the morning after | why travel is important

a street in Paris (c) 2016 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

I just read a blog by my friend Ben Schlappig entitled What Does A Trump Presidency Mean For Travel? He wrote about (1) global uncertainty, (2) the possibility of a weaker dollar, (3) more visa restrictions, and (4) lots of questions about Trump. His fourth point especially resonated with me:

In the past year I haven’t been able to travel anywhere internationally without talking about Trump. The second I mention I’m from the US, the first thing out of peoples’ mouths has been about Trump. Reactions have been mixed — in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, they seem to love him, while they don’t in most other places I’ve seen. 

I was looking forward to those conversations ending after the election, but I guess they’re only getting started. So if you go somewhere and say you’re American, I suspect the first thing out of peoples’ mouths will be “ah, Donald Trump,” for better or worse.

I've had much the same experience. While I don't travel nearly as much as Ben, every time I've been out of the country over the past year, people have asked me about Donald Trump and whether he could possibly be elected. I'm sure glad I don't earn my living as a political prognosticator!

Travel is truly important, especially in times like ours. We become international ambassadors when we travel. Person-to-person diplomacy is a powerful force. Chance encounters with citizens of different countries create opportunities to make friendships that transcend national boundaries. Even when our governments are stuck in old patterns of division, we the people of the world have the remarkable capacity to further Tikkun Olam, the healing of the world.

copyright (c) 2016 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.