Last month, two teenage girls were arrested in Morocco as part of a plot to blow up a supermarket and destabilize that country's monarchy.
Across parts of Asia, an outbreak of the previously unknown SARS virus made thousands sick and killed hundreds earlier in the year. In Colombia, a low-level guerrilla war continues; in late September, a bombing killed 11 people at a nightclub. South Africa's high rate of violent crime has become infamous worldwide. And the war on terrorism has made US politicians and policy unpopular in much of the world, even in friendly countries like the UK, Germany and Italy.
Does that mean you should call off that tour of Marrakesh, your safari to Kruger National Park, or your Roman holiday?
No.
Or yes.
We'll be the first to admit that it's a dangerous world out there, but even your own kitchen and bathroom can be considered fraught with peril -- if you look at them the wrong way. (All those sharp knives! Water on the floor! Germy sponges!) And even we think twice about recommending deals to global hotspots like Indonesia, the Middle East and parts of Africa. But we'd rather point you in the right direction to make an intelligent, informed decision, and let you find your own travel comfort level.
A practical way to evaluate the actual on-the-ground risk in any destination is to compare government travel advisories, the official word from the governments of four English-speaking nations on their assessment of risk to their traveling citizenry. It's important to look at least two or three advisories, because the each country takes different approaches to traveler safety. The four sources to check are:
US State Department (https://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html)
Start, of course, with our own State Department page. Here you'll find a rundown of every country on Consular Information Sheets, which list a slew of necessary information for travelers -- entry requirements, drunk driving laws, health care information, etc. Scroll down the alphabetical list to the country you're looking for and click. You may see more than one link for a country. (Each will be dated; read the most recent first, then work your way back.) "Travel Warnings" generally suggest travelers should stay away from a country; "Travel Advisories" or "Public Announcements" are milder. Inside any information sheet, scroll down to the "Safety and Security" and "Crime" headers for the meat of where the dangers lie.
The State Department warnings are legendary for their skittishness, though they seem to have gained some composure and become more straightforward in the past two years. If the advisory warns about terrorism, take note of how frequently attacks have taken place, but also take the warning with a slight grain of salt until you finish your comparison with the other governments' advisories. It pays to check out recent news reports to see if terrorism is really a frequent and serious concern in your destination.
UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (www.fco.gov.uk)
First, click on "Country Advice and Tips" under the "Travel" heading to go to the British advisories page where you'll find a list of destinations that government advise against traveling. To find notes on another country, choose it from the drop-down menu in the middle of the screen and click "Go." Or click on "Travellers' Tips" on the left hand side for quick safety suggestions from Brits who have been to your destination.
The British travel advisories come off as the most hysterical of the lot when it comes to terrorism. The UK seems to see a threat under every rock, making it difficult to tell where terrorism is an actual problem. Still, they're till worth reading, especially since they're often the most specific when it comes to particular roads, neighborhoods and regions that might be trouble. In South Africa, for instance, the UK advisory points out the Berea and Hillbrow neighborhoods of Johannesburg as particular hot spots, a detail the US advisory lacks.
Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/ctry/reportpage-en.asp)
To see where Canada suggests you shouldn't go, click on "Heads-Up" and then "Warnings" on the left hand side of the Canadian advisories page. Clicking on "Heads-Up" and "Current Issues" gets you warnings neatly divided by topic: natural disasters, say, or violent demonstrations. To see the full list of advisories, click on "Travel Reports" and then "Country Travel Reports."
The sections on "Safety and Security" and "Local Travel" are the key elements in a Canadian report; Canadian advisories also have very comprehensive health information, buried all the way down at the bottom below a long list of Canadian consulates. Like the UK advisories, they're satisfyingly specific, pointing out precise locations and routes that may be trouble for travelers.
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (www.dfat.gov.au/travel)
Australia also lets you find out where they advise you not to go, with links in the middle column of their main advisory page. Click on "Country-specific Travel Advice" for the full list of advisories.
Australian advisories used to be the most carefree, but have grown more conservative with time. For instance, the Australian advisories are the only ones to tell people they have to maintain a "high level of personal security awareness" in China, generally a safe country with an occasional risk of crime. (The Canadian advisories do the best job of balancing knowledge of high-crime areas in China with general reassurance as to the country's safety.)
Putting Advisories to the Test
By way of example, we compared advisories for three countries: Morocco, South Africa and Colombia.
For our sample trip to Morocco, all four countries agree: Morocco's a tough place to be right now, but they don't advise against travel. Rather, they remark on the high rate of crime and risk of terrorism, and tell people to be vigilant and avoid crowds.
Of the four advisories, the UK's is the most precise. Stay aware of current events in Iraq and Israel that might incite demonstrations, avoid certain roads and areas, and don't dress provocatively, UK officials say. The State Department and Australian warnings are similar, but considerably more vague. The Canadian warning goes into great detail on health issues, and tells Canadians to avoid a wide variety of public situations. Clearly, travel to Morocco is not for the wary, but the well-prepared at the moment. Would we go? Yes, eagerly but cautiously.
For our trip to South Africa, the UK travel advisory whines about terrorism, but the US State Department and Canadian advisories don't seem to think it's a concern. We'd tend to agree with the North Americans. The bigger problem is crime -- and the US, British and Canadian advisories all give different, accurate descriptions of where the hot spots are and how to avoid them. We'd travel to South Africa, with a list of where not to go in hand.
The US and Australia tell travelers flat-out not to go to Colombia. Canada only allows "visits to the major resorts of Cartagena and San Andrés Island;" Great Britain gets very specific about which areas of the country should be avoided, concluding that "business and tourist visitors can travel to major cities in Colombia, subject to sensible precautions." Clearly, travel to Colombia is truly on the cutting edge of safety. In cases like this where governments disagree, you should see the advisories as a range of options based on your adventurousness. While a seasoned traveler may dodge the US and Australian advisories, we'd strongly suggest at least cleaving to the liberal UK suggestions.
As with airfares, the lesson is to shop around when it comes to travel advisories. The truth is usually somewhere in between the most hysterical and the most carefree suggestions. As we said earlier, the decision to travel is ultimately yours. Go prepared.
Do you have a comment on this article? Do you use government travel advisories when you go abroad and do you feel they provide accurate information on risks? We want to hear your opinion on how you decide what's safe and what's not on our Message Boards. Please click here to post your thoughts.