A new Gallup poll released Wednesday finds that an increasing number of Americans are less willing to attend crowded events due to a fear of terrorism — while almost half of those polled are less keen on traveling abroad.
The poll found 38 percent of Americans are less willing to attend events where there are “thousands of people,” up from 27 percent in 2011 and the highest level recorded since Gallup started asking the question in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack.
The survey, taken between June 7-11, comes after a recent spate of Islamic terror attacks. The U.K. has seen three terror attacks by Islamic radicals — two in London and one in Manchester — since March. On Tuesday an Islamic jihadist attempted to detonate a bomb at a subway station in Brussels, before being shot and killed by authorities, although the poll was conducted before the thwarted attack.
The events in the U.K. may play into the Gallup finding that 46 percent of Americans are now less willing to travel abroad, up eight percent since 2011, while 32 percent say they are less willing to fly on an airplane — up from 24 percent from 2011.
Gallup notes that it was not clear to what extent this reluctance will translate into a change of activity, with the polling company warning that “results may overstate how many people actually have modified their behavior because of terrorism concerns.”
Meanwhile, Americans’ concern about a terror attack is also up sharply, with 60 percent of respondents saying they believe a terror attack on American soil is “very or somewhat likely” within the next several weeks — up from 38 percent in 2011.
The poll also found a difference between Republicans and Democrats on the issue, with 57 percent of Republicans less willing to travel overseas, compared to 40 percent of Democrats. Almost half of Republicans (48 percent), meanwhile, said they were more inclined to avoid large events, compared to just 34 percent of Democrats.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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