Terror attacks, civil unrest, inadequate healthcare, road accidents…where to avoid if you want a safe summer holiday
Travel risk map unveils the danger zones around the word – and throws up a few surprises
First, the good news: your holiday is probably safe.
Travel security specialist have released their annual and it makes for scary viewing.
They polled more than a thousand business leaders around the world, 72% of whom believed travelling became more dangerous last year. More than half (57%) believe it will become even more perilous over the next twelve months.
But unless you we planning a trip to Afghanistan or a cruise of the Gulf of Aden, the likelihood of stumbling into a warzone or other dangerous situation is low.
The map filters risks into medical, travel security and road safety.
For travel security - risk of terrorism and the like - most of your holiday favourites get a low or insignificant risk rating.
The medical filter is slightly more alarming: a vast swathe of beige denotes ‘rapidly developing variable risk’. That sounds a bit like ‘we're not sure what’s happening here but you don’t particularly want to find out’.
But even that is restricted to the parts of the world you might expect: Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Pakistan...notable exceptions here include India, China and Brazil: all three of these are firmly on the travel map we would happily plan holidays to any of them.
The threat of terrorism, however, is the biggest worry for holidaymakers at the moment.
Clicking on each country brings up an explanation of the risk analysis, so you can make up your own mind how ‘hot’ a destination might be.
Again, you will not be surprised that much of the Middle East, plus eastern and sub Saharan Africa carries a medium to high risk status - so cancel that winter sun break to Eritrea.
But some the Caribbean and much of Latin America carries a medium risk flag, too. A good chunk of Mexico gets a high risk red flag, although not the tourist hotspots of Cancun or Cozumel. It can be a bit confusing, so for that reason, we would recommend consulting the for further advice. After all, it is the FCO that has the final word, in the UK on what is safe and, crucially, where your insurance is valid.
Travel safely and try not to be alarmed by the news – it is still a beautiful world out there. Just exercise the usual precautions and make sure you have adequate insurance.