A new report has revealed that 60 per cent of Aussie travellers are unaware of government-issued travel warnings, potentially placing themselves in ‘high risk’ areas.
The report, conducted by InsureandGo, discovered that of the 1000 Aussies they surveyed, 60 per cent believed that one or more of the countries for which the government had issued dire warnings was still a safe destination.
From a list of 11 destinations deemed unsafe by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the ones most commonly mistaken to be safe by Aussies included Belgium, Thailand and the Philippines.
The government has recommended travellers ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ in each of these locations, in response to high rates of theft, violence and even terror attacks in recent years.
Despite Egypt being most commonly ranked as the most dangerous destination by participants, when asked which countries they most wanted to visit in the future, it still came in as second most popular to Thailand.
Of course, a spokesperson for InsureandGo, Jonathan Etkind, used this new-found data to encourage Aussie travellers to invest more heavily in travel insurance.
“It’s best to always be prepared for the unexpected – whether that be lost or stolen luggage, travel cancellations or emergency medical,” said Mr Etkind.
However possibly more essential is that you do some basic research into the safety of your destinations before booking tickets, just to make sure you don’t disembark the plane, gaudy shirt on and suitcase in tow, only to discover you’ve entered a war zone.
Do you take note of DFAT warnings before you travel? Have you ever been to a country you thought would be safe, only to find out it was quite the opposite?
Related articles:
Smarttraveller’s tips for safe sailing
How to avoid travel disasters
Is DFAT advice worth following?
