Sorting Out Advisories on Risks of Traveling Abroad

Since 1992, the U.S. State Department has offered Americans nation-by-nation advice on which foreign lands they can visit safely, which they can’t, and which seem to fall somewhere in between. But occasionally, when Americans are victimized abroad--such as the five American college students who were raped Jan. 16 while traveling along Guatemala’s main coastal highway on a school-sponsored trip--critics accuse State Department analysts of letting political posturing taint their assessments.

In some cases over recent years, tourism promoters and others have complained that the State Department exaggerates risks, especially in developing nations, to punish those whose governments are out of American diplomatic favor. Conversely, in the search for institutional culpability that followed the Guatemalan incident, some authorities on Latin America suggested that the U.S. may have understated the risk to tourists because diplomats are eager to protect the fragile post-civil war economy of Guatemala.

Whom should a traveler believe?

A State Department spokeswoman dismisses the allegation of bias, saying that the program’s only goal is to pass along objective information on the safety of Americans abroad. And in the Guatemala case, the department has a ready defense: Though Guatemala was not among the 24 nations on the State Department’s stay-away list in December (and still isn’t), a thorough description of Guatemala’s widespread and worsening crime problems has been available by phone, fax and Internet on a Consular Information Sheet posted Sept. 17. In fact, a review of foreign-office advice from two other nations shows that the State Department’s warnings on crime in Guatemala were more lengthy and specific than those offered by Canadian and British governments to their citizens.

In the larger picture, there are no better U.S.-based sources for free (or nearly free) advice on the risks of foreign travel than the State Department (Citizens Emergency Center, Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2201 C St. NW, Room 4811, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520; telephone [202] 647-5225 ; Web site https://travel.state.gov/) and the federal Centers for Disease Control’s International Travelers Hotline (tel. [404] 639-2572; Web site: https://www.cdc.gov.)

But what about those two other nations and the advice they give their own citizens? Sometimes their advice addresses questions not faced by our State Department. As it happens, any American, armed with a little technology, can see the world through these different windows.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade both maintain regularly updated Internet sites. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office is at https://www.fco.gov.uk/reference, tel. (for information on selected countries) 011-44-171-238-4503. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is at https://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca (telephone information unavailable).

To sample these three world views, I looked at advice for Egypt and the U.S.

Egypt: In a report last updated Jan. 13, the U.S. warns of Islamic terrorism in the south, cites the attack near Luxor in November that left 58 tourists dead, and suggests that Americans seek guidance from their embassy before venturing into the Nile Valley governances of Minya, Assiut, Sohag and Qena, which are viewed as the most dangerous areas. The U.S. also notes “enhanced security measures” since the November killings, and cites, aside from terrorism, a low crime rate throughout the country. Sounding a similar theme, Britain on Dec. 10 cited the November killings and two other fatal attacks on tourists, stopping just short of telling tourists to avoid Luxor. Britain urged travelers to “exercise great caution” when in the Nile Valley south of and including the Minya Province.

Canada has taken a much stronger position. In a report issued on the day after the slaughter near Luxor (and still in effect), that government stated flatly that “travel to Minya, Assiut and certain other areas in the [southern] Nile region constitutes an unwarranted risk and should be avoided.” In a second caution, which goes beyond anything offered by the U.S. or Britain and undercuts the Egyptian tourist industry’s lucrative Nile cruise trade, Canada also has urged that “travel between Cairo and Luxor and Aswan should be by air only, as there have been terrorist attacks on trains and boats.”

The United States: On this country, our State Department is mum. But if you’re going to Florida, the British Foreign Office has been telling its citizens since Dec. 8, don’t wear ostentatious jewelry or go into rundown areas or sleep in your car or pull over immediately if your car is bumped from behind. Instead, proceed to a public area and call police. Also, says the Foreign Office, don’t pick up your rental car directly from the airport. Instead, to avoid criminals targeting tourists, take a taxi to your hotel and come back the next day for the rental car. The Canadian government’s advice (issued March 13) makes the same rental-car suggestion, urges particular caution in the Miami metro area and at highway rest stops, and urges tourists to never start a journey by car unless they know the route precisely. The reason: “Violent crime remains a serious concern.”

Reynolds travels anonymously at the newspaper’s expense, accepting no special discounts or subsidized trips. He welcomes comments and suggestions, but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053 or e-mail chris.reynolds@latimes.com.