Responsible Travel

In the past few months media stories about travelers being injured or worse have made some would be travelers question the safety of their travel plans. I have been asked time and again is the destination I am traveling to safe. The traveler will go on to say, "but I heard...."

Yes, there are destinations which may not be the best choices due to instability in a region or unfriendliness toward US citizens. Choosing to travel to Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan may not be the right choice for the average western tourist at this time. However, tourism safety is up to the traveler and the use of common sense most of the time.

Some countries like Israel and Egypt are questioned by many about safety. I had some interesting conversations in the past few months with tourism partners in that region. There is a perception of ill will toward travelers or lack of safety which is simply not true. Those countries value their guests and do all they can to secure the safety of their visitors.

The same goes for many of the Caribbean Islands. I hear from so many a perception of danger on the islands. Again, simply not true for the responsible traveler. Tourists are coming and going by the hundreds without serious incident.

Of course the Natalie Holloway story in Aruba made so many fear the island. Actually Aruba has one of the lowest crime records of all the Caribbean area islands. The unfortunate mistake made was a young, immature teen leaving the safety of her group to go out late at night with a stranger. It is not something in all probability she would have done at home, but feeling free on vacation, she let her guard down. The outcome was a parent's nightmare. However, it was not the fault of the island or it's police.

Most recently, a young woman was attacked and killed in Puerto Rico. Again a most unfortunate occurrence. However, when reading the account of the woman, her friends said she was a thrill seeker and often came back with stories of how she would run through unknown neighborhoods and be chased by dogs, amongst other things. This is just yet another example of irresponsible travel behavior.

In the US, we very rarely see the foreign media reports about the US. If I viewed them, I may be afraid to visit the US. Of course no country is perfectly safe, but one must take the precautions to ensure their own safety when traveling just as one does in their daily lives at home.

Within almost every city globally, whether NY, LA, Dallas, London or Paris to name a few, there are certainly areas in which the traveler need not venture. We all know many cities have areas not meant for tourist inspection and wandering into those areas, even for residents of the area, can be dangerous. So why take the chance?

When traveling it is up to you to first choose a destination. Ask your travel professional about the destination. If you are not sure about the safety find out if there are any travel advisories. They should be happy to get the information for you if they do not already know. If you have concerns about an area, ask!

There are many times when I am asked about a destination's safety. Usually the answer is the destination is safe if you follow reasonable practice. My advice is to stay on the beaten path. Do not go wandering into neighborhoods which are too far from major tourism areas. If you are the curious traveler, ask your hotel concierge or the front desk agent about the surrounding neighborhoods. They will tell you if they which areas of the city are welcoming and which you might want to avoid. You also want to try to wander with a partner and certainly during the day time.

An example of safety would be traveling to Israel. The country as a whole is very safe with Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Eilat the most popular places to see. Last year the country saw the highest tourism numbers on record with over 3 million tourists, and one third of those from the US. They all returned home safely. While visiting Israel there are many cities which are safe and are welcoming to tourism. Of course areas such as the West Bank and Gaza are not on the recommended list of areas to tour. Again, it is using common sense.

Another example is Egypt. Areas such as Cairo, Luxor, Alexandra and Sharem el Shiekh are safe to visit. Wandering off the beaten path into smaller, unknown neighborhoods may not be advisable. You need to make good choices.

Also, the traveler must always take reasonable precautions. Be careful about flaunting your money or jewelry. You may want to leave your expensive jewelry or handbags at home so as not to call attention to yourself. Know the currency and exchange rate. Pulling out wads of money for a merchant to help you count is not wise. While the merchant may be honest, those around might not be. Gentlemen, keep your money in your front pockets. You may want to split the money into both pockets. It is much harder to be pick pocketed. Ladies, keep your wallet in a purse that zips. When making a purchase you don't need to pull your entire purse out. Please, use your common sense!
If you are traveling by taxi, be sure the cab you hail is licensed. Find out from your hotel how to recognize a licensed cab. Most will feature special license plates or dated stickers on the car to denote their standing.

Travel safely...use your common sense. Even though you are on vacation, don't take everything for granted. Be responsible for yourself and your actions. You will find this will make your travel experience a great one!