American tourists have never been all that popular when heading abroad but the current climate means that the US travel advisory is now warning against travel to a huge list of countries.
Naturally, with wars raging across the globe, there are plenty of places that you will want to avoid when planning your summer holidays this year.
America may well be top of a lot of people's lists of places to avoid, even with it co-hosting this summer's World Cup tournament, especially since some fans have already been told that they won't be able to go and watch their team.
While Donald Trump has taken extra steps to ban immigrant visa processing for people from 75 different countries, the US State Department takes a more subtle approach when advising its own citizens about travel.
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Amid the war in Iran and other international conflicts, the latest list has now been confirmed, with travel advice varying from level two (exercised increased caution), to level four (avoid travel altogether).
Even the UK features on the massive list, albeit at the meagre level two level, which perhaps might be a relief to some folks over here, whereas the list might also serve as an excellent opportunity to learn the names of more countries.
Although travel influencers who have visited nearly every country will have their own opinions on which countries are the scariest to go to, the travel advisory list the following countries as the most dangerous current destinations:
- Afghanistan
- Belarus
- Burkina Faso
- Central African Republic
- Haiti
- Iran
- Iraq
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Mali
- Myanmar
- Niger
- North Korea
- Russia
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Ukraine
- Yemen
In several of these level four countries, including Russia and Ukraine, there may be ongoing conflict or there may not be a US consular available. Russia has even detained US travellers for petty infractions in the past.
In countries ranked at level three, Americans are advised to 'reconsider travel', with the government noting risks such as heightened crime, kidnapping, terrorism, or health service issues.
These countries include:
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Burundi
- Chad
- Colombia
- Cyprus
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Ethiopia
- Guatemala
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Israel
- Jerusalem
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Mauritania
- Nepal
- New Caledonia
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Tanzania
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- Venezuela
Finally, there's a long old list of level two countries, including European mainstays such as France and Germany, where Americans are essentially told to exercise a little extra caution.
You can see the full list of level two countries here:
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Antarctica
- Armenia
- Bahamas
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Chile
- China
- Comoros
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory-Coast)
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Falkland Islands
- France
- Gabon
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guinea
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Isle of Man
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Laos
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Macao
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Netherlands
- Panama
- Peru
- Philippines
- Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- The Gambia
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay
- Vatican City
- Zimbabwe
So, if you want to go travelling this year as an American, good luck finding somewhere that isn't on that list.
James Moorhouse