Austria's New Government

Just noting that I know people who have boycotted traveling to the US because of political leadership.

Maybe selfish but I would try to beat the crowds and travel now to a country like Burna. I went to Hungary anyway because it fit my personal schedule, but once there the English language news was so slanted it did give me pause.

Geopolitical risk is a valid concern. With today’s trends, travel could look very different in a few years.

I have LGBTQ friends that have to travel to countries where they have to hide that they are gay.

How many of us visited Russia and/or Eastern Bloc countries when they were ruled by Communists? I visited Russia, what is now Belarus, and Poland in 1990 and am so glad that I did. How many people would visit Russia now if the logistics weren't so difficult? We could go on and on about this topic, but the truth is that many of us will travel to a place we want to see even when we strongly disagree with the government. This question could also be asked, by both sides, about travel to states within the US. To quote SNL "Orlando-where Republicans live and Democrats visit".

When I travel I am well aware of the political situation in the countries I am visiting. You may call me callous, but my attitude is that being a foreigner this is not my business.

I have been in several countries having non-democratic rulers, including Russia and China, Turkey, in the 70s e.g. Spain, Portugal, Greece.

Rick Steves encourages all to seek out cultures that are different from their own to understand them better. This comes with an understanding that a country's people are different from their government. Visiting a place helps build the proverbial bridge ...instead of the proverbial wall when choosing not to engage with those people. That being said, there are, of course, very good reasons to decide to visit a country - or not - and it's important to consider your own moral compass.

Thank you all for your posts. Unfortunately, this topic very quickly becomes a political landmine, and I'll be closing this thread.