Where are the American tourists?
 

Hello,

I'm vacationing in Turkey with my family. We're having a great time. We're from Seattle, Washington.

As we travel around, I'm finding we haven't run across any of our fellow USA citizens. There are British, German, Danish, Italian, Russian tourists, but the hotel and restaurant staffs say there are no Americans.

I see another thread on the Turkey travel talk topic about Americans being afraid of going to Turkey. Is that the reason? Are there others?

I'm just curious as I wait for the rest of my family to wake up from a night walking along the promenade in Marmaris. What a town! You can sit at a cafe and the parade of people is a show in itself.

Best,

Eri

Most Americans have long finished their summer vacation by August. June is the busiest month for Americans.

Well the answer to your question according to my son is in Taomina, Sicily. He has just returned for two weeks camping and touring in sicily and says that Taomina was packed with Americans. Hardly came across them elsewhere on the island.

Glad you are enjoying Turkey. Hopefully the Russians aren't too bad - they have put many western Europeans off going the last couple of years due their drunkeness and loutishness - someone even said they make the British on holiday look well behaved and sober! I'm British, so don't start slinging insults at me - I'm merely quoting a Turkish hotelier!)

You will probably see few Americans in Turkey depending on where and how you travel.

We have been in Europe for a year and rarely ever see any Americans. They are in Europe, just not where we usually are.

We saw a few Americans at Esbelli Evi in Cappadocia. There was also an American family in Fethiye that was visiting a daughter that is teaching in Istanbul this year.

There will be Americans on cruises that see Ephesus and maybe Istanbul high lights.

Most Americans miss the joys of Turkey as they are not informed about how wonderful the country is.

In my recent experience, they are all on Cape Cod.

They've all read the dress advice on Fodors and aren't wearing white runners so they are well camoflaged.

Hi Eri,

We are 4 Americans here in KUSADASI and I believe that 2 in Selcuk and many in Izmir

Sinan Akdeniz

It's Erik again.

The Turkish folks sure seem glad to see Americans. They don't seem to care much for Russians.

OK, gotta go. My son has important postings to put on MySpace.

Erik

You can count me as one more American traveling to Turkey in September. (I won't be wearing white runners so I may not be recognized!) I'll be in Selcuk for 6 nights starting September 6. Will any other Fodorites be in Selcuk during the same period? I'd enjoy a GTG over a glass of wine or dinner with a fellow Fodorite. PS... this will be my first trip to Turkey and I am so looking forward to the experience.

Here's another- I will be in Antalya from Sept 24-October 1 and then in Istanbul until the 7th of October. Can't wait!

I agree with kerouac - that most American families are finished with vacations, as schools in many parts of the country start in early-mid August.

Glad you are enjoying your trip. Our (American) family has made 3 trips to Turkey and we LOVE it!

My husband and I (Texas) leave for Turkey on Labor Day. Can't wait.

Q. Where are the Americans?

A. Where's Waldo...I mean Rick Steeves.

My family just got back from two weeks in Turkey. We saw quite a few Americans in Istanbul, but hardly any in Ephesus, and none at all in Marmaris.

Hello, darling. I have just returned from Greece and was also told by many hotel and restaurant employees that Americans have been staying away from Europe this year. Many of these people think that the reasons are the euro/dollar exchange rate and a fear of terrorism, especially after the near-bombing of the airport in Scotland.

One of the restaurant owners on Rhodes told me that even though the Germans were travelling to Greece, they weren't spending money because their economy is bad right now.

Don't forger, sweetie darling, that Turkey borders Iran and is a Muslim country. This terrifies a lot of Americans. When I went to Istanbul in July of 2005, many of my friends thought I was NUTS!

The Great and Powerful Thingorjus

In my summer trip this year, I didn't notice that many Americans either. There were plenty in Geneva and Barcelona, but those are top international cities. There were none in Verbier, Switzerland nor were there any in Salou, Spain, that I saw.

Everywhere we went we saw British and German tourists.

Erik,

I am curious as to whether you have felt at all unsafe while in Turkey. I have to confess that my eagerness to see the country has been tempered by the issue of perceived safety. I am not an insanely cautious person, but do want to use my good senses not to travel where there is increased risk. I would love to hear of your experience regarding this issue. Have a great time!

P.S. This American is headed back to Italy for the 3rd year in a row...not because I want to limit my experiences in traveling, but for family reasons. We have a Venetian cousin who is getting married and we will attend this wonderful celebration...can't wait!

I just returned to the States from Istanbul 1 week ago. I was there for 3 months. I was supposed to come home and finish university, but instead, I have decided to take the year off and move to Istanbul. I will most likely finish my schooling there. I absolutely love it there!

In response to your question, Take_time_2 travel, I felt very safe in Turkey. I did have one bad encounter: I was wearing a dress that was low cut (though showing no cleavage as I am as flat as a board) and I was grabbed. This was at night walking to the ferry in Eminonu. The police caught the man and put him in jail. This was my only bad experience and I have been there 2 other times. Don't let fear dissuade you from going--you'll love it.

Feeling safe? Yes, very. But I'll be honest here. Arriving in Turkey I somehow felt that I would feel a bit unsafe. After all it has this very foreign "mysterious" feel to it -- totally different than going to Paris or Rome, for example. But that feeling soon changed. People were friendly and smiling and nothing happened to make me suspect anyone was "out to get me" except for the harmless but annoying carpet salesmen everywhere.

And as a rather odd note. I have a very sensitive "nose". I nearly gag all the time on public transportation in much of Europe -- the unwashed masses on Italian busses, or the horrific summer armpit smells from the Parisians who believe in only bathing twice a year. But riding on the jam-packed trams in Istanbul, I was immediately taken by the fact that everyone seemed to smell like soap. I couldn't imagine how CLEAN everyone smelled. I'm not sure, why, but that certainly WASN'T my advance expectation.

" the unwashed masses on Italian busses, or the horrific summer armpit smells from the Parisians who believe in only bathing twice a year. "


what an ugly and untrue ( in my experience) thing to say.

We didn't feel unsafe at all in Turkey. It's a fascinating country, definitely worth a visit, although I might suggest skipping the south coast (except for Ephesus) which reminded me of downtown Aruba when the cruise ships come in.

"what an ugly and untrue ( in my experience) thing to say."

Please don't misread my post as even suggesting that I'm talking about ALL Italians or ALL French. Sorry it's an ugly thing to say, but having just returned from two weeks in Italy and 10 days in Paris and moving about a dozen times in the metro or on busses to get away from people with unbelievably bad body odor, I'm afraid it WAS my experience. And always has been in the summer.

We sat at lunch one day next to two very well dressed women probably in their 50s having a nice lunch. All of a sudden one of the women raised her arm to scratch her head and I nearly fell off my chair. It is NOT an unusual thing in France in July. Sorry. Surely I'm not the only one to have run into this.

There surely can't be two Erik Lacitis' in Seattle. Erik - I miss reading your columns in the Times. Nice to see you pop up here.

Have been on the subway in Rome in July and we thought we would die from the smell of body odor. It is true.

Have you seen the movie "Midnight Express"? Lots of Americans have, enough said.

But seriously, I think it's a mix of a lot of things. Turkey is farther and more expensive to get to than most of Europe from the US and there are just so many places of interest to see for less money and hassle. It's on my list of places to go but I admit there are many other destinations that will come before it. There is not a lot of information, "buzz" or a tradition of tourism in Turkey in the American mind. And yes, some Americans may be unsettled by, or uncomfortable with, visiting a country with a Muslim majority these days, even one as secularized as Turkey, for fear of hostility or even terrorism.

In today's climate of anti-Americanism some people try and stand out less whenever travelling overseas, and in a more "exotic" place and with less opportunity for "safety in numbers" with few other Americans around it is that much more difficult. Personally, I don't agree with this and feel Turkey would make a wonderful destination but I'd never suggest someone vacation anywhere they would worry, whether that worry is grounded in perception or reality. Vacation time and resources are just too valuable to be tainted by such concerns.

Danon, I have to go with NeoPatrick on this one-his experience mirrors my own.

"Danon, I have to go with NeoPatrick on this one-his experience mirrors my own.'

Fine, we have all had some "smelly" experiences with groups of people ( or individuals)in hot places where there are very few air-conditioned buildings, buses, subways and apartments .
What I objected to ( and Neo corrected it), was the blanket statement.
It just reminded me of the attitude many North Americans had in the past about dirty, unwashed, hairy (women) Europeans.

Danon, please REread my post. It was not a BLANKET statement and I'm sorry you took it as such. And I did NOT "correct" my statement, I merely tried to explain it as I first made it.

As I've already stated -- nowhere did I suggest that ALL Italians are unwashed masses -- nor that ALL Parisians believe in only bathing twice a year.

I merely suggested from personal experience that it is NOT an ususual thing in Italy or France to run into a LOT of body odor on public transportation. And I was pointing out that there was a surprising lack of such in Istanbul.

The only reason I can see for someone to interpret remarks the way you did is that they somehow perceived them to be true themselves and were offended at someone "pointing it out". Not unlike someone saying "a teenager robbed us" and some overly defensive teenager instantly protesting that not all teenagers are robbers! Of course not!

Sorry Neo, if I misunderstood ;I said you corrected it.
The reason it bothered me is just the oposite of what you insinuated -
"The only reason I can see for someone to interpret remarks the way you have is that they somehow perceived that to be true themselves'
- my background is European.

"In today's climate of anti-Americanism"

ZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZ...
It may be true but on a recent trip to England we were surprised at a number of unfriendly comments made about Americans
by people we talk to in pubs ( once they learned we were not American).

There are not smelly Americans, only Europeans, I guess.....!!!
Maybe that's why they LOVE to come to Europe so much... because Europeans are smelly!

Reminds me of a great song by Tom Leher in the 60's called "The Merry Minuet."

"The whole world is festering
with unhappy souls,
the French hate the Germans,
the Germans hate the Poles,
Italians hate Yugoslavs,
South Africans hate the Dutch...
and I don't like anybody very much."

I don't think Europeans like each other very much, so I'm not going to worry if someone doesn't like me because I'm an American.

Seriously, my fellow Americans (you know who you are!), I suspect we're doing too much gazing at our navels.

and maybe Europeans don't use caps and white socks because they are smelly.

I guess americans who keep asking how to dress while in Europe should also ask how many baths a week they should take while in Europe so they can look like Europeans...:)

In Rome!!

"There are not smelly Americans, only Europeans, I guess.....!!!
Maybe that's why they LOVE to come to Europe so much... because Europeans are smelly!"

What was the meaning of that post? Surely no one could be so naive as to think that it is some sort of logical proof that there can't be any "smelly" Europeans or Americans wouldn't go vacation there? If not then, what was its meaning?

"I nearly gag all the time on public transportation in much of Europe -- the unwashed masses on Italian busses, or the horrific summer armpit smells from the Parisians who believe in only bathing twice a year."

And I wonder what was the meaning of this post? FYI I am not French or Italian, and didn't like it, it was of very bad taste .

Let me guess. If someone posted about a trip to the US and mentioned the unwashed masses in the New York subway and the New Yorkers who only bathe twice a year -- that wouldn't have bothered you at all? Oh, right -- that's probably OK because it would be about Americans. But the bottom line is that anyone who has every ridden the New York subway would understand.

This is like the person who says it is just plain "bigoted" to say that a large Japanese group of tourists were all flashing pictures. Anyone who disagrees has obviously never encountered a large group of Japanese tourists. It's not a slam against the Japanese, just a fact of life that it is not unusual to see them taking a lot of pictures. By the same token anyone who doesn't know what I mean about the Paris Metro in summer has apparently never ridden a Paris Metro in the summer. Sorry it offends you, but it is a fact of life.

And once again, please don't misinterpret to think I have said that the French are ALL "smelly" (your term, not mine). I have said nothing even remotely like that.

I have to disagree with svicious22. I think Turkey has become a very popular destination in recent years, and there's certainly been a lot of press on it in nearly every other magazine and newspaper. Turkey is more than ready for tourism, and a much cheaper destination than most European countries, since it's not on the Euro. I think the main reason Americans aren't going there is the same reason they're not traveling as much to Europe in general- the horrible exchange rate.

And now I need to correct myself- while Turkey IS cheaper than other European destinations, prices have slowly crept up in the last few years, and hotel rates are often cited in Euros.

Pegontheroad

Thanks for posting the words to that song. I have been trying for months to remember them!

What is rest of the part about, "they're rioting in Africa, there's strife in Iran............what nature doesn't do to us, will be done by our fellowman". Not bad predicting for a 40-year old song!
Jane