I<$>T’S been more than two months since British Intelligence thwarted terrorism attacks aimed at ten planes on long-haul transatlantic flights. How has it changed travel? Altered plans? Set people to thinking more seriously about their travel plans?Or has what now seems an ever-present safety challenge already faded from travellers’ short-term memory? What has the fall-out been?

We’ve been questioning a cross-section of travellers in what amounts to a coast-to-coast sampling. Our poll has ranged from an aspiring Vermont novelist and North Carolina lumberman to a young bank president and a sailing yacht enthusiast whose focus is mainly Caribbean.

Let’s start with the seagoing enthusiast we’ve written about before. A vice-president of our bank, he takes at least one, sometimes two Caribbean trips many readers would place in the “splurge category”. He and his wife fly down to the British Virgin Islands, rent a high-end sailing yacht and cruise off into the crystal-clear waters surrounding those islands.

This year was totally different. Refusing to suffer through current hassles of flying, he actually drove to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks and took off in a houseboat.

“It was perfect timing . . . practically no tourists were there, weather was great, leaves colourful and the experience relaxing.”

“But did you enjoy it as much as the islands you usually visit?” we asked on his return. “Well, let’s face it . . . what could compare with sailing into all those Virgin Islands coves and inlets and swimming in crystal waters? But I’m sick of hassles of flying and ready to make sacrifices.” Now a month later, he’s succumbed to visiting a five-star Jamaican beach resort.

Interestingly, the bank’s president had a totally different attitude. Plane reservations had been made on Swiss Air before the terrorism story broke, with departure only days later.With a stop to transfer in the banking centre of Zurich, the trip’s ultimate destination was Provence. I’d provided some suggestions on off-trail sights in that popular French region, and our paths crossed immediately after the trip.“It was great, far easier than expected . . . no hassles, not the intense scrutiny so widely reported on American carriers at the time. Security was smooth and uncomplicated.”

“We’ve decided to wait and see how the whole thing plays out,” lamented a young, well-travelled investment specialist. His original plan had been to visit Ireland with his mother so they could discover their Irish heritage together exploring that country.

“Between the threat of airborne terrorism and Irish tourist terrorism, we decided to do something simpler.” He then went on to outline the horrendous price-gouging encountered at every level in Ireland, whether it was car rentals, hotels, whatever.

“Because of the Ryder Cup, they’ve tripled their prices to the point it’s really gouging. And I’ve certainly found everything you said about nightmare of car rentals there is true. It will be a long time before they see the whites of my eyes”.

Certainly one can understand price increases during special events . . . one would be unrealistic to expect otherwise. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But within reason.

The Irish Tourist Board announced it expected 160,000,000 tourists and was excited about how many people it would bring in.

Who said: “There’s a sucker born every minute and none of them ever die?” There are also some savvy travellers who refuse to be robbed and choose to go elsewhere . . . permanently.

This man starts planning very early, stays at top-drawer properties and does not travel on the cheap. So his reaction meant the situation must have been really bad. A trend that does keep repeating itself and appears to be gaining momentum is what the travel industry calls “togethering”. The lure of planning family reunions and unusual get-togethers began increasing immediately after 9-11 and continues to grow. In fact, those who started then are getting ever more entranced by the concept.

“The last couple of years my wife and her four sisters all went somewhere domestic together. It’s a ‘sisters thing. . . no husbands’ . . . is what she told me,” lamented her executive husband, left at home with a “Honey-do” list to keep him busy during her two-week absence.

Departing only days after disclosure of the threats they flew off to Italy. All are attractive blondes, two twins, and one suspects Italian males are still in shock after encountering those “no-nonsense” beauties.At a Chicago Yacht Club event we met a very sophisticated advertising executive whose extended family plans an unusually elaborate annual reunion limited to all the female cousin’s home town. That year they were in charge of making hotel reservations, planning sightseeing, side trips, meals, special events, the works.“This year it was my turn in Chicago. We’ve met in Las Vegas, Dallas, New York . . . We’re scattered all over the place, but none of us would miss it for anything. One even came on crutches this year with a broken leg. It’s a wonderful opportunity to reminisce, recall past anecdotes, exchange memories. We love it.”

A young Vermont writer and her very bright home-schooled grammar school-age daughter were off cross-country on a similar adventure.

When we met them crossing Colorado on Amtrak a few weeks ago, they were bound for Sacramento, California.

“My nephew is getting married in Napa Valley and the whole family is coming,” she enthused. “My sister rented a big house in wine country and we’re all going to sit around the pool reminiscing and enjoying each other’s company”.

How long would they be gone? “Several weeks. Getting there by train this way gives my daughter a unique geography lesson crossing the country.”

The impressive collection of yacht club commodores we met at the Chicago Yacht Club were in no way deterred by current threats. All were brimming with excitement, travelling there from around the country to learn about the upcoming Americas Cup scheduled for Valencia, Spain in 2007.

Spain’s Consul General and the Spanish Government Tourist Office chose it as an appropriate setting to launch news about what certainly promises to be a very exciting summer event.

It sounds terrific and an article covering all the activities involved, as well as the area’s many scenic and historic attractions will follow soon. Valencia is less known than other Spanish beauty spots, but this event will certainly put it on the sailing and travel world’s map.

On the world-wide note, Northwestern University alumni were recently invited to a lakeshore country club reception, dinner and viewing of this year’s alumni travel offerings.

This well-travelled group was accumulating brochures by the armload, the more far-flung the better. It seemed no part of the world had been left uncovered. There was a line at the reservation booths of those anxious to sign up before the choicest and most remote tours filled up.

What about this traveller? I’m writing this article from the solitude of Bedroom D onboard Amtrak’s California Zephyr. We went by train out to Grand Junction, Colorado, picked up a reserved four-wheel-drive vehicle and headed down to our favourite mountain mining town of Ouray, Colorado deep in the lofty, more than 14,000-foot peaks of the San Juan Mountains.

It’s an area we first visited as children, and revisited countless times over the years . . . one of those magical places where we know every old back-country four-wheel mining camp road, remote ranches and bend in the Uncompaghre River.

Just days before departure I’d received a letter from Bermudian Tommy Aitchison, who now lives in Arizona. In it he’d reminisced about a wonderful western adventure back in the 1950s of which he had particularly fond memories.

And surprisingly they included some of the very same wonders we intended to revisit on this trip — driving along the Million Dollar Highway to the historic mining town of Silverton, backroading from Ridgeway to check ski developments at overdeveloped Telluride, seeing how many mining ghost town ruins were left, as well as going up the challenging old wagon trail road to historic old Camp Bird Mine where Tom Walsh discovered the fortune in gold that helped daughter Evelyn Walsh McLean buy the Hope Diamond.

We’ll be telling you more about updates on the area in future.

So in summary, it seems as the old saying goes . . . the dust settled. Unless tomorrow’s headlines bring news of newly-discovered terrorism threats, most travellers are definitely not foregoing vacations.

But some are making transportation changes reflected in the difficulty we had getting October bedroom train accommodations. The train also had many English, and even Australian, rail fans who make a hobby of collecting rail routes around the world.

One, from near Stonehenge, has been to the US twice this year, just criss-crossing the country via train. There wasn’t a route I’d travelled from India to Labrador that he hadn’t also covered. It seemed to be his life.

Of course, we all know that terrorism threats are always there and we should plan accordingly.

[obox] Next week:<$> Reflections on Remembrance Day

Have terrorist threats affected your travel?