Expert Tips and Resources for Researching Travel Safety Before You Go
Learn how to assess the safety of your destination by researching various types of risks, checking travel safety websites, and taking general safety precautions. Explore the helpful tips and resources from experts in travel safety to help you have a safe and enjoyable journey.
A wealth of exciting experiences await you when embarking on a journey to another country. From immersing yourself in the local language or dialect to experiencing the richness of the culture and being captivated by new scenery, there’s no shortage of delights to relish.
Yet, in the world of travel, unpredictability is a constant companion. Various challenges can arise, ranging from minor inconveniences like falling sick or misplacing a passport to more daunting obstacles such as navigating road closures or dealing with harsh weather conditions. Moreover, it’s essential to acknowledge the possibility of encountering more serious issues like theft, civil unrest, or even facing potential assaults unexpectedly.
Whether you’re a business traveller, a lone adventurer, a vacationer, or simply visiting friends and relatives, ensuring your safety abroad is paramount. Because there is no “one size fits all” approach to travel advice, you will want to learn the most common risks in a country or city and note general travel safety precautions while considering your unique profile. If you are a business traveller, leveraging a travel risk management company’s country knowledge via its security experts and pre-trip briefings is the best way to ensure your safety. Learn more about how to assess the safety of your destination below.
Start with yourself
Each travellers’ personal circumstances are unique, each destination has a different set of rules and norms, and each activity you perform while in the destination will affect the level of your risk and safety. Thus, while assessing the safety of your destination you’ll need to consider your age, health, gender, sexual orientation, experience travelling, etc., while understanding the destination and risks posed by the specific activity you are doing. For example, a woman traveller may be treated differently than a man while conducting business in certain countries. Or a traveller with a chronic medical condition should consider whether their medication is available in the country they will be visiting in case they are delayed in returning home.
Do Your Research
All countries have safety risks on some level. Nonetheless, all safety risks are not created equal; there are certain types of risks you can mitigate and others you may want to avoid altogether when you travel.
Here are a few risk types to consider when researching a country:
- Weather and
- Health
- Geopolitical risks
- Crime
- Terrorism
- Gender equality
- LGBTQIA+ acceptance
- Diversity inclusion
- Scams or fraud
Travel Advisory Sites
While you are sure to find numerous blogs on travelling to a particular area, unofficial sites may not have current information, and they can be quite subjective based on the writers’ experience, thus we recommend steering clear of them. Government travel advisory websites provide information on traveller safely, yet the information there is often politicised and thus, not suitable for business travellers with specific business obligations to fulfil. “Often the information of government advisory sites is overstated, over cautious, and does not meet the needs of a business traveller,” says World Travel Protection Security Manager, Rodger Cook “At World Travel Protection, our aim is to facilitate travel rather than look for reasons not to go. We provide clear advice based on up-to-the-minute intelligence that facilitate safety and medical plans to support the travellers specific needs and uphold the oganisations duty of care needs.”
Other Helpful Tips for Safe Travelling
- Be aware that safety issues can change since your last trip to a country.
- Check the country’s entry requirements, especially regarding COVID testing and vaccinations.
- Share your itinerary and a picture of your passport with a trusted family member or close friend.
- Travel during daylight hours.
- Be cautious when using ATMs.
- Be on the alert for scams.
- Learn in advance where to get help and medical attention if you need it.
- Buy travel insurance and read all exclusions as a policy may not cover highly unsafe countries or activities.
- Look into your carrier’s mobile coverage in the country you are in before you depart.
Consider Enlisting the Help of a Travel Assistance Company
While research offers a dose of prevention, unexpected incidents can happen anywhere, even in the safest locations.
World Travel Protection is a travel assistance company that can help you assess the safety level of your destination. Using current, detailed information about a location, World Travel Protection security experts can tell you how safe the country is and what the civil and political climates are like. Furthermore, you can get information on which rules or customs you must follow, health information, and much more before you travel.
Once you arrive at your destination, whether you need to find medical services, manage travel interruption, or experience a security threat, help is at your fingertips via the Travel Assist App
World Travel Protection’s 24/7 travel, security and medical assistance helps support its customers when emergencies arise. Our Travel Risk Management Solutions help provide travellers with all the support they need pre- and during travel via our portal, app, and in-house experts. Fill out the form below to find out more.