OKEMOS, Michigan — It is because of incidents such as Brussels, Paris and Manchester that travel agent Joy Thrun says more and more, people are worried about their safety when leaving the country.
"It's becoming the new normal,” Thrun said. “People have been concerned."
Thrun says if you're feeling uneasy, there's a website that can tell you what to watch out for. Just type in travel dot state dot gov. It'll take you to a website where you can see travel warnings and alerts.
"They're two different things,” Thrun said. “A warning means this is very serious. And an alert just means hey heads up."
She says if there's a warning, to talk with a travel agent to figure out if it's still safe to go there. If it's an alert, it's probably ok. Just be on your guard.
"Be careful, don't be paranoid, you want to be diligent. You never want to participate or be close to any kind of demonstration,” Thrun said.
Thrun says to try to avoid big crowds if you can. But not to let fear ruin your experience. You can only stay protected to a certain extent... and says most of the fears are unfounded.
"Your chances of getting hurt are slim,” Thrun said. "We're as safe overseas and in some cases safer overseas than we are in our own country."
