Budget Travel for US citizens during the "Trump Slump": An admittedly selfish inquiry
Jul 19, 2017, 10:19 pm
#16
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Probably the exchange-rate sale of a lifetime had to be SE Asia from early 1998 to late 2001, especially the 1998-99 period. Europe was also good around then and into 2003, if memory serves.
Stuff like that doesn't last, though.
Aug 3, 2017, 10:18 am
#17
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Well, it appears that the so called "Trump Slump" for US travel destinations never materialized, and so it looks like my next vacation will be in Buenos Aires (which recently waived its reciprocity entrance fee for US citizens).
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170717/politics/170719902/is-the-tourism-industry-experiencing-a-trump-bump
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170717/politics/170719902/is-the-tourism-industry-experiencing-a-trump-bump
Aug 3, 2017, 1:51 pm
#18
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Aug 3, 2017, 2:00 pm
#19
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Well, it appears that the so called "Trump Slump" for US travel destinations never materialized, and so it looks like my next vacation will be in Buenos Aires (which recently waived its reciprocity entrance fee for US citizens).
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...g-a-trump-bump
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...g-a-trump-bump
Aug 3, 2017, 10:05 pm
#20
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Which means a "Trump Jump" in visitors from the Eurozone. Good thing I prepaid next year's ski vacation in Austria when the euro was trading around 1.12 USD. And it looks like there will be even more visits to Buenos Aires next year.
Aug 3, 2017, 10:11 pm
#21
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While US Citizens need a visa which isn't cheap, Russia is an amazing value right now. And flights to Moscow or St. Petersburg can be found at reasonable cost. These two cities aren't cheap but they are a great value and you can travel very cheaply by train to other interesting and historical cities that are bargain basement prices.
Aug 3, 2017, 10:45 pm
#22
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I would not touch Russia with a ten foot pole right now @:-) And I can read Cyrillic, still remember a smidgen of Russian, and actually understand the culture better than most. There's a reason why the flights are so cheap @:-)
Aug 3, 2017, 11:36 pm
#23
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In my experience the places that people are irrationally avoiding are the best.
Fewer tourists and better prices... and the top attractions are still the same as they always were.
Sep 2, 2017, 9:00 pm
#24
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Come to think of it, I had a surprisingly easy time finding award travel to the UK for the end of October--and only ~8 weeks out too. Then again, that also seems to be pretty close to the beginning of the low season/end of the high season.
Sep 2, 2017, 9:28 pm
#25
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Given what is going on between US and Putin right now, I stand by my post, and would not go to this country run by a blood thirsty dictator.
Of course, YMMV.
Sep 3, 2017, 5:37 pm
#26
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I have visited many countries that I don't align with politically (Russia definitely being one of them), and am much better for it.
You are the moderator of this forum so what you say goes, however I think it would be a more productive discussion if we leave politics in OMNI.
Sep 3, 2017, 5:43 pm
#28
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One of the award travel possibilities that I saw had a routing through SVO on Aeroflot. I'm not too comfortable transiting through places that would require a visa otherwise (though it probably would have worked out okay), but I can't say that politics entered into it for me.
Sep 3, 2017, 7:37 pm
#29
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Of course you are free to take a political stand, personally I find travel to help me feel much better about the world instead of bitter about it. It is refreshing to find people and countries that go against stereotypes. I think that is what travel is all about.
I have visited many countries that I don't align with politically (Russia definitely being one of them), and am much better for it.
You are the moderator of this forum so what you say goes, however I think it would be a more productive discussion if we leave politics in OMNI.
I have visited many countries that I don't align with politically (Russia definitely being one of them), and am much better for it.
You are the moderator of this forum so what you say goes, however I think it would be a more productive discussion if we leave politics in OMNI.
I'm not wearing my mod hat in this thread, and I apologize if my term "blood thirsty dictator" was interpreted as political, because it was not meant that way, just a simple statement of fact (perhaps using stronger words than needed).
I would in fact love to visit Russian Federation, but am not planning it right now because I would not feel safe. Everyone has their level of comfort - at the moment I'm fine with China, Thailand and a whole lot more, but draw the line with Russia. My loss, I'm sure.
Sep 3, 2017, 7:43 pm
#30
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It's strange that you think Russia is more dangerous than even more totalitarian countries, but you are certainly entitled to your opinion. I don't know if stats back that up or not, as I haven't done the research.