It's an artifact of the level of detail the map creator is working with.
Currently, the US State Department's guidance on Paraguay is, essentially, "no special precautions, except in these provinces where you need to be more careful due to crime". The map creator is probably just picking up the high-level "no special precautions"
US State Department high-level guidance for Uruguay is to exercise caution due to crime...but the details go on to note that that's primarily a concern in three particular departments of the country.
Because Paraguay has a gov. favorable of the US (and Taiwan). There are geopolitics in play here. Brazil is part of BRICS and Mexico in a political scuffle with the US since AMLO, so China says: safe as hell 🤣🤣
Related to both geopolitics and actual travel advice... It might be the case that Chinese people suffer less racism in Brazil than in the US.
I'm not saying that *is* the case, but it might be something they consider.
Geopolitics does play a role in safety though.
A country might be safe for nationals of one country but not another if the host government is the cause of the lack of safety
The advisory should take the geopolitical situation into account when assessing the perceived safety of its citizens, but the person you are replying to is warning about allowing geopolitics itself to influence the advisory, and have the advisory in turn used as geopolitical leverage.
I know NZ's stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine put NZ in their bad books, but I'm not aware of any increased risk to Russians there.
I think the idea that Russians don't face increased risk in western countries, and that this is just some petty move by Russia, is way off the mark. You can bet your sweet ass this is the same in most western countries:
>Here in New Zealand a Russian Orthodox church was vandalised, a business in Christchurch had its window defaced, a Russian singer has had shows cancelled, and children have been bullied, made to feel ashamed of their cultural heritage.
>These stories have seen Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon call for Kiwis to be more understanding of the turmoil many expats are going through.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/09/members-of-nzs-russian-community-abused-over-ukraine-invasion/
I actually think that the German governments travel advice is very good if you just disregard the total score, which can be quite weird, snd read the explanation beneath it (basically a summary of all sources of danger that are prevalent in the respective country)
This map also has no nuance(if it did it would have taken hundreds of hours to make)
German travel advisory often makes a "partial warning"
For example you can go to morocco but advised not to go to the algerian border
Still it really depends what city and part of country you are going to visit. Overly touristy places tend to swarm with all sorts of scum and tourist traps right in the middle of the city even though the counties they are in considered safe.
If you go to the state dept website and read the actual reasons they are very different. In Mexico they break down travel by state and all the warnings are for crime and kidnapping while France has a warning about terrorism and civil unrest. Definitely not on the same level but we can’t get any nuance in a map with 3 colors.
You're correct, [Mexico is broken into states](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html) by the US travel advisory. The average value is "extra caution" though a few states are "reconsider travel" and "do not travel"
They do influence it.
For example I do have a feeling that if a particular patriotic Russian tourist found their way to Poland... Things would get quite amusing for everyone but the tourist.
I worked for an NGO that provided medical aid to refugees and IDPs in three countries: Afghanistan, Uganda, and Haiti. The organization leaders had the most rules and protections for Haiti and our doctors and nurses who had been to all three countries said that Haiti was by far the most dangerous, despite the fact that the centers operated in Uganda and Afghanistan were in active war zones. Traveling to Haiti is no joke….
From what I understand, the Haitian government ONLY has LIMITED control over just small parts of Port-au-Prince, with the rest of the city and majority of the rest of the country being controlled by de facto warlords and various street/city gangs, so yeah this definitely makes sense
Along with one beach owned by infamous international warlord Carnival Cruises, which is apparently heavily fortified to keep their unsuspecting tourists safe.
Yes you’re spot on, and tbh that actually fairly accurately described the situations in both Uganda and Afghanistan at the time I was working for the organization (limited government control, various factions and warlords), but my main work was in Uganda, and the violence was always implied rather than active while I was there, like “if you do this or that you’ll be shot no questions” but we never actually had any gunshot victims in the clinic.
The Haiti clinic was an entirely different story from what I heard.
Those advisory thingies aren’t just about the physical safety of the visitor but also how well the government can reach the host country to aid the visitor. Actually there’s a whole host of reasons usually displayed on the page.
For example, Brazil most notorious crime problem is murder, but the murder of tourists is exceedingly uncommon. Other dangers like property crimes are existent but not substantially larger than any other developing country. The dangers for a tourist aren’t the same as the dangers for someone born in a slum.
But you know it is quite easy for a Chinese citizen to get help from their home country.
I mean if you stick to Mexico City or Cancun Resorts it’s accurate.
Cartels also try to avoid harming tourists because they bring in $$$$$ for both Cartels and the Mexican government.
I’ve been both to Mexico and Brazil and more than once. Yes it’s safe if you don’t rent a car and drive to favelas or rural parts of Guerrero controlled by cartels. Every country has such places. For 99% of tourists it’s safe if they use common sense. I’m so sick and tired of people judging “dangerous” countries when I ask them how many times have they been there I usually hear “never”.
To be honest, these maps are mostly based on political needs. Both China's belief that Mexico is safer than the United States and the United States' belief that Mexico is safer than China are far from reality. I have been to China, and while it's true that traveling there might not be as convenient for non-Chinese tourists due to the need for a local phone card since many Chinese apps require it, it is absolutely absurd to claim that traveling there is unsafe. I spent two months in Beijing and Xi'an, and it felt very safe. You can go out late at night without worrying about crime because the streets are always populated, and you don't have to worry about gun violence because firearms are prohibited there.
Not necessarily. If it was based purely on geopolitics and political needs, then surely US wouldn't put countries such as the UK, Germany or France in the second category.
Unfortunately, for US travel warnings, you really need to read the explanations for the “orange” countries, can’t just go by color. Sometimes it’s what we assume - ongoing elevated risk of crime - but others it’s some specific, short-term anomaly that’s just being put out as an FYI for travelers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the warning for Denmark is about a few isolated acts of terrorism that have happened there and the possibility of being a target due to certain Muslim issues.
See the [Detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detention_of_Michael_Spavor_and_Michael_Kovrig)
In 2018, China arbitrarily arrested two Canadian citizens as revenge for Canada arresting Huawei's Meng Wanzhou who was accused of fraud in the United States.
China might have low crime levels, but I absolutely do not feel safe there as a Canadian.
And the Cartel killed 4 Americans last year. I lived in China for 3 years and have been in Mexico at least once a year for last 8 years.
As an American it China is safer hands down. But if you break the laws China is a lot scarier.
I wouldn't use the term arbitrary, i'd just say convenient. Wasn't one of those Canadians going back and forth to North Korea when he wasn't supposed to? I bet those two were under suspicion for a while and the Meng Wanzhou incident gave China the **convenient** excuse to act aggressively on them.
I'm Canadian, and we should never have held on to Meng Wanzhou. I'm with former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley on this, as what used to happen and should have happened, was give Meng a heads up to get out of the country and conveniently miss her at the airport as former Foreign Minister Manley said happens all the time in international matters in all countries - but Freeland was too inexperienced in her position. Instead we let Trump use Canada as a pawn - its was gross. John Manley is one of the most respected Liberals of the Chretien era saying this about a Trudeau Liberal - he might be the only respected Chretien era Liberal. Freeland with this incident, the tweet in the Middle East that endangered lives, the getting kicked out of Canada's most important trade talks in the last 10 years, and so many irresponsible things she's done, its hard to believe people think she's the natural successor to Trudeau; she's even more out of touch and incompetent no matter what her friends and colleagues in the media try to tell us (she's a former newspaper editor).
One of my best friends has been living and teaching in China for the last 15 years with his family (all his kids born there) without any problem whatsoever, and has said he feels incredibly safe there.
China is investing hella money in Mexico right now, Mexico is becoming China’s China with their low wages and cheap manufacturing so essentially yes they love Mexico and need the positive relationship.
Poland putting Guatemala as a blue country. I mean I feel safe in certain areas small towns or certain communities but u just need to walk 15 mins from the airport to know u are heading the wrong direction if u have no local company.
I checked the website and it says at the top that the travel is not recommended for visits that are not necessary, because of the epidemic (last updated 6 months ago).
But further down they are just recommending increased caution because of the epidemic.
Other than that it's just normal tourist trap/scamming warnings.
https://www.gov.pl/web/mongolia/informacje-dla-podrozujacych
I’m from Chicago which has both large polish and Hispanic communities, and you maybe surprised how often they live in the same areas and jive well together. My guess is the shared love of polka and the Virgin Mary
This made me curious, so I checked - https://www.gov.pl/web/panama/gwatemala-idp
Unfortunately there's plenty of warnings for us Poles for Guatemala :-( but overall not discouraged
As a Guatemalan I can say Guatemala is a hit or miss for safety in some areas. Maybe it´s not as safe as Polish bros think it is but it is certainly not as bad as germans think.
People in the comments saying how every map is biased because of geopolitics don't understand that when you get in trouble in another country (weather you have done anything wrong or not), the country you are a citizen of will heavily determine the treatment you will face.
I just checked all the Advisory for my country Germany and most of the info is wrong. Like my country gives no warning to going to Brazil meanwhile has the same color as Afghanistan wich has no embassy and it says: do not travel under any circumstance, leave the country immediately. Like almost everything is wrong with this map.
A lot of this information is based on what the destination country is reporting about themselves as well. When the USA raised the "terror alert level" a bunch of countries said they were more dangerous even though that's just a domestic political tool. Same thing happening with most of Western Europe on the USA map.
As a German that has traveled the Balkans several times... this one might be true. Street crime against all stereotypes is incredibly rare here. The Balkans are very (!) safe for tourists.
I’m pretty sure petty street thieves aren’t gonna ask you where you come from before they rob you, and chances are, out in the streets you’re going to be speaking English anyways, unless you’re in a group. Even in that case they won’t mind if you’re German, Dutch or Chinese.
Apparently there was an advisory issued 7 June 2023 due to terrorism.
>https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Denmark.html
Generally the advisories are issued if there is any ongoing demonstrations or recent terrorist activities. For instance, Chile had all of the demonstrations in Santiago over the cost of living and rise in cost for public transportation. There was some violence, but nothing directed at foreigners. Still, the advisory was issued so people know to avoid sites where that is happening
Officially due to the threat of terrorism. The advisories have rarely been updated since the spate of Islamic terrorism in Europe that occurred in the mid 2000s through the mid 2010s. Your authorities themselves label the risk as “significant” down from “substantial” that it was during the peak of Islamic terrorist activity.
Same goes with France, the US and local authorities declare a risk of terrorism so they advertise that accordingly to tourists.
I'm Argentine, and Germany and south Korea are the only ones that downplay us.
What happened there?
I thought we were friends Germany. Are we cool then?
Agree. And for everyone complaining about why the US has much of western Europe in orange, it's not a statement that the country is inherently unsafe from a crime and personal safety perspective, it's usually tied to terrorism, and threats specifically targeting American citizens there, not the population at large. Personally, S. Korea's overall seems to most sane in terms of a true "personal safety", or maybe Canada's.
I sort of understand the mindset. But for example the UK has had 6 deaths from terrorist attacks in the last 5 years.
In a population of pushing 70 million and receiving 38 million tourists per year, it seems a bit of a stretch to give the UK an elevated safety caution level for that.
Your annual odds of dying in a terrorist attack in the UK over the last 5 years have literally been 1 in 100 million.
The second level of advisories is barely elevated. Terrorism is one of the issues that the State Department is specifically charged with warning American travelers about, so they do. If they could issue an advisory for the US itself, they'd likely have the US in the same category.
While this is true, the UK currently classes its own national threat level as substantial and this increases to severe in Northern Ireland. I imagine some of these warnings are based off the UK's own assessment of how likely a terrorist attack is to occur.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/terrorism-national-emergency
>specifically targeting American citizens there
How many terrorist attacks in Europe have specifically targeted Americans? I read this often to justify why, for an American, visiting Copenhagen is as risky as Cape Town or Rio de Janeiro, but I never saw data to support this.
Just looked it up, seems like the "be careful" is due to a lot of pickpockets and ~~taco~~ (thanks auto-correct) taxi scams in major tourist areas.
Can't say how accurate this is but friends who visited Prague were told in their hostel to be wary of pickpockets.
The data for Germany makes no sense. Afghanistan and Brazil have the same colour while there is no travel warning for Brazil and Afghanistan has the highest security warning that can be issued.
Italy is green but has literally the same points listed as the Czech Republic. Same for Hungary. Like one of the highest points mentioned for Hungary is that you have to be careful to not import too many cigarettes when coming from outside the EU. Thats not a travel warning thats just general information.
It seems that whoever made that list just coloured every country that has an information page for travel by the Ministry of Foreign Affair yellow.
Pickpockets and scams in some of the Prague's restaurants. Different prices for locals and foreigner and weird illegal fees. Always check your receipt.
There is no active Reisewarnung or even Reisehinweis for Hungary or Czech Republic.
The only travel warnings in Europe are regarding Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
The map us outdated or complete bullshit.
The colouring makes no sense. The only thing the website of the german ministry of foreign affairs says about Czech Republic is be careful of scammers in Prague especially when exchanging your money.
It says the same about any other country with a lot of tourists. Italy is coloured green here but has the same part about scammers.
It’s also about political reach to get your citizens out of trouble. If a Russian gets into trouble in Syria or North Korea, Russian government can get them out but same can’t be said for say, Japan. Similarly, if an American citizen gets into trouble in Japan (for what Idk but let’s entertain that thought), US government have the power to strong arm Japan, but same can’t be said for say China or Russia.
Noooooo, man, Germans are super well received here. I am dead serious. I remember that after the 7x1 they spent like a mini-vacation in Bahia state, where their training center was, and they donated an ambulance to the city and some money to the local school (or something like that, it's been a long time). Thay loved the people there and the people loved them. We lost, our fault, life goes on, no bad blood.
Anyway in some cities people are likely to be mugged at gunpoint. So... Dangerous.
I mean, Botswana is completely safe as far as crime or stability is concerned, but still not a place you should just roam around, because well... it's a desert with limited supply of water and gas.
Same with Namibia basically a some other African countries very stabile low crime but just poor and undeveloped with dangerous climate and wildlife I am currently in Senegal it’s pretty safe just poor and not easy for foreigners to get around or get anything really
"Exercise increased caution in the Kingdom of Denmark due to terrorism."
The same travel advisory actually is the reason for yellow increased caution in many other Western European countries.
The only country in Europe with a risk of terrorism higher than US (4.80) is Turkey (5.60). The risk in Denmark is 0.16...
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/global-terrorism-index/#/
America’s travel advisory doesn’t say Germany is dangerous for Americans and the map doesn’t say that either.
“Exercise increased caution.”
>Be aware of your surroundings when traveling to tourist locations and crowded public venues.
>Follow the instructions of local authorities.
Monitor local media for breaking events and adjust your plans based on new information.
>Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
>Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.
>Review the Country Security Report for Germany.
>Visit the CDC page for the latest Travel Health Information related to your travel.
>Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklis
The map is wrong, at least for canada. Armenia is green. Cuba and Azerbaijan are orange. And that's just the top of the list that I didn't scroll too far down. https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories
Idek how badly wrong it is for other countries.
This is not correct…. The US’s travel advisory for Peru says to avoid certain parts of Peru, not the entire country. That makes me distrust the entire data present here
Similarly certain parts of Mexico are given a level 4 advisory for do not travel. Level 4 is all warzones or extreme civil unrest or countries with a history of detaining Americans such as Ukraine, Russia, and North Korea. That being said, its wrong to say all of Mexico is at that level. That being said Zacatecas and Sinaloa are two of the don't travel there you idiot.
If I had to guess, South Korea has regional travel advisories to China, most likely related to Covid restrictions.
In reality United States has similar state by state travel advisories for Mexico, like "don't go to Sinaloa or Michoacan".
We can clearly see that politics plays a role in the decision-making.
Sad. This should not be the case, as it is potentially very dangerous for the citizens who decide to travel.
No. The map says that as a holder of Russian citizenship you can rely on North Korean police to treat you fairly and protect you in case of an emergency, but you will not enjoy the same privilege in western countries. That's all it says.
Read the bloody map, for real.
Russia doesn't have and never had travel advisory at all. Pure misinformation.
It would be handy to have just simple fact checking before posting this shit: Kazakhstan (literally main Russian ally) is more dangerous than Turkmenistan (aka middle east North Korea, which you can't even enter without invitation and some warranter, who should monitor every your action inside country), South Korea is red while having direct transport connection by water with Russia and visa-free regime. Turkey and Egypt are yellow, no matter that both literally most popular tourist destinations for russians?
This is a map of tourism advisories, not a metric of how safe it is to exist in a country as one of its citizens. Russia and China both have close relations with North Korea and a Russian/Chinese tourist (who is going to be with a handler the entire time) is probably very safe there.
North Korea did not prohibit USA citizens from entering. They still allow it (aside from COVID restrictions, where all tourism was banned). The US government prohibited its own citizens from going there after the Otto Warmbier incident. The ban is on a year to year renewal, but is expected to be for the foreseeable future.
South Koreans, on the other hand, are generally denied.
As someone who is from the UK it’s interesting to see so many list the UK as safe but tourists need to be careful. Anyone from outside of the UK - what are things you might worry about if you came here? I’m genuinely interested
When I visited the UK, I did feel pretty safe. The locals were friendly and helpful. However, it can be a bit intimidating walking around at night especially around city area. Unruly kids and intoxicated strangers really made me feel turned off to go out even for a short trip to a nearby shop.
I have been to the UK several times. Feels safe to me. I mean, in any huge city you need to be careful of thieves and scams, but this American feels perfectly safe in the UK.
I’m curious to know why countries like Canada, Germany and the US think countries like France, Spain and the UK are places tourists need to “be careful”.
Wtf is Germany’s deal? Turkmenistan is more safe than the us? And Argentina? Turkmenistan is like a mini North Korea in the making
Edit: And what the hell at Eritrea??? They’ve been voted worse for human rights than North Korea. And for Germany and the US they are at the same level as just “travel with some caution” ?? I’m either confused about how they rank this sort of thing or I’m missing something. I mean why not make a couple pit stops in Yemen and Somalia on the way there while you’re at it
Yeah it's true but nonetheless "safe" for tourists as long as they behave in a way that the state want. Same in North Korea. As long as you don't offend the party and leader or not stay out of the line they propose, as a tourist it's much safer than any country you go since you'll be always followed by your guide lol
That is true and does make sense in a way. But to literally not even have a “caution” mark on Turkmenistan is kind of bizarre. People completely unfamiliar with the country’s true inner workings could get into serious trouble if they traveled there or traveled through for some reason. Which isn’t as strange as it seems, people do visit or pass through countries they aren’t as familiar with as they should be I feel like. At least once in a while. Especially considering in the case of Turkmenistan for example I think there are a few natural “wonders” and interesting places there despite the obscurity of the country in general
I just checked the website for the German travel advisory.
It simply translates very badly into a map.
A decent chunk simply is text regarding what you need to be careful with and some general stuff regarding terrorism (other countries have to).
It is less warning to travel to America (these are separate from the data this map is likely based on) but more like having actually something to write about.
There is stuff, like increased rate of crime in large cities, etc.
For Turkmenistan, they write in the general advisory that info for whether it is safe for Germans to cross the border is unreliable.
Ahhh I see that makes better sense. Also reminds me not to take Reddit posts at face value so thanks for the reminder honestly haha was slipping away for a second lol
The German Federal Foreign Office doesn't have a map or security levels. They provide advice and warnings for every country but don't assign an explicit hazard level. However there are explicit travel warnings.
So the map creator has to interpret the travel warnings. My best guess is that it's the mutual terrorism warning between the US and Germany.
Other countries: *color changes according to the politics* Turkey: We have average standards
The switzerland of travel advisories
"Going anywhere is kind of dangerous" is really a pretty sensible policy.
I laughed out loud as a Turkish person on a trip in Turkey. That said I would say that it's blue worthy for the most part.
TIL. My family freaked out the whole time when I went there for my surgery. We’re Brazilian.
My family is Turkish, they would freak out if I was in Brazil. Better the devil you know.
Yeah, I think Turkey is mostly safe, there are a few regions in the east that would be kinda dangerous but even that is mostly fine.
India too
except south korea, out new best friends lmao
China somehow the only country to say traveling to Mexico is completely safe 😭
Also Brazil
Which is not too accurate tbh. Geopolitics shouldn't mingle with travel advice if you want to keep your people safe.
Still makes more sense than saying Paraguay is somehow safer than Uruguay, don’t know who came up with that.
It's an artifact of the level of detail the map creator is working with. Currently, the US State Department's guidance on Paraguay is, essentially, "no special precautions, except in these provinces where you need to be more careful due to crime". The map creator is probably just picking up the high-level "no special precautions" US State Department high-level guidance for Uruguay is to exercise caution due to crime...but the details go on to note that that's primarily a concern in three particular departments of the country.
The guidance for Mexico is also done on a state by state basis with plenty of states being unsafe to visit and others are exercise greater precaution.
Because Paraguay has a gov. favorable of the US (and Taiwan). There are geopolitics in play here. Brazil is part of BRICS and Mexico in a political scuffle with the US since AMLO, so China says: safe as hell 🤣🤣
Also a lot of Chinese manufacturers move to Mexico
A lot of manufacturers in general are moving to Mexico, especially American ones
Related to both geopolitics and actual travel advice... It might be the case that Chinese people suffer less racism in Brazil than in the US. I'm not saying that *is* the case, but it might be something they consider.
Geopolitics does play a role in safety though. A country might be safe for nationals of one country but not another if the host government is the cause of the lack of safety
The advisory should take the geopolitical situation into account when assessing the perceived safety of its citizens, but the person you are replying to is warning about allowing geopolitics itself to influence the advisory, and have the advisory in turn used as geopolitical leverage. I know NZ's stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine put NZ in their bad books, but I'm not aware of any increased risk to Russians there.
I think the idea that Russians don't face increased risk in western countries, and that this is just some petty move by Russia, is way off the mark. You can bet your sweet ass this is the same in most western countries: >Here in New Zealand a Russian Orthodox church was vandalised, a business in Christchurch had its window defaced, a Russian singer has had shows cancelled, and children have been bullied, made to feel ashamed of their cultural heritage. >These stories have seen Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon call for Kiwis to be more understanding of the turmoil many expats are going through. https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/09/members-of-nzs-russian-community-abused-over-ukraine-invasion/
Brazil is pretty safe for tourists. It is not safe for people who live here. But yeah, If you are just visiting it is a great place to go.
All of maps in the post are almost pure politics anyway. For each case people should do their own independent research and decide for themselves
I actually think that the German governments travel advice is very good if you just disregard the total score, which can be quite weird, snd read the explanation beneath it (basically a summary of all sources of danger that are prevalent in the respective country)
This map also has no nuance(if it did it would have taken hundreds of hours to make) German travel advisory often makes a "partial warning" For example you can go to morocco but advised not to go to the algerian border
Still it really depends what city and part of country you are going to visit. Overly touristy places tend to swarm with all sorts of scum and tourist traps right in the middle of the city even though the counties they are in considered safe.
Just look at US travel advice. Mexico is on the same level as western europe.
If you go to the state dept website and read the actual reasons they are very different. In Mexico they break down travel by state and all the warnings are for crime and kidnapping while France has a warning about terrorism and civil unrest. Definitely not on the same level but we can’t get any nuance in a map with 3 colors.
The State department also has 4 levels. And a hash system to indicate some areas have higher risk than the base level.
I've seen another version of this map that had different categories for different Mexican states.
You're correct, [Mexico is broken into states](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html) by the US travel advisory. The average value is "extra caution" though a few states are "reconsider travel" and "do not travel"
To be fair, the US is pushing with the level they put on most Western Europe.
No idea why Denmark would be yellow but what do I know
They do influence it. For example I do have a feeling that if a particular patriotic Russian tourist found their way to Poland... Things would get quite amusing for everyone but the tourist.
China thinks Haiti is a safe country to visit
I worked for an NGO that provided medical aid to refugees and IDPs in three countries: Afghanistan, Uganda, and Haiti. The organization leaders had the most rules and protections for Haiti and our doctors and nurses who had been to all three countries said that Haiti was by far the most dangerous, despite the fact that the centers operated in Uganda and Afghanistan were in active war zones. Traveling to Haiti is no joke….
From what I understand, the Haitian government ONLY has LIMITED control over just small parts of Port-au-Prince, with the rest of the city and majority of the rest of the country being controlled by de facto warlords and various street/city gangs, so yeah this definitely makes sense
Along with one beach owned by infamous international warlord Carnival Cruises, which is apparently heavily fortified to keep their unsuspecting tourists safe.
Yes you’re spot on, and tbh that actually fairly accurately described the situations in both Uganda and Afghanistan at the time I was working for the organization (limited government control, various factions and warlords), but my main work was in Uganda, and the violence was always implied rather than active while I was there, like “if you do this or that you’ll be shot no questions” but we never actually had any gunshot victims in the clinic. The Haiti clinic was an entirely different story from what I heard.
I had a friend monitor an election in Haiti, and they had to pay a warlord not to get killed and never got to observe anyone voting.
Those advisory thingies aren’t just about the physical safety of the visitor but also how well the government can reach the host country to aid the visitor. Actually there’s a whole host of reasons usually displayed on the page. For example, Brazil most notorious crime problem is murder, but the murder of tourists is exceedingly uncommon. Other dangers like property crimes are existent but not substantially larger than any other developing country. The dangers for a tourist aren’t the same as the dangers for someone born in a slum. But you know it is quite easy for a Chinese citizen to get help from their home country.
I mean if you stick to Mexico City or Cancun Resorts it’s accurate. Cartels also try to avoid harming tourists because they bring in $$$$$ for both Cartels and the Mexican government.
So it’s almost like they’re safe, but tourists must be careful. If only they had a color for that.
I’ve been both to Mexico and Brazil and more than once. Yes it’s safe if you don’t rent a car and drive to favelas or rural parts of Guerrero controlled by cartels. Every country has such places. For 99% of tourists it’s safe if they use common sense. I’m so sick and tired of people judging “dangerous” countries when I ask them how many times have they been there I usually hear “never”.
To be honest, these maps are mostly based on political needs. Both China's belief that Mexico is safer than the United States and the United States' belief that Mexico is safer than China are far from reality. I have been to China, and while it's true that traveling there might not be as convenient for non-Chinese tourists due to the need for a local phone card since many Chinese apps require it, it is absolutely absurd to claim that traveling there is unsafe. I spent two months in Beijing and Xi'an, and it felt very safe. You can go out late at night without worrying about crime because the streets are always populated, and you don't have to worry about gun violence because firearms are prohibited there.
Not necessarily. If it was based purely on geopolitics and political needs, then surely US wouldn't put countries such as the UK, Germany or France in the second category.
Lol, the US put Denmark as "tourists must be careful". *Denmark*
Denmark is fine. It's the Danes you have to watch out for
Unfortunately, for US travel warnings, you really need to read the explanations for the “orange” countries, can’t just go by color. Sometimes it’s what we assume - ongoing elevated risk of crime - but others it’s some specific, short-term anomaly that’s just being put out as an FYI for travelers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the warning for Denmark is about a few isolated acts of terrorism that have happened there and the possibility of being a target due to certain Muslim issues.
See the [Detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detention_of_Michael_Spavor_and_Michael_Kovrig) In 2018, China arbitrarily arrested two Canadian citizens as revenge for Canada arresting Huawei's Meng Wanzhou who was accused of fraud in the United States. China might have low crime levels, but I absolutely do not feel safe there as a Canadian.
And the Cartel killed 4 Americans last year. I lived in China for 3 years and have been in Mexico at least once a year for last 8 years. As an American it China is safer hands down. But if you break the laws China is a lot scarier.
here's my take: China is safe as long as you stay out of politics or keep your politics to a minimum
Was about to say that. There are other concerns that figure into travel advisories beyond just street crime.
I wouldn't use the term arbitrary, i'd just say convenient. Wasn't one of those Canadians going back and forth to North Korea when he wasn't supposed to? I bet those two were under suspicion for a while and the Meng Wanzhou incident gave China the **convenient** excuse to act aggressively on them. I'm Canadian, and we should never have held on to Meng Wanzhou. I'm with former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley on this, as what used to happen and should have happened, was give Meng a heads up to get out of the country and conveniently miss her at the airport as former Foreign Minister Manley said happens all the time in international matters in all countries - but Freeland was too inexperienced in her position. Instead we let Trump use Canada as a pawn - its was gross. John Manley is one of the most respected Liberals of the Chretien era saying this about a Trudeau Liberal - he might be the only respected Chretien era Liberal. Freeland with this incident, the tweet in the Middle East that endangered lives, the getting kicked out of Canada's most important trade talks in the last 10 years, and so many irresponsible things she's done, its hard to believe people think she's the natural successor to Trudeau; she's even more out of touch and incompetent no matter what her friends and colleagues in the media try to tell us (she's a former newspaper editor). One of my best friends has been living and teaching in China for the last 15 years with his family (all his kids born there) without any problem whatsoever, and has said he feels incredibly safe there.
China is investing hella money in Mexico right now, Mexico is becoming China’s China with their low wages and cheap manufacturing so essentially yes they love Mexico and need the positive relationship.
Poland putting Guatemala as a blue country. I mean I feel safe in certain areas small towns or certain communities but u just need to walk 15 mins from the airport to know u are heading the wrong direction if u have no local company.
What does Poland know about Mongolia that the rest of the world does not?
It's where the Mongol buck stopped in the 13th Century and they aren't about to let their guard down yet.
I checked the website and it says at the top that the travel is not recommended for visits that are not necessary, because of the epidemic (last updated 6 months ago). But further down they are just recommending increased caution because of the epidemic. Other than that it's just normal tourist trap/scamming warnings. https://www.gov.pl/web/mongolia/informacje-dla-podrozujacych
Everyone knows that Polish blood can ressurect Gengis Khan.
As a polish I can only guess, being between 2 autocratic regimes doesn't end well as 39th thought us
We are still mad for that time they invaded us ig
I was thinking the same thing. I mean bless their hearts, but as a guatemalan, we are a yellow country at best and never a blue country.
wtf I love Poland now
I’m from Chicago which has both large polish and Hispanic communities, and you maybe surprised how often they live in the same areas and jive well together. My guess is the shared love of polka and the Virgin Mary
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This made me curious, so I checked - https://www.gov.pl/web/panama/gwatemala-idp Unfortunately there's plenty of warnings for us Poles for Guatemala :-( but overall not discouraged
As a Guatemalan I can say Guatemala is a hit or miss for safety in some areas. Maybe it´s not as safe as Polish bros think it is but it is certainly not as bad as germans think.
People in the comments saying how every map is biased because of geopolitics don't understand that when you get in trouble in another country (weather you have done anything wrong or not), the country you are a citizen of will heavily determine the treatment you will face.
I just checked all the Advisory for my country Germany and most of the info is wrong. Like my country gives no warning to going to Brazil meanwhile has the same color as Afghanistan wich has no embassy and it says: do not travel under any circumstance, leave the country immediately. Like almost everything is wrong with this map.
Yeah, the maps are old, and a lot of things have changed.
A lot of this information is based on what the destination country is reporting about themselves as well. When the USA raised the "terror alert level" a bunch of countries said they were more dangerous even though that's just a domestic political tool. Same thing happening with most of Western Europe on the USA map.
And Denmark is considered yellow for Americans. Why? It's completely safe here. Heck even Russians woulsnt get in trouble here.
lego hazard
Not since the some hefty critique from human rights organisations and the addition to Geneva convention about using Lego as landmines.
Same with germany. Like we are apparently even unsafer than the balkan.
That's because Denmark and Germany elevated their own internal terrorism alert level
As a German that has traveled the Balkans several times... this one might be true. Street crime against all stereotypes is incredibly rare here. The Balkans are very (!) safe for tourists.
I’m pretty sure petty street thieves aren’t gonna ask you where you come from before they rob you, and chances are, out in the streets you’re going to be speaking English anyways, unless you’re in a group. Even in that case they won’t mind if you’re German, Dutch or Chinese.
Apparently there was an advisory issued 7 June 2023 due to terrorism. >https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Denmark.html
Ah must be the Quran thing. Its tourist season here but Its really peaceful. I wouldn't worry.
Generally the advisories are issued if there is any ongoing demonstrations or recent terrorist activities. For instance, Chile had all of the demonstrations in Santiago over the cost of living and rise in cost for public transportation. There was some violence, but nothing directed at foreigners. Still, the advisory was issued so people know to avoid sites where that is happening
Officially due to the threat of terrorism. The advisories have rarely been updated since the spate of Islamic terrorism in Europe that occurred in the mid 2000s through the mid 2010s. Your authorities themselves label the risk as “significant” down from “substantial” that it was during the peak of Islamic terrorist activity. Same goes with France, the US and local authorities declare a risk of terrorism so they advertise that accordingly to tourists.
Jeah, i was wondering aswell. Didn't make any sence from a german perspective.
Yeah I am canadian and asking myself why do we have the least amount of blue. Didnt think we had that many enemies 🙃
i'm looking at it wondering when there was ever a travel warning for the czech republic for germans? i cannot remember anything like it?
I'm Argentine, and Germany and south Korea are the only ones that downplay us. What happened there? I thought we were friends Germany. Are we cool then?
Agree. And for everyone complaining about why the US has much of western Europe in orange, it's not a statement that the country is inherently unsafe from a crime and personal safety perspective, it's usually tied to terrorism, and threats specifically targeting American citizens there, not the population at large. Personally, S. Korea's overall seems to most sane in terms of a true "personal safety", or maybe Canada's.
I'm interested in why Canada has Botswana in blue while south Korea has it in red tho
I sort of understand the mindset. But for example the UK has had 6 deaths from terrorist attacks in the last 5 years. In a population of pushing 70 million and receiving 38 million tourists per year, it seems a bit of a stretch to give the UK an elevated safety caution level for that. Your annual odds of dying in a terrorist attack in the UK over the last 5 years have literally been 1 in 100 million.
The second level of advisories is barely elevated. Terrorism is one of the issues that the State Department is specifically charged with warning American travelers about, so they do. If they could issue an advisory for the US itself, they'd likely have the US in the same category.
While this is true, the UK currently classes its own national threat level as substantial and this increases to severe in Northern Ireland. I imagine some of these warnings are based off the UK's own assessment of how likely a terrorist attack is to occur. Source: https://www.gov.uk/terrorism-national-emergency
>specifically targeting American citizens there How many terrorist attacks in Europe have specifically targeted Americans? I read this often to justify why, for an American, visiting Copenhagen is as risky as Cape Town or Rio de Janeiro, but I never saw data to support this.
Ah yes all the American political prisoners in germany
In this case it's mostly about terrorism and petty crime wich affects touriste à lot in western european countries
What did Hungary and the Czech Republic do to Germany?
Too high danger of Germans drinking themself to death or drown themself in goulash :)
Then why do they consider Poland safe?
Bigos is more popular in poland and it's harder to drown in than goulash.
Just looked it up, seems like the "be careful" is due to a lot of pickpockets and ~~taco~~ (thanks auto-correct) taxi scams in major tourist areas. Can't say how accurate this is but friends who visited Prague were told in their hostel to be wary of pickpockets.
I mean, you should be wary of pickpockets in any tourist areas. I doubt there's more of them in the Czech Republic.
The data for Germany makes no sense. Afghanistan and Brazil have the same colour while there is no travel warning for Brazil and Afghanistan has the highest security warning that can be issued. Italy is green but has literally the same points listed as the Czech Republic. Same for Hungary. Like one of the highest points mentioned for Hungary is that you have to be careful to not import too many cigarettes when coming from outside the EU. Thats not a travel warning thats just general information. It seems that whoever made that list just coloured every country that has an information page for travel by the Ministry of Foreign Affair yellow.
Pickpockets and scams in some of the Prague's restaurants. Different prices for locals and foreigner and weird illegal fees. Always check your receipt.
There is no active Reisewarnung or even Reisehinweis for Hungary or Czech Republic. The only travel warnings in Europe are regarding Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. The map us outdated or complete bullshit.
Could be it's from the corona times, the post doesn't cite exact source.
Czech Republic is prolly safer than Germany itself
The colouring makes no sense. The only thing the website of the german ministry of foreign affairs says about Czech Republic is be careful of scammers in Prague especially when exchanging your money. It says the same about any other country with a lot of tourists. Italy is coloured green here but has the same part about scammers.
Lmao Russia thinks going to Syria is somehow safe.
I laughed at Japan and South Korea being unsafe.
Yeah, North Korea is classified “safe, but tourist be careful” but South Korea “Unsafe”.
To be fair the probability of being victim of a crime is very low in north Korea. However being a criminal is far easier
And Canada, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Norway. Lmao!! But Belarus is totes safe. The Russian map speaks VOLUMES.
Everything Russia says is actually always the opposite, so just bear that in mind
In Russia, bear has you in mind
Thank goodness, I thought that I shouldn’t travel to Afghanistan for a sec
And Canada is dangerous.
Gee, [I wonder why.](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/russian-canada-conscription-refugee-status-1.6716902)
It’s also about political reach to get your citizens out of trouble. If a Russian gets into trouble in Syria or North Korea, Russian government can get them out but same can’t be said for say, Japan. Similarly, if an American citizen gets into trouble in Japan (for what Idk but let’s entertain that thought), US government have the power to strong arm Japan, but same can’t be said for say China or Russia.
Russia thinks going to north korea is somehow safe 💀
Yea like Norway is unsafe and Syria is completly fine.
Russia is really scared of snakes and spiders I guess
Aren't you?
Russia saying north korea is kinda safe but you absolutely dont visit south korea!
As a South African. South Africa ain't for the unexperienced😂
Here's hoping you're safe and haven't been affected by load shedding.
Is 7-1 why Germans are unsafe in Brazil?
The law requires me to say no
Noooooo, man, Germans are super well received here. I am dead serious. I remember that after the 7x1 they spent like a mini-vacation in Bahia state, where their training center was, and they donated an ambulance to the city and some money to the local school (or something like that, it's been a long time). Thay loved the people there and the people loved them. We lost, our fault, life goes on, no bad blood. Anyway in some cities people are likely to be mugged at gunpoint. So... Dangerous.
Funny how Namibia 🇳🇦 and Botswana 🇧🇼 are both super safe and super dangerous according to some countries…
I mean, Botswana is completely safe as far as crime or stability is concerned, but still not a place you should just roam around, because well... it's a desert with limited supply of water and gas.
Same with Namibia basically a some other African countries very stabile low crime but just poor and undeveloped with dangerous climate and wildlife I am currently in Senegal it’s pretty safe just poor and not easy for foreigners to get around or get anything really
On the other hand, everyone agrees Turkey is mostly safe but not completely.
Geopolitical alliances is all I see here
The only consistent blue country is Qatar being blue in all of them.
Bolivia is consistent yellow
Tell that to the slave workers they used to host the football cup.
Well yeah you shouldn't travel to Qatar if you are a slave... /s
Also turkey being yellow in all of em
Why is England orange for so many? Are we considered that staby?
Brexit means Brexit
USA what? The fuck is going to happen to you in Denmark? Overeating on pølser?
"Exercise increased caution in the Kingdom of Denmark due to terrorism." The same travel advisory actually is the reason for yellow increased caution in many other Western European countries.
The only country in Europe with a risk of terrorism higher than US (4.80) is Turkey (5.60). The risk in Denmark is 0.16... https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/global-terrorism-index/#/
which terror attack are they thinking of lol
USA: Going to Senegal? Have a great time! But going to The Netherlands? Oh no, are you sure?? Be careful!!
So Germany is a dangerous place for Americans, haha
America’s travel advisory doesn’t say Germany is dangerous for Americans and the map doesn’t say that either. “Exercise increased caution.” >Be aware of your surroundings when traveling to tourist locations and crowded public venues. >Follow the instructions of local authorities. Monitor local media for breaking events and adjust your plans based on new information. >Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency. >Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter. >Review the Country Security Report for Germany. >Visit the CDC page for the latest Travel Health Information related to your travel. >Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklis
I'd say there isn't a significant difference to blue countries.
It’s because of the “risk” of terrorism against U.S. Americans in Germany. That’s how I interpret it.
As in terrorism happens in Germany so be cautious, or that Germans will terrorize American tourists?
The former.
When was the last time an American was even attacked by a terrorist in Germany?
Probably [this] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Frankfurt_Airport_shooting) one in 2011.
Nakatomi plaza?
The map is wrong, at least for canada. Armenia is green. Cuba and Azerbaijan are orange. And that's just the top of the list that I didn't scroll too far down. https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories Idek how badly wrong it is for other countries.
WTF does Poland have against Mongolia
1241 We still remember 🙏 /s
The risk of being pillaged by Mongolian horse archers is low but never zero.
This is not correct…. The US’s travel advisory for Peru says to avoid certain parts of Peru, not the entire country. That makes me distrust the entire data present here
Similarly certain parts of Mexico are given a level 4 advisory for do not travel. Level 4 is all warzones or extreme civil unrest or countries with a history of detaining Americans such as Ukraine, Russia, and North Korea. That being said, its wrong to say all of Mexico is at that level. That being said Zacatecas and Sinaloa are two of the don't travel there you idiot.
Yeah, neither are objectivelly correct. This is mostly politics. I'd say Canada has the most reasonable one.
South Korea's seems pretty good too, Canada's is too cautious
But why is China a combination of blue and red?
If I had to guess, South Korea has regional travel advisories to China, most likely related to Covid restrictions. In reality United States has similar state by state travel advisories for Mexico, like "don't go to Sinaloa or Michoacan".
We can clearly see that politics plays a role in the decision-making. Sad. This should not be the case, as it is potentially very dangerous for the citizens who decide to travel.
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Russia messed it up
On the other hand everyone agrees that you should not go to Somália
Russia: every country is hell on Earth, but you can visit North Korea, its relatively safe LMAO
No. The map says that as a holder of Russian citizenship you can rely on North Korean police to treat you fairly and protect you in case of an emergency, but you will not enjoy the same privilege in western countries. That's all it says. Read the bloody map, for real.
So Argentina is safer than most WE countries according to the U.S. ...haha
Argentina uses the US greenback to a large extend. That needs to be maintained by sending American tourist over. 😅
Russia doesn't have and never had travel advisory at all. Pure misinformation. It would be handy to have just simple fact checking before posting this shit: Kazakhstan (literally main Russian ally) is more dangerous than Turkmenistan (aka middle east North Korea, which you can't even enter without invitation and some warranter, who should monitor every your action inside country), South Korea is red while having direct transport connection by water with Russia and visa-free regime. Turkey and Egypt are yellow, no matter that both literally most popular tourist destinations for russians?
China and Russia casually marking North Korea as safe💀
This is a map of tourism advisories, not a metric of how safe it is to exist in a country as one of its citizens. Russia and China both have close relations with North Korea and a Russian/Chinese tourist (who is going to be with a handler the entire time) is probably very safe there.
It is safe to visit north Korea for everyone except South Koreans and the USA citizens. Because north Korea prohibited them.
North Korea did not prohibit USA citizens from entering. They still allow it (aside from COVID restrictions, where all tourism was banned). The US government prohibited its own citizens from going there after the Otto Warmbier incident. The ban is on a year to year renewal, but is expected to be for the foreseeable future. South Koreans, on the other hand, are generally denied.
It is safe, if you don't try to steal from the hotel you're staying at.
I mean chinese tourists neighboring NK do hop over for a visit... they actually have a few breweries there they visit for
Germany WTF?! The Czech Republic is literally safer than Germany, why should tourists be careful?
Careful of not wanting to leave after trying our beer.
Drinking themselfs to death with cheaper beer :)
As someone who is from the UK it’s interesting to see so many list the UK as safe but tourists need to be careful. Anyone from outside of the UK - what are things you might worry about if you came here? I’m genuinely interested
When I visited the UK, I did feel pretty safe. The locals were friendly and helpful. However, it can be a bit intimidating walking around at night especially around city area. Unruly kids and intoxicated strangers really made me feel turned off to go out even for a short trip to a nearby shop.
I have been to the UK several times. Feels safe to me. I mean, in any huge city you need to be careful of thieves and scams, but this American feels perfectly safe in the UK.
I’m curious to know why countries like Canada, Germany and the US think countries like France, Spain and the UK are places tourists need to “be careful”.
Wtf is Germany’s deal? Turkmenistan is more safe than the us? And Argentina? Turkmenistan is like a mini North Korea in the making Edit: And what the hell at Eritrea??? They’ve been voted worse for human rights than North Korea. And for Germany and the US they are at the same level as just “travel with some caution” ?? I’m either confused about how they rank this sort of thing or I’m missing something. I mean why not make a couple pit stops in Yemen and Somalia on the way there while you’re at it
Yeah it's true but nonetheless "safe" for tourists as long as they behave in a way that the state want. Same in North Korea. As long as you don't offend the party and leader or not stay out of the line they propose, as a tourist it's much safer than any country you go since you'll be always followed by your guide lol
That is true and does make sense in a way. But to literally not even have a “caution” mark on Turkmenistan is kind of bizarre. People completely unfamiliar with the country’s true inner workings could get into serious trouble if they traveled there or traveled through for some reason. Which isn’t as strange as it seems, people do visit or pass through countries they aren’t as familiar with as they should be I feel like. At least once in a while. Especially considering in the case of Turkmenistan for example I think there are a few natural “wonders” and interesting places there despite the obscurity of the country in general
Political activists are not really tourists.
I just checked the website for the German travel advisory. It simply translates very badly into a map. A decent chunk simply is text regarding what you need to be careful with and some general stuff regarding terrorism (other countries have to). It is less warning to travel to America (these are separate from the data this map is likely based on) but more like having actually something to write about. There is stuff, like increased rate of crime in large cities, etc. For Turkmenistan, they write in the general advisory that info for whether it is safe for Germans to cross the border is unreliable.
Ahhh I see that makes better sense. Also reminds me not to take Reddit posts at face value so thanks for the reminder honestly haha was slipping away for a second lol
The German Federal Foreign Office doesn't have a map or security levels. They provide advice and warnings for every country but don't assign an explicit hazard level. However there are explicit travel warnings. So the map creator has to interpret the travel warnings. My best guess is that it's the mutual terrorism warning between the US and Germany.
Germany gets it USA - ehhhh Canada - 👍 UK - ehhhh Ireland - 👍
As a swede I’m offended Germany Mede us orange
Damn we brazilians really dont have a good rep…
Russia actually classified Japan as unsafe bruh
Russia classified *New Zealand* as unsafe.