Updated travel advice in reflection of Brussels Attacks

Today the media has been reporting about the attacks in Brussels. As a travel professional, I’d like to share some important information to assist the News Media in Northern California:

1. The department of State travel advisory for global travel, has been effectively in-place since September 11, 2001. Throughout the months and years after 9-11, the contents of the advisory have changed to reflect the current state of travel threats around the world. But it should not be confused with an “increased” travel advisory – the level has remained the same.
2. Belgium – prior to this incident, the terror threat level was at 3 or “serious, probable.” The highest level is level 4. There was no security messages for U.S. Citizens from the U.S. Embassy in Brussel nor has the U.S. State Department issued any type of Travel Alert or Travel Warning for Belgium. However, the threat of terrorism is rated “high” by the United Kingdom Foreign Office.
3. Although terrorism knows no boundaries, it is still extremely rare. Americans are far more likely to experience significant problems due to naturally occurring events such as earthquakes or hurricanes. “Your odds of dying in a terrorist attack are still far, far lower than dying from just about anything else,” according to The Washington Post.
4. While no one can say with certainty that any destination is 100% safe, travel professionals strongly encourage their clients to use care and common sense – no matter where they travel – to maximize their safety and security. Many travel professionals have resources on their website to help keep the traveling public informed.

Our advice to travelers is to understand their traveling plans and their ability to cancel or change their travel plans. Often travelers have a window of time between now and the last moment the can back-out of travel without incurring additional penalty or fees if they were to cancel today. Since nobody has a crystal ball to know the future, we recommend travelers wait-and-see how it develops over time. Often once a trip is cancelled the penalties or fees become realized, and cannot be reversed if the situation improves. This is similar to our recommendations for travelers when there is a weather related advisory for a travel destination which may or may not impact their actual travel.

Incidents like this underscore the importance of appropriate travel insurance to protect travelers from the unexpected before and during travel.

As a professional travel agency, should we become aware of an issue for a specific destination, we alert clients who may be planning to travel there so they can determine for themselves if they still wish to travel. Also, should we become aware of an issue for a specific destination where a client is currently located; we try to immediately contact the client to check on their well-being and work to assist them if they require alternate travel arrangements.

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As an advocate for our clients, True Vacation Travel is committed to ensuring our clients and the traveling public have access to relevant, timely information which may impact their travel plans. For more information about True Vacation Travel see www.truevacay.info. Our owner, Jason Olson is available for media interviews, schedule by calling 530-244-7447.