Tourists named the main fears when traveling abroad: “Retrograde Mercury”

Against the backdrop of many factors threatening mass tourism, the tourism industry, both domestic and European, decided to find out which of them most discourage the average tourist from traveling abroad – the threat of infection, the proximity of the conflict zone, a negative attitude for political reasons, or something else. Or maybe everything is much simpler and only prices and inconvenient logistics scare away?

According to Euroanalysts, 16% of EU citizens plan to travel outside the EU only in 2023. And then if by this time the situation with logistics will improve (now there are collapses at European airports due to problems with fuel and strikes by employees, and there are traffic jams on the routes). At the same time, 49% of respondents in Europe emphasized that they would make international trips in the coming year only if there was no outbreak of covid, which means that they would not need a test, quarantine or anything else.

The biggest horror of a European holidaymaker (33%) is getting a positive covid test result outside their country (in the comments to the answers, “medicine in resort countries” and “greed and fraud of medical insurance sellers” are mentioned in an abusive manner).

The second “prize” nightmare of a Eurotourist is to suddenly fall ill before an already paid trip (24%). Bronze for intimidating an EU holidaymaker was tied for flight cancellation (21%) and civil unrest and terrorism at a holiday destination (8%).

The top five also included European vacationers who refuse to travel abroad for fear of being robbed and/or raped and end up in a natural disaster or war zone. And about 2% of the Europeans surveyed refuse to travel outside their country, as they are afraid of not finding a place to take a covid test.

And what are we afraid of? If the Europeans, one might say, have confirmed their reason and pragmatism, then the Russian traveler in a similar study showed himself to be an average conceited fatalist, who, out of real difficulties, is only afraid of inflated prices – and even then not always.

So, according to ATOR, both the flow of tourists from the Russian Federation and the demand for tours to Europe decreased by 90-95%. Formally, they compared it with the pre-pandemic period, when there were no covid restrictions anywhere, but tour operators note that at least there were many more requests for European tours, albeit not always successfully implemented, even last summer.

– And now it’s just a few curious, – they say in the capital’s travel agency, specializing in Mediterranean resorts. – We think that those who really need it go on their own.

The main reasons for the refusal of the European tour, which the Russians themselves named, were the sanctions and the inconveniences arising from them – a difficult road with transfers and a ticket priced “per week in Turkey”, the impossibility of paying with cards, difficulties with currency, etc. But the main trouble, according to our tourist, this attitude.

“A Russian person is like that, if he really wants to, he will buy tickets at exorbitant prices and find a way to get, export or exchange currency,” a sociologist who studied the results of the survey shares his impression. – But if he is not welcome there, the Russian tourist is not comfortable, even if there are no problems with money. This is what psychologists call the “intruder effect.” There are people who are not sensitive to it, they do not care how they are looked at, what they say behind their backs or even in the face, as long as it is cheap and convenient for them. And sensitive, on the contrary, do not need anything for nothing if they feel uninvited. Pragmatic Europeans are often not sensitive to the attitude towards them in the air. Russians are generally less practical and therefore more sensitive.

Guess what else, besides unaffordable prices (here, don’t think how smart a vacationer is, if the wallet is empty, then they don’t wait anywhere), can make a Russian change his vacation plans? Hint: this is something from the realm of the elements and wildlife, but not abnormal heat, not a flood, not sharks with jellyfish, and not even a tornado with a tsunami. This is Mercury retrograde and geodepression.

– In vain you are laughing, it is very serious, – one of the respondents explains the results. – Here, for example, Mercury retrograde, the third this year – from September 10 to October 2. And the fourth – for the New Year. And it’s not just “mysticism and obscurantism”, it’s really falling planes for no reason, an increased risk of accidents and other nasty things far from home.

Personally, I won’t go anywhere in September or on New Year’s Eve. And many agree with me. And geodepression is also not a fairy tale, it is an area of ​​​​very low atmospheric pressure, coupled with high humidity, it happens in hot countries where there is a sea – in Egypt, India, Thailand. When very low blood pressure coincides with very high humidity (this is not a constant phenomenon, but can last up to a week), many people feel overwhelmed, lethargic and irritated. At the same time, they are really defocused and react more strongly to alcohol – that is, they can drown, fall, abyss and all that.