The key to perspective is a map! 'Demonstrations in Greece

Traveling not very sounds relaxing. The U.S. State Department's latest worldwide safety caution issued Wednesday warns that terrorist groups "continue to plan terrorist assaults against U.S. interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa & the Middle East."
Targets might include public transportation systems & "sporting events, residential areas, business offices, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, public areas & other tourist destinations" in the United States & abroad where giant numbers of U.S. citizens collect, according to the State Department.
Despite ongoing advisories & worldwide economic uncertainty, the numbers recommend travelers are nevertheless determined to see the world. International tourist arrivals grew 5% in the first months of 2012, according to the United Nations' World Tourism Organization. The agency estimates that 415 million tourists will travel worldwide in the work of this year's May-August peak travel season, & international tourism is expected to increase by 3% to 4% for the full year.


The number of U.S. travelers going abroad last year dropped 3% from 2010 to  59 million, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, but 2012 is looking strong for U.S. travel abroad.
"So far, in 2012, they are seeing increases in U.S. outbound air traffic to all world regions. It is early to tell if any of the events that have occurred will impact travel," a Commerce Department official said by e-mail. This year's outbound air traffic is up 5% through April 2012, according to department figures.
While most of their travelers are not heading in to political hot spots, U.S. travel agents say their clients understand terrorist threats & political unrest are part of what they must think about in a post-9/11 world, along with the cost of a plane ticket.
"We've had tiny to no cause for concern from our travelers, lots of of whom are on extensive European holidays travelling with relatives for up to weeks in Europe," wrote Pattie Fanta, owner of Travel Leaders in Bay Village, Ohio, in an e-mail. "I advise my clients to stay vigilant & alert while on the road (even in the U.S.), know they have lovely trip insurance & call us ought to any issues arise."
Point of view is key, says veteran travel writer Zora O'Neill, who was boarding a Thursday red-eye flight to Greece.
"Sure, I will Greece, & even Athens -- but I do know where the demonstrations usually are in Athens & the scale of them -- so I do know to keep away from that part of the city," says O'Neill, author of over a dozen travel guides, and an upcoming book on Arabic language & the Middle East.