SUMMER 2020 – EUROPE ANYONE?

Four months ago, when we locked our respective businesses, supposedly for “just a few weeks,” our family was awash in e-mails questioning how long we ought to keep reservation sixteen of us had secured for a vacation some of us had looked forward to for years. Our destinations were The Netherlands, where I was born and where virtually all of my family lives, and Sweden, the ancestral home of my wife’s family. Since I had turned 75 earlier this year, I felt compelled to arrange for a family get-together. After all, you never know when your time runs out. As it turned out, none of us needed to make the tough decisions. Tourist attractions closed down, airlines cancelled our flights, refunds were processed, and even our hopes for a postponement until later this year were crushed. We all know what happened. The “few weeks” turned into several months. President Trump unceremoniously, without warning or consultation with European leaders, issued a travel ban, first for the Schengen area and subsequently for Britain and Ireland. Some suggested early on that this decision would ultimately result in a reciprocate response from the E.U.. When the European Union reopened to visitors on July 1, after months of coronavirus lockdowns, the U.S. did not make the list of 14 countries allowed tourist entry. The E.U.’s calculus was complicated. It aimed to reduce risky Covid spikes. E.U. nations opened borders to non essential travelers coming from a select list of countries in which the Covid-19 pandemic has been deemed sufficiently under control. The number of new Covid cases per 100,000 population within any running 14 day period needs to be close to or below the E.U.’s June 15 number, which was 16. At the time, the U.S. score was 107. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Trump administration did react to the E.U. decision. U.S. Executive V.P. for Public Affairs and Policy, Tori Emerson Barnes, called the E.U. news “incredibly disappointing and a step in the wrong direction as we seek to rebuild our global economy.” A New York Times opinion piece recognized that much of the world seemed united behind the position that travelers from the U.S. are no longer welcome. “As countries across the world ease coronavirus restrictions but block American travelers, a long-held sense that the U.S. passport was a golden ticket is losing its luster.” As politicians on our side of the Atlantic grumble about retaliation, epidemiological and pure economic data tend to fly in the face of any logic supporting that contention. Europe has much more to lose than we do. In 2018, 15 million visitors spent $144 billion tourist dollars in Europe, second only to visitors from China. Hardly worthy of political calculations. New coronavirus cases between us and the E.U. are also disproportionate. Europe averages 15,000 new cases per day. We are now topping 60,000. The 27 E.U. countries are not the only ones blocking our entry. We are also not welcome in Canada, Switzerland, Iceland, India, South Africa and many other destinations. Our abominable success record controlling the virus’ spread will continue to get in the way. We have to get our act together, not just spout off slogans some of our voters may want to hear. Europe will review its list every two weeks. In the mean time visiting some of our favorite destinations are well out of reach. Theo Wierdsma