- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - T A B L E+T A L K Not going home for Christmas? Discuss travel alternatives to the yule log in Table Talk R E C E N T L Y Christmas in Syria By Louis CasaBianca Christmas in Syria: The tale of an unexpected gift (12/23/97) Passages By David Downie "Enchanted Liguria" Mondo pesto: Liguria's green cuisine (12/22/97) Surreal Gourmet By Bob Blumer Chicken soup with matzo balls for the soul (12/19/97) Passages By John Krich "Won Ton Lust": The best twice-cooked pork in China (12/18/97) Pop goes the cathedral By Laura Miller New book reveals architectural triumphs (12/17/97) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Wanderlust archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Your virtual travel agency - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -		BY DON GEORGE | It's the travel editor's custom at this time of year to look back sagely on the events of the preceding 12 months, offer authoritative analyses of the year in travel and pen ponderous predictions about the world to come. But I find that I have more questions than answers right now, so rather than analyses and predictions, I'm going to present some of the most pressing questions that confound me as we approach 1998, based on the three most significant themes that emerged in the travel industry this year. THE TERRORISM DILEMMA: The threat of terrorism has been a constant in the travel world for many years, of course, but that threat was unforgettably smeared across the popular consciousness in November, when 58 tourists were massacred at Luxor, Egypt. Travel to Egypt plummeted immediately and has not yet recovered. And tremors were again sent throughout the travel world. Incidents such as these make all travelers pause. No matter where we're planning to go, we wonder: Is it safe? Some of us cancel our plans. And the ripple effects -- on airline flight attendants, hotel bellhops, restaurant chefs, ticket takers at tourist sites, performers at cultural events and more -- can be enormous. What can we do about terrorism? While airlines and airports can strengthen their security measures and nations can redouble their surveillance and prosecution efforts, there is no way of absolutely preventing terrorism of this kind. So the questions arise: Where is it safe to travel? Is Luxor more dangerous than London, or Manhattan, or Oklahoma City? Is any place absolutely safe? Statistically, you are more likely to get run over by a car in the city where you work than you are to be killed in a terrorist incident abroad. But the perception -- the sense of vulnerability and terror that attaches to unfamiliar places -- remains. How can we, as world travelers and world citizens, respond? Or, to put the issue in a different light, if tourism falters in Egypt, that country teeters closer toward chaos. Is it our responsibility, then, to travel to Egypt? At what risk? THE WIRED WORLD: It seems like wherever you go these days, there's CNN on the hotel tube and an Internet cafe at the end of the block -- not to mention the Internet hook-up next to your bed. Everyone's got a beeper and a cell phone and a laptop -- the world is so instantaneously interconnected that it's harder and harder to get away. Is this just me, or do you feel it too? Sometimes I don't want to be so accessible and access-able -- but then there's the ever-present seduction of CNN and the impulse to just quickly check your e-mail and voice mail. These days you have to work hard to disconnect yourself -- but isn't disconnection, relaxation, what a vacation is supposed to be all about? So I wonder: Does travel serve the same salutary purpose it once did? Or is the role of travel in our lives simply evolving -- just as the Grand Tour has been replaced by the Long Weekend, is snuggling under the palapa giving way to cell phoning on the chaise lounge? THE AGE OF E-COMMERCE: This year, for the first time, consumers in significant numbers made all manner of travel arrangements, from airline and hotel bookings to rental car reservations, over the Internet. According to a survey conducted by Jupiter Communications for the Travel Industry Association of America, online travel revenues skyrocketed threefold from $276 million in 1996 to $827 million this year. By 2000, TIA predicts, the size of the online travel industry will reach $4.7 billion, and $8.9 billion by 2002. And a second TIA study found that the percentage of Americans using online services to make their travel plans or reservations jumped from 11 percent last year to 28 percent this year -- which translates to 13.8 million people. What does this movement mean for travelers? What does it mean for travel agents? Are travel agents going to become a niche industry -- specialists who get paid upfront for their expertise and service? Are travelers going to become more and more savvy, navigating their way nimbly through airline and hotel reservation systems, determining on their own that rerouting through Duluth or extending their stay one more night in Paris will save them hundreds of dollars? And what will airlines and hotels and tour operators do to attract these new savvy travelers? Will video tours and online-only discounts soon become standard fare? Will the Internet become the preferred booking medium? Those are my end-of-year questions. What do you think? Send your thoughts to dgeorge@salonmagazine.com. N E X T+P A G E+| Travel experts share their thoughts