Visiting Europe and The Refugee Crisis

Unfortunately none of us has a crystal ball (at least I don't think so), so we can't give you any advice on what it will be like a year from now and what, if any, impact it will have on travels in Europe. I would go ahead and plan the trip you really want to take and maybe pay close attention to the situation when it gets closer to your time of travel so you can make alternate plans if required. If you're very concerned then be sure to have trip insurance to cover any non-refundable payments you may make in case you have to change your plans - that's good advice anytime you plan a trip well in advance.

European society's been around for 3000 years. It's going to still be there in the near future.
Just plan your trips and go along your way. As long as you're not traveling on a Syrian passport and as long as your name's not Muhammed, you'll be fine.

Planning a trip for May 2016 .. and the refugee crisis is not on my radar at all.. well basically the refugees are transiting places .. so some transport may be an issue.. but I firmly believe that the impact to the tourist is going to be super super low..

I would not change my destinations .

Nancy’s comments are among the most relevant I have encountered on the subject. To touch on it just a little further there are a few things you can do to increase the odds that your trip will be uneventful with regards to the migrants. Since they are coming south to north, plan your trip north to south and or consider crossing the borders by means other than public transport. For instance if you want to see Austria and Germany you could go from Berlin to Frankfurt to Munich to Salzburg to Vienna (and places in-between), then fly home from Vienna. The only place you would have any problem with the current conditions might possibly be Munich to Salzburg but I sort of doubt it if you are heading south.

We just got back from a trip that included Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Hungary; the hot bed of the issue. We moved south then north, but we jumped the borders when heading north on discount airlines and never had any adverse impact due to the situation. The only evidence was the filth, trash and vandalism they left behind.

I do have some direct contact with the tourist industry in the region and to say there was or will be no impact is overly optimistic. We worked with or had information on a great number of tourists who ended up in uncomfortable predicaments due to the situation. Where we are located that has all settled down now and the impact is pretty much zero. I suspect it will stay that way until the weather warms up again.

It may all end up being for nothing, but at least in the worst case scenario you will be less affected.

So don’t sweat it. Go have a great time.

john,

As Nancy so aptly mentioned, no one knows where this situation will be next September (or even next month). I expect the flow of refugees will diminish somewhat over the winter months, when cold weather and bad conditions on the oceans will present some obstacles.

FWIW, I was in Salzburg and Vienna in September, and didn't experience any problems due to the refugees. They were definitely visible especially around the main rail stations (and I spoke with some, as much as the language barrier would allow), but the authorities seem to be dealing with the situation well. The refugees won't be taking any Sound of Music tours and you can be sure they won't be joining you in a beer and pork knuckle, so I doubt they will have any impact on your holiday at all. I wouldn't have any hesitation in going back there tomorrow, if I could afford it.

James E, your post is the first time I have heard that the refugees caused vandalism as they travelled to their German destination. What kind of vandalism have you seen?

Two that come to mind were torn down border fences and a pretty through trashing of the newly renovated Budapest Keleti Station metro stop and court yard area. I think we have all seen the trails of trash in the news media. It appears that in some places the attacks on the refugee centers is causing significant destruction. With the exception of the impact on some transportation centers like Keleti I doubt that an average tourist will ever come in contact with any of this.

Yeah, I'd tear down a fence too, to get away from tear gas and water cannons. I had staff working with the refugees as they arrived terrified in Nickelsdorf, the Austrian village on the border with Hungary. The treatment that the refugees received in Hungary was shocking and many refugees I met with were very traumatized by what happened in Hungary (some more so than by their experiences in their home country).

Hundreds if not more people do create trash, and broken border fences are perhaps a consequence of thousands of peole moving over them, bit I think to call that " vandalism' is a mean stretch !

Thank you, Emily. That explains a lot.

I wasn't making a political statement. This is a tourist site and that would not be appropriate. Just suggesting what people might encounter on their travels. Emily if you insist on making this political you know what will happen. Like the last post on the subject it will be taken down by the moderator - rightly so I thought. Lets hope we can provide information that might be useful without getting side tracked.

Pat, I am open to another term. Excessive wear to the built environment due to over use and inconvenient location. Wasn't meat to be mean. Just don't know a better way to describe it. I will not comment on if it was justified or not. Just that you will see it if you cross the border or go to the train station......

As it was already said we don't have crystal ball. You can wait and decide later and in the worst case scenario you have already back up. In my educated guess you will probably use it. Germany is still not doing enough to slow the flow. I read few sobering (not alarmist) articles:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/merkel-under-fire-as-refugee-crisis-in-germany-worsens-a-1060720.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/a-1059357.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-shows-signs-of-strain-from-mass-of-refugees-a-1058237.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-cabinet-members-argue-against-unlimited-immigration-a-1057099.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/criticism-mounts-of-handling-of-refugee-crisis-by-merkel-a-1056315.html
You can make your own prediction. Articles are not anti immigrant neither idealistic therefore I don't recommend for reading to those who don't want to loose their pink glasses and over idealistic opinions about this situation.

@ john_martelly....I'm planning my trip for early summer of next year, ie end of May/June, can't really do it in July. The refugee situation is a factor to contend with in my planning for Austria and Germany. To contend with, yes, still I'm going, including a week in Vienna. The situation with the border crossings has been/is whimsical, as far I can tell so far. You don't know when it is closed or open...whimsical. There was a poster I saw in a major train station in Germany in June 2015 prior to the refugee situation, whether you make it political or not, which told of possible situations going to be encountered by DB and train traveling public. . Obviously, not all train poster announcements are translated, (very few are), this one I though should have been: "Mit Behinderungen muss gerechnet werden" (You better count on disruptions). In light of the refugee situation, even more true.

So, you plan for that contingency by having a reserve plan or two, even a back up plan for the back up plan. Main border crossing always affected is that corridor between Munich and Salzburg, with all the factors involved, trains going only up to Freilassing, delayed trains, waiting, busses running between Salzburg and Freilassing, and so. What do you do if you're going to continue with the trip? Plan around it, or be more creative in the choice of routes, ie, use different routes, night trains. limited back tracking, or discount air carriers. In my planning as long as night trains are running, all is not lost in crossing the borders and getting to desired destinations. Use a railway map in planning the trip, more choices.

Fred, I think you nailed it. You usually do. I'm optimistic. Most every country has instituted border controls now as well as procedures for dealing with those that are let to pass and those that find alternative means of passing; and I think that has helped a lot. Its been quite some time since one of our contacts has been mistakenly routed to a camp or forced to make multiple train changes while crossing a border. At least at that part of the region I am associated with. (sorry its cryptic, but I do it out of respect for the RS rules). One good thing that might have come out of it is this odd air of cooperation between the Slovaks, Hungarians, Croatians and Czechs. What I am a little concerned about is the violence in Germany and if that will spill over in a way that adds risk to tourism or tourists of certain ethnicities.