Pauline Frommer recently sat down with IBIT in Long Beach for an exclusive, brief but wide-ranging interview. Her father, the famed Arthur Frommer, will be at the Los Angeles Times Travel Show this weekend:

Q. With this being an Olympic year in London, would this be a good year to bypass Western Europe altogether?
A. No, absolutely not. Europe has positives and negatives in terms of its affordability.

The positives are that a lot of it’s in crisis. As you probably know, the debt of a lot of Europe was just downgraded by Standard & Poor, which is going to make it much harder for them to borrow and will really hurt their business travel. So you go to cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and other parts of the so-called PIGS nations, which are Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain — the ones that have the most severe crises — and you can stay much less expensively in these recently expensive businessmen hotels than you could before. So there are good deals to be had because of Europe’s financial crises.

There are also, unfortunately, more expenses. Because Europe has just imposed a carbon tax on airfares, airfare to Europe is about to get more expensive. And there also are a lot of little local taxes where governments in desperate need of money are adding on that can badly impact the traveler, so it’s a mixed picture.

To give one example, I was in Northern Ireland this summer and in Ireland, and it was much less expensive than it was five years ago because of their deep recession. Food was less expensive, lodging was less expensive. Overall, it was a cheaper vacation. So I say don’t write off Europe, just do it in a savvy way.

Prague is as expensive as any Western European city because it’s Prague and it’s so, so popular. However, if you go out into Bohemia, if you go into the little towns that make up the Czech Republic, prices drop in half. You’re greeted with open arms. They’re glad to see you because they don’t get that many tourists. And these are often well-preserved medieval enclaves that simply don’t get the tourism they deserve.

Q. What about Turkey?
A. Turkey has seen a hug uptick in the amount of its tourism in the last year, mostly because of (the) Arab Spring. People who used to go to Egypt are going to Turkey. But Turkey can be done affordably and it’s an incredible place to go, with wonderful food, welcoming people.

The only danger is that you’re going to buy a rug. Even if you didn’t expect to buy a rug, you’re going to buy a rug. It’s nearly impossible not to. We have a Turkish rug, which I deeply regret…but it was fun buying it.

Q. Do you ever have trouble getting Americans to grasp the idea that Turkey is actually a part of Europe?
A. Yes. Actually, it’s on the border. It’s half–European and half–Arab. It’s always been the gateway between those two cultures. The culture there is so rich and vibrant. They want to be more a part of Europe.

My daughter goes to a day camp in New York City and one of her best friends there is a Turkish girl whose mother brings her to the US every summer because she was born in the US and she wants to make sure she speaks English. According to this woman, the fundamentalists are taking over in Turkey in terms of who’s getting elected to local governments and the larger government, and she’s very, very worried that Turkey’s taking more of a hard line away from Europe more toward fundamentalist Islamic culture. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be welcoming or wonderful for Americans to go to.

Q. Egypt was one of the first countries caught up in the Arab Spring. Is it now a viable tourist destination again?
A. Egypt is a tough one. Egypt, as we all know, had this extraordinary uprising, where a terrible dictator was finally removed. Unfortunately, it looks like it might’ve been a soft coup by the military and you are having major disruptions and violent occurrences in Tahrir Square, and unfortunately, Tahrir Square is right near the Khan-al Khalili bazaar, right near the Egyptian Museum…it’s the area that tourists are lodged in and go to. On a personal level, I would not go right now. I just think the safety situation is not stable enough. It’s a tinderbox, unfortunately. And it’s a tragedy because one in 10 Egyptians works in the tourist industry. Without that income, the society is going to be destabilized even further.

And it’s a place where you should go, because it’s an extraordinary country to see, the cradle of civilization. But right now, I would not feel uncomfortable recommending that people go.

Q. Are there any destinations in that part of the world you feel comfortable recommending?
A. Israel is amazing. People don’t think of it as being a bucket-list destination, but it should be. To see the places where Mohammad built his mosque, where Jesus walked his last steps, where for centuries Jews have prayed at the Wailing Wall. As a destination, it tells you more about what it means to be a human being than most other places in the world. Just the issues that they’re dealing with and the history there and the richness of the culture. It’s just extraordinary. You’ve got to go.

Q. China seems to be an impossibly cheap destination these days. How are they pulling that off?
A. They can offer such incredible deals because the Chinese currency is so devalued. It really is extraordinary what you get for what you pay.

Q. Panama seems to be turning up increasingly on the travel radar. Why is that?
A. Panama has been very, very smart. They have really raised their profile in the last couple of years. They have that wonderful musician who (was) their minister of tourism (Rubén Blades, 2004-09). He has become the face of Panama. And they are really competing with Costa Rica because they’re cheaper than Costa Rica but they have the same they have that the same natural wonders and they have something Costa Rica doesn’t have, which is the Panama Canal, one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century.

My father went and spent a week in Panama City and absolutely loved it. A lot of Americans are retiring there, too. But he thought that just in terms of value for the money, just extraordinary. And the diversity of the cultures, because you have a lots of indigenous peoples there, living in very traditional ways. And you can visit them and see that. You also have extraordinary nature sites, beaches.  I think it’s going to give Costa Rica a real run for the money, if it isn’t already. And it’s safe.

Q. Asia is really pushing hard in the international tourism market, and it looks now as if there’s a new player entering the game: Myanmar.
A. Oh yes, yes. That’s very exciting. I’ve never been because I wouldn’t. Aung San Suu Kyi said don’t come, that it would just feed this horrific regime. And I didn’t want to; I couldn’t in good conscience. But they seem to be making some really good decisions and taking some baby steps toward democracy. Yeah I really want to go, it’s supposed to be extraordinary — colonial cities beautifully preserved, these extraordinary temples, the jungles, pristine beaches, and not that many tourists. (Secretary of State) Hilary (Clinton) just went there.

Edited by P.A. Rice