our feet. Hopefully, pictures of the cheering people of Iraq have changed those ugly feelings about us overseas. Hopefully, the falling statues of Saddam and the revelations of his torture chambers have changed some hearts and minds about America as a force for justice.