Don’t take the kids outside the hotel for a walk.

I have been involved in tourism for a number of years. I have studied it from many different points of view: tourist and tour operator, traveler and civil servant in the tourism sector. This has given me an understanding of many processes plus formed not the best opinion of tour operators. The main reason is total lies.

The situation over the last decade in the travel industry has not been good for them. More and more often people prefer independent travel. Those who do not yet dare to take on such responsibility or do not have time for it turn to people or agencies that make personalized tours for them. The number of citizens who want to use a package tour with a crowd of the same “tourists”, as they are often disparagingly called among themselves workers in this field, is getting smaller and smaller. But a number of companies can not reorient quickly under the new realities and are working to siphon maximum money from those who become their clients.

With a number of undeniable advantages of working with travel agencies, there is a major disadvantage, which I will not get tired of repeating. Just total lies at every turn. I remember on one of the TV channels, where I was invited to comment on the introduction of visa-free regime between Ukraine and the EU as an expert, an employee of a travel agency was invited. During the whole program she spoke about three times and all three times it was such unspeakable heresy that I could not stand it and started to correct her. My words were confirmed by other officials, including representatives of the migration service. At the time, I thought, sinfully, that the employees of such firms might simply not be very educated. It happens, after all, that for good sales they hire a marketing expert, but he has no clue about tourism…. Soon I realized that this is a conscious lie aimed at increasing sales of travel and related services.

Often this deception is quite harmless. Tourists are frightened by the difficulty of obtaining a passport or visa, booking hotels…. In this way, of course, they profit from it, but the person loses only a little money. Much scarier lies on the spot, which deprives much more – impressions, turning the entire stay in the hotel on a “vacation of strict regime”. This is the fault of employees of travel agencies at the hotel, who promote the position of their company.

It starts, however, still at the firm, and then they consolidate their success during the transfer from the airport. People begin to be “processed” by telling them fears about the country and its inhabitants. Naive, conventional Vanya, who came to have a rest with his wife and children, by the time of settling in the hotel is already so intimidated by stories about scary locals, terrorists and swindlers that he firmly decides not to leave the cozy territory of the hotel all 14 days of vacation, even if they will be in safe Iceland or Turkey. After all, he sacredly believes that the representatives of the company, having already received money from him, and moreover his compatriots, will not cheat him.

Recently I started studying vlogs and blogs of various “typical” tourists and realized with horror that most of them not only don’t explore the surroundings during their vacation, but also don’t even go out into the city. They are afraid of everything and anything, including their own shadow. But the walls of the hotel with its pool inspire them with the confidence of safety. In addition, one or two guards sleeping in a booth, who are armed with a gun at most and will be the first to flee in case of an attack, reassure them.

On the first day after arrival, a “meeting” is announced. They call them different names, but the idea is this: all tourists are gathered in the hotel lobby. It should be done as early as possible, before they have time to leave the hotel and realize that no one is going to kill them there. It is undesirable and their communication with other vacationers before this moment, as they can tell them about cheaper excursions and again, tell legends about tourists who leave the hotel and return alive.

Since some people come to vacation for 4 – 7 nights, it is clear that many will not want to waste time. That’s why another lie is included. As a rule, you are told that it is registration at the hotel, without which you will be kicked out or you need to bring some tickets, otherwise you will not be taken back on the plane home. There are many options, but they all boil down to the fact that you just can not not come, or you will be left without a vacation. Of course, this is a scam and a fraud. No one can kick you out of the hotel or not bring you home, but our conditional Vanya and his wife do not know about it, and therefore, instead of going to the beach, they spend 3 – 5 hours listening to the hotel guide.

In turn, the guide emphasizes several more times that you are all in imminent danger if you leave the hotel on your own. You will be deceived everywhere. And certainly you should not go on an excursion not with their guides. After all, only their guides are the best, and the rest are scammers. And then there’s the offer of the excursions. They will not differ from the proposals of competitors, except, except for the price. It will be 3 – 4 times higher.

The Internet is full of clips of these clowns lying to tourists, depriving them of money, time and, most importantly, impressions. Many are indeed afraid to go outside the hotel afterwards. This, by the way, explains the reason why crowds of tourists choose not the hotel itself, but its territory. Their vacation does not go beyond the fence!

When you tell such people about seemingly trivial things: to go out to buy fruit at the local market, to take regular transportation to see the sights in the neighborhood, or simply to rent a bike or car and go exploring the surrounding cities…. they go into a stupor. Some of them are in shock and some of them have fear in their eyes. Do you think I’m exaggerating? I am not! It is enough to google on the Internet information about how to get to one or another attraction in a popular resort like Egypt, as you will immediately see answers like: “You what, you can’t do it yourself” and similar content. People are indeed afraid.

Of course, there is no need to neglect the banal rules of safety: have insurance, do not walk alone in the evening, girls do not walk without men in a Muslim country (of course, if the plans do not include the search for adventures in one place). Don’t shine a wad of cash in a public place, don’t drink alcohol with strangers….. You don’t want to go to an area that is not controlled by the official government. That said, you don’t have to flinch at every rustle.

There are millions of reports, tips and articles on blogs like mine and forums on the Internet now. You can find information on any country, from the banal Czech Republic and Thailand to Iraq and Afghanistan. So you won’t be lost.

I am asking travel agencies and operators to play fair for the umpteenth time. There is no need to scare people in pursuit of an easy dollar. More and more people stop trusting you, including for this reason. There is no need to lie, earn honestly and your clients will be satisfied.