Article discussing Traveler Safety

Very interesting article, Carol. Thank you for sharing this. I thought it had a lot of good tips and also good advice. I especially liked this point it made:

But most important, don’t be the problem. You can travel more safely by planning for trouble.

I really think that’s smart advice. I used to tell my clients this when I was practicing law. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. There's only so much you can do, but preparation is the key.

Interesting points in that piece.

I think one of the key safety issues is "staying alert and tuned in". Don't be walking with the cell phone. Put the phone in the pocket, and stay in the moment. You see people walking with headphones on and looking at the phone - it's an open invitation for some bad person to run up and either mug the person or steal the phone.

The book "The gift of fear" by Gavin deBecker has many good points. In particular, trust your gut. If it seems like a concerning situation, there might be some truth in that instinct.

Good article.

What caught my eye was the comment from Medjet already seeing an uptick in customers hospitalized with respiratory infections requiring assistance and evacuation. Covid, flu, RSV...

There were some good suggestions in this article. I also think it made travel sound more dangerous than it is. Problems of all sorts are a possibility, of course, but they are also a possibility if you stay home.

I love reading other travel stories that claim they can keep you safe when you travel with a few easy tips. What nonsense!
Travel will always be dangerous, to a certain extent. Even the safest places can be problematic. Tourists die or disappear in countries with sterling reputations.

This is a lousy argument. These things also happen in America.

“Growing political tension between China and Taiwan, and the Ukraine-Russia conflict potentially expanding, definitely has people traveling to Asia and Eastern Europe this fall on edge,” he says. “The riots in France, protests across Central and South America, earthquakes, fires, hurricanes and Christmas market tragedies past don’t help traveler confidence either.”

Well yes, but anyone who travels somewhere should have basic situational awareness and do a modicum of research. You don't take a trip to Florida in September when there's a hurricane approaching the coast.

Even if you avoid all those places, travel is still risky, he says. You could go someplace perfectly safe, only to get sick. That’s more of a problem now than it was this summer, says Gobbels.

Who is this guy? Oh he's selling a product (big surprise). This article is at best a masked advertisement - I wish I hadn't clicked on it

For those of you who have Medjet Assist and want more protection than medical evacuation, they offer an additional policy that will help evacuate you from a country due to natural disasters, war, terrorism and the like.

It would probably come in handy if you were in Israel right now only to see most flights cancelled.

You see people walking with headphones on and looking at the phone -
it's an open invitation for some bad person to run up and either mug
the person or steal the phone.

It's also s good way to blend in and look like a local.

" The riots in France...." This was in July. I was in Paris during this time.

The riots lasted 4 nights with the French government mobilising 44,000 police to deal with them. What was surprising was how widespread nation-wide these riots were. Nanterre was one of the worst examples of the riots. I watched the coverage on CNN and especially the extensive coverage on French TV.

Elliot says ,"Travel will always be dangerous, to a certain extent." That begs the salient question : What are you afraid of?

Who is this guy? Oh he's selling a product (big surprise). This article is at best a masked advertisement - I wish I hadn't clicked on it.

edwardius, you must have a very strange idea of what advertising (masked or otherwise) is. This was a legitimate article in a legitimate newspaper, written by a reputable person who heads up a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. There was a brief sentence at the bottom explaining who the author was. That is NOT advertising. Personally I found it helpful. I'm sorry you didn't but there's no need to bash it.

There were 536 instances of gun violence in grocery stores in the US from 1/1/20-11/22/22 alone. This resulted in 186 deaths. Yet people feel unsafe traveling. SMH.

There were 536 instances of gun violence in grocery stores in the US from 1/1/20-11/22/22 alone. This resulted in 186 deaths. Yet people feel unsafe traveling. SMH.

You do know that it is possible to feel unsafe under both circumstances?

I take precautions - or at least pay attention to my surroundings - every time I leave the house. There are areas of the town where I live that I would never be after dark. And so on...

When I travel, I don't feel particularly "unsafe" as much as I feel more alert to my surroundings, especially in crowded areas, and also in abandoned areas, especially after dark. But when I do find myself suddenly or unexpectedly in a situation in a foreign country that doesn't feel quite right, I trust my instincts and do something about it as quickly as possible. Same thing as back home...

Only 536/186??

"Safety" is an undefined word when it comes to subjects like this. Listen to the news and if the general tone raises some concern then do a little fact digging would be a better suggestion than believing in or trusting in the opinions of strangers who may or may not share your thresholds or might just be right or left ideologs who recite nonsense like a doll with a pull string.

Admittedly it is a bit hard to find reliable non-politicized unbiased facts, but there are generally some for most locations. For those wanting to visit the US, if the violence that you hear about so much has you nervous, then it would be sound travel advice to suggest that you google the FBI crime statistics. It can be fascinating and I suspect that it will alter some perceptions about the generality of crime in the US. There are even crime data bases based on zip codes. Check out that hotel location or that city. And look at percentages or per capita numbers because while some countries like England have 55 million, some have 360 million and 100 of this or of that takes on different meaning in each.

But in general when an article begins with a title "Is it safe to travel again? Not exactly, experts say" then you know you have stumbled into clickbait. If you have any doubt, then "again" vs when? And where is the comparative data between "then" and "now"? Not exactly? Well never was then, so why "again" except to get you to read dribble.

Thanks Carol!

Ahhhh Carol, my comments aren't a reflection on you. You do some of the best work here. Sometimes, even if I dont think much of something, I appreciate someone posting it I can see what the world is thinking. No information is bad information.

But in general when an article begins with a title "Is it safe to travel again? Not exactly, experts say" then you know you have stumbled into clickbait.

I think your definition of clickbait (like eduardius) is a bit off. Clickbeat is generally a very sensationalized headline that tries to draw in readers in order to attract clicks on a piece of content, and then fails to deliver what its headline promised. For example, you might see something like "The money making secret banks don't want you to know!" or "How to earn $5000 a month by sitting at home (it's Genius!)" I would not consider an article posted by a reputable newspaper like the Seattle Times to be clickbait. Does the article have ads? Yes, most newspapers do now. Do the ads fly up at you and bombard you and move all over the page, making it hard to read the article without clicking on one? No.

There were links in the article but most of them led you to other reputable articles explaining something. There was one link on the term "travel insurance" that led you to the Elliot organization(a non-profit) but only one. And many of the links led you to more helpful information, like the link to the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. Personality, I find links in a reputable article very helpful and I'm glad they're there.

I just find it interesting that you would call this article "clickbeat" as to me, it is as different from clickbait as night and day.

My take from the article was that you should always have a plan. That post from the woman with a collapsed lung in Hungary is a perfect example. Another example is that the sister and husband of a friend of mine were in Israel on the weekend and calls to the Canadian Embassy were not answered and emails bounced back, they made their way to Jordan where they're currently trying to figure out next steps.

It's no different than having a plan at home. For example, long road trips across the Canadian prairies in the winter. You need to expect the unexpected and be prepared that something might go wrong. On the weekend we started preparations by booking appointments to have our winter tires put on and took winter emergency kits out of summer storage and put them in the vehicles.
It's like life insurance-you hope you never use it, but the alternative can be devastating.

This author of popular guidebooks to Europe also gives safety tips for retired travelers:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/travel-can-be-a-retirees-fountain-of-youth-how-to-do-it-right-4c683e4a?mod=retiretwitter_new

On Deutsche Welle it was reported yesterday that German nationals , forgot the exact number, were flown out from Israel by their government to Frankfurt. At least their concerns on being evacuated are over.

FYI, There is a marine standing guard at ALL US embassies globally who picks up the phone at the first ring 24/7. I've double checked after an incident at a border crossing. You might have to wait on hold, and not get immediate ACTION, but your call will be answered. (If you can't get through in Israel, calling the Jordanian embassy might be helpful.)
PS, Several others have commented on safety in the US, or wherever you live. And @MrE is absolutely right to point out statistics! I might feel safer driving through my neighborhood, but I know I'm probably not any more safe than in any large European city. We jokingly call my watchdog attitude my 'inner Rottweiler', but basically I thought the message was to 1) come prepared, 2) have adequate insurance including evacuation insurance, and 3) take normal safety precautions. Would you leave your phone on a table at Starbucks? Just no.

This is what the US State Department STEP program was designed to help with: facilitating communication in a volatile situation.

Would you leave your phone on a table at Starbucks? Just no.

The sort of people that go to Starbucks, I don't trust. Now, in a nice wine bar, sure from time to time .... actually 3 nights a week.

take normal safety precautions. Would you leave your phone on a table
at Starbucks? Just no.

I don't when travelling due to all the warnings I read on sites like this, but at home I never give it a thought. As I read this I'm on the patio of a local pub and a quick scan around me shows almost everyone with phones sitting on their tables.