The Obama Effect makes this a good time to travel

Here's some advice to Americans who still have a nice vacation budget: Take advantage of the "Obama Effect" and visit Europe, particularly Prague (the best bargain city). But those who detest tourist traps still might want to give Paris a good leaving-alone.

Those are some findings of a new survey of 1,300 US respondents from TripAdvisor LLC, the Newton website perhaps best known for its user-generated reviews of hotels and tourist attractions.

The Obama Effect? According to the survey, the recent election of Barack Obama has left Europe awash with rampant congeniality toward Americans. In fact, 44 percent of survey respondents suggested that Obama's election has helped gentle the condition of even the snootiest of Continental waiters and alchemized them into more amiable and thoughtful hosts.

Other survey conclusions: Paris is the worst tourist trap, and Prague is the best bargain. And if you want clean, Zurich can't be beat. Dublin and London, meanwhile, tied for first place in the all-important category of "most helpful locals."

And while 36 percent of those surveyed said they are planning to take advantage of a great deal to Europe this year, the recession had 19 percent of respondents saying that they could only be lured abroad by "the deal of a lifetime," TripAdvisor said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)