And once abroad, readers enjoyed themselves. Although 68 percent worried about unfriendliness toward Americans, only 11 percent actually encountered any. Telling, too, is the feedback from the 36 percent of poll respondents who traveled to a place that has recently experienced terror attacks. Twenty percent assumed that they would worry throughout their visit, whereas a mere 3 percent actually did. Only 10 percent predicted they would be able to put their worries out of their minds as soon as they got there, yet 28 percent did so. Most respondents—57 percent—say that they thought about terrorism throughout their stay in order to be vigilant, but that it didn't ruin their trip. "People expect to worry, but those who travel don't," explains Fischhoff. "They don't think that they will be able to put their concerns out of their minds, but many do."

Why do readers expect to worry more than they will? "People typically overestimate how emotional they will be," says Phoebe Ellsworth, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan. "Once they're in the actual situation, there are dozens of interesting and demanding immediate circumstances that occupy their attention. But when you ask them the question in advance, they don't think of all those other things."

The other reason poll respondents are less afraid of potentially risky places than they were a year ago: They are taking steps to mitigate the danger. When planning a trip, 62 percent give the same weight to the possibility of terrorism as they do to factors such as health issues and climate. "This shows that the possibility of terrorism is now part of their foundation of thinking," notes David Ropeik, director of risk communication at the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis and coauthor of Risk: A Practical Guide for Deciding What's Really Safe and What's Really Dangerous in the World Around You. Consequently, readers are taking more precautions. Compared with last November, an additional 21 percent of respondents would hire an English-speaking guide, 14 percent more would identify a reliable medical facility, and 10 percent more would buy travel insurance. Readers feel such measures help them take control of the situation, explains Ropeik. "If you're driving a car, you're less afraid than if you're sitting in the passenger seat. If you're taking action—doing things that make you feel as if you have the steering wheel of your destiny in your own hands—that gives you a sense of control and makes you feel less afraid."

How the 24/7 media onslaught about crises shapes perception
Readers' travel experiences allow them to avoid being overly influenced by news reports that they believe exaggerate danger. When they assess the safety of a particular destination, their number one source of information is their own experience if they've been there before (this influences 74 percent of poll respondents "very much"), as opposed to, say, television news (which influences only 17 percent "very much"). Seventy percent think that the 24/7 media barrage "makes many travel risks seem bigger than they actually are, which makes the general public unnecessarily nervous about traveling"; only 16 percent believe that the news coverage has this effect on them.