Concern about Syria crisis

I am going to Turkey the 11th of this month as part of the Treasures of the Aegean tour but am concerned about the Syria crisis. Has Tauck considered this as a serious threat and what to expect from this situation?

Comments

  • Hello Gerardo,

    We are taking the situation in Syria very seriously. We are constantly monitoring situation with Syria very closely. The safety of our guests and staff are our highest priorities. We will be in contact should traveling to Athens and Istanbul should be impacted.

    Hope this helps,
    Emily
  • We are leaving on the 21st of sept for Istanbul, for the tour that starts on the 25th. A travel alert was issued this AM for all of Turkey. We did get the travel insurance. Should we be concerned? Can the trip be re routed? But we would still be flying into istanbul.
  • Hello 2travel,

    As reported in the media today, the U.S. State Department has issued a Travel Warning alerting U.S. citizens that the U.S. Consulate General in the city of Adana has been authorized to draw down non-essential personnel there due to security concerns. The State Department has also recommended that U.S. citizens “defer non-essential travel to southeastern Turkey” which lies near the Turkish border with Syria.

    Please note the following:

    • Today’s travel warning focuses on the U.S. Consulate in Adana in southwestern Turkey, and no similar Travel Warnings or draw downs of personnel have been issued for either the U.S. Embassy in Ankara or the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul.

    • Also, the State Department’s Travel Warning noted that “there have been no direct attacks on U.S. citizens.”

    • Istanbul, featured on “Turkey: Land of Contrasts” and “Treasures of the Aegean,” is 580 miles from Adana.

    In light of these factors, all Tauck journeys in the region are scheduled to operate normally, with all regularly scheduled activities included.

    As part of our regular office operations, Tauck’s Global Response Team and its many members monitor worldwide events and news on an on-going basis. As always, the safety and security of our guests and employees are our highest priorities.

    Hope this helps,
    Emily

  • Thank you, Emily, for the reassurance. We do NOT want to back out of our upcoming trip, but far more important is the safety of Tauck personnel and of course, Tauck travelers. Until Tauck tells us it's a "no go", we will keep packing!
  • We are also traveling to Turkey and Greece on Sept 30. There are reports of small demonstrations popping up in Istanbul. There are photos of demonstrators and police confrontations. How can we be sure to avoid these demonstrations when they "pop up".
    I am not sure how you monitor but does the monitoring include checking in with the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul? If we decide not to visit Istanbul can we pick up the trip at the first Greece destination?

  • Does Tauck have an update and advise on this situation? We are scheduled to leave next week
  • forgive me, but it seems likely that Tauck will say anything to protect their revenue stream. sending people into Turkey against the best advice from the US Government is irresponsible. What on earth do Tauck's people know about "monitoring" terrorist-based activities in the Middle East?
  • Tauck have been in business for 85 years. If you don't want to travel with them, don't, but some of us will not let terrorism stop our traveling. Don't reply and say I don't understand, I do, I've been with people when they have heard their relative just got blown up, or they were in the pub when the Bomb went off. I know people who lost loved ones in 9/11 and most scarey of all, I worked alongside a colleague who turned out to be making bombs for the IRA and was put in prison for a long time. When I traveled with Tauck in Africa in July, I told my kids if anything happened to us, it was where we loved to be. The Syria crisis is a long way from the tour as far as I understand without looking at the tour in detail right now.
  • My husband and I just returned from this trip (8/20 - 9/2) and there was nothing to fear in Turkey. We wandered around Istanbul on our own at night and had a wonderful time. This was an amazing trip.

  • I think British has given you a very good reply.

    All I would add is that I really don't think you have thought through your above statement. For one thing, your comments about Tauck border on libellous. For another, it shows that you haven't checked your own US State Department site recently. As of now, today, Saturday 20th September, 2014, there are no new Alerts or Warnings for Turkey and on checking the precise page for Turkey, there are no current alerts or warnings listed at all. Naturally, by the time you check the site that might have changed, because these sites are dynamic.

    Repeating received disinformation doesn't help anyone. It simply feeds oblivion. Primary source material is always the best starting point and in this internet age, that is easy to find. Interpretation is, as it has always been, open to individual preconception. As British says, if you don't want to travel with Tauck, don't.
  • artiep2 wrote:
    forgive me, but it seems likely that Tauck will say anything to protect their revenue stream. sending people into Turkey against the best advice from the US Government is irresponsible. What on earth do Tauck's people know about "monitoring" terrorist-based activities in the Middle East?

    Yea for British. artiep2 has a right to express his concern, and an equal right to cancel his trip, but no right to libel Tauck. BTW, the required trip insurance does "protect their revenue stream," so they have nothing to gain by being "irresponsible."
  • We are very interested in going to Greece but we do not want to visit Turkey. Do you offer any tours that do not include Turkey?
  • Nevaw3 wrote:
    We are very interested in going to Greece but we do not want to visit Turkey. Do you offer any tours that do not include Turkey?

    Just curious why you want to avoid Turkey? The impact of the Syria crisis is confined to a very small area of Turkey which isn't anywhere near any of the tour locales. There are no State Department cautions about Turkey (except for the aforementioned border area).

    Turkey has some magnificent sites to see in Istanbul, Ephesus, Bergama and Cappadocia to name a few. Avoiding Turkey will be your loss.

    We're returning there next year and look forward to it.

    Just my opinion/advice, obviously.

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