What are the world's least safe travel destinations?
Thanks for asking. In past episodes of Do You Really Know, we've talked about the best holiday destinations in the UK and abroad, as well as how to find the most budget-friendly options.
Today, though, we're going to talk about security.
The idea of visiting many different countries all over the world is enticing, but it's important to remember that some destinations are significantly more dangerous than others, rather than making decisions based on intuition.
Why not consider using guidance that's actually based on facts and statistics?
One such example is the annual risk map, produced by Swedish software company Safercher, which ranks countries based on how safe they are for tourists.
It uses intelligence data from risk line to assign each country in the world one of five risk levels, negligible, low, medium, high or critical.
It takes into consideration factors like security, crime rates, health risks and the availability of medical care.
Which are the most dangerous then?
Well, the 2024 risk map was published in December 2023, and it says that Haiti is the least safe country to visit, and in particular the capital porto prince, which is also second in the list of least safe cities behind Tuhuana.
The security situation in Haiti is still highly unstable at the moment.
In early March 2024, a 72-hour state of emergency was declared after a mass jailbreak saw nearly 4,000 inmates escape from prison.
As of July 2024, the UK's foreign Commonwealth and development office still advises against all travel to Haiti due to the volatile security situation.
Tourists are at a high risk of kidnapping and armed robbery.
Safercher places Venezuela second in its ranking.
Violent crime is sadly endemic in the country, and the homicide rate is one of the highest in the world.
Unsurprisingly, trips to Afghanistan are also strongly discouraged.
The FCDO says that the risk of terrorist attacks and kidnappings is very high there, while it goes without saying that Taliban rule means it's a dangerous place to visit.
The rest of the top 10 least safe countries is made up of Myanmar, Pakistan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Yemen and Bikina Faso.
It's crucial to avoid those parts of the world unless absolutely necessary.
If you must travel to one of those countries or another high-risk one that were important precautions to take, of course make sure you have appropriate insurance before traveling and knock down your insurers contact details in case you should reach them in an emergency.
As well as local emergency service numbers, bear in mind though that if you're a British national your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against FCDO advice.
Downloading a travel risk notification app in advance is a smart move, to make sure you get real-time notifications if there are any security incidents near to your location.
Safercher is one example.
While others include the Helix travel Oracle, My Safe Travel and Travel Smart.
Before traveling you should also look up whether there's a British Embassy in your destination country, as they may be able to assist with emergency travel documents or urgent help in certain circumstances.
There you have it! Now you know what the world's least safe travel destinations are.
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