While the U.S. State Department periodically reviews and updates its list of countries based on how safe they are for travelers to visit, the Trump administration just made a big sweep to renew or add 23 countries, largely in Africa and South America, to the “reconsider travel” ranking.
This rating is the third level on a four-tier system; the first, “exercise normal precautions,” means that a country is just as or even safer to be in than home, while “avoid all travel” is usually given to war zones and authoritarian governments.
These are the countries currently under ‘reconsider travel’
The 23 countries currently under “reconsider travel” include popular vacation destinations such as Egypt, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Colombia.
The rest of the list includes Bangladesh, Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Macau, Mauritania, Mozambique, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Uganda and Vanuatu.
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“Extremists continue to express interest in plotting attacks in Egypt against religious sites, government entities, and diplomatic facilities,” the updated advisory for Egypt reads. “[…] Terrorists have conducted attacks in urban areas, including in Cairo, despite the heavy security presence.”
While the capital has seen some attacks over the years, Egypt is generally a very safe and by far the most popular African country for foreign visitors; over 15 million tourists come each year for sights such as the Pyramids of Giza as well as all-inclusive resorts on the Red Sea.
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The countries on the updated list vary widely on both how popular and safe they are for tourists. While nations such as Chad and Bangladesh see very few American tourists, others are standard vacation destinations with a plethora of resorts — Jamaica, in particular, sees an average of two million American tourists pass through every year.
While Jamaica is officially rated as “reconsider travel”, it remains a very popular tourist destination for Americans.
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The other advisories focus on everything from petty crime targeting tourists to drug activity and trafficking; earlier this year, several advisories were issued for Central American countries through which traffickers pass through on the way to Mexico and eventually the U.S.
More warnings for Caribbean territories: ‘Police strictly enforce these laws’
While an overseas British territory rather than an independent nation, the combination of 40 islands known as Turks and Caicos was also the subject of a new travel warning from the State Department.
The territory particularly popular with luxury-seeking travelers is still under level two’s “exercise increased caution” — it is too remote to see widespread crime — but the government issued a new warning about respecting local laws after five American tourists were arrested when customs found ammunition in their luggage upon flying back to the U.S. (the travelers said they forgot to remove it after domestic travel and, while eventually let off with fines, spent weeks in detention.
“Police strictly enforce these laws, even at the airport when travelers are leaving,” the advisory reads. “Travelers face arrest, jail time, and heavy fines. Some U.S. citizens have been detained and unable to depart for several weeks or more after being found with bullets in their luggage.”
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