This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, those with travel plans to Europe face the difficult decision of deciding whether to go or not.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning this week warning that "terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants and transportation" through June 20.
Veteran Salt Lake City travel agent Toby Nash offered an interesting perspective worth sharing about the value of visiting different countries and experiencing new cultures during a time of terror.
"Those attacks were clearly intended to instill fear and drive a wedge through the very heart of what we all hold so dearly: That freedom of movement in our societies is embodied in travel," she wrote. "Yet what terrorists will never comprehend is that the ability to move freely remains one of our most basic and cherished freedoms.
"In the aftermath of November's Paris attacks, I noted how dealing with tragic and deadly circumstances is never easy, yet each of us has the power to define the right context and perspective from such circumstances," continued Nash. "I will continue to appropriately and sensitively champion the power of travel to conquer ignorance. Travel continues to be one of the most single powerful catalysts for addressing ignorance, fear and hate."
U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow also offered an interesting perspective after the Brussels attacks.
"As with every other such horrific event, we must shortly turn to the lessons that are to be learned for our security policies, which should continue to evolve along with the volatile global threat environment," he wrote. "We urge U.S. leaders to continue to embrace policies that emphasize collecting information in the most sophisticated and innovative ways possible in order to advance our ability to prevent such attacks here in the U.S. and abroad.
"The fact that travel and transit nodes were the object of this violence naturally has our full attention. Those who would do harm to the Western world are a deranged minority and should be treated as such—our travel security policies should work to identify and separate them from the pool of legitimate travelers so that law enforcement can focus their full resources on bad actors and prosecute them as vigorously as possible.
"Words matter and move markets. It's just not realistic to ban religions, order war crimes, and end international travel. Bombast and bluster are no substitutes for thoughtful leadership."