Can you trust those government travel advisories? Maybe not — and here’s why

When it comes to government travel advisories, Edd Staton doesn’t believe everything he reads.

Take the country of Ecuador, for example. The U.S. government warns of civil unrest, crime, and kidnapping danger to travelers.

“The State Department says crime is a widespread problem in Ecuador,” he says. “It says violent crime, such as murder, assault, kidnapping, and armed robbery, is prevalent.”

Staton disagrees — and he’s in a position to do so. He and his wife, Cynthia, have lived in Ecuador for the last 14 years. 

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“It is true that Ecuador has experienced more violence in pockets of poor neighborhoods along the Pacific coast where drug trafficking has grown significantly,” says Staton, who publishes a website about retirement. “These are areas where no one goes unless they live there. What the mainstream media never reports is that the surge in violence, especially murders, is mostly bad guys killing each other.”

Of course, safety is always a huge concern for travelers. A recent SAP Concur survey of business travelers found 44 percent were worried about safety at their destination. Specifically, frequent travelers were worried about political or social concerns (35 percent) and transportation safety (33 percent). Another survey of North American business travelers commissioned by World Travel Protection found that nearly three-fourths of travelers always check whether their government has issued a travel advisory before heading to any destination.

So what’s wrong with government travel advisories? How do you use a travel advisory? And which ones are worth reading before you take a trip abroad?

What are the major government travel advisories? 

Security-conscious American travelers often consult several government travel advisories before planning an international trip. They include:

• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Smartraveller. Although Smartraveller is written for Australians, you can find summaries of threats relevant to all travelers. There’s also a subscription service that delivers breaking developments to your email inbox. 

• Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development’s Travel Advice and Advisories. The Canadian Travel Advice and Advisories page separates countries by threat level ranging from Level 1: “exercise normal security precautions” to  Level 4: “avoid all travel.” If you’re a Canadian citizen, you can also register your trip to allow the government to contact you in case of an emergency.

• New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Safetravel. New Zealand’s Safetravel allows you to review destination ratings on topics like kidnappings, sexual assaults, cybercrime, and infectious diseases. There’s also a registry of emergency telephone numbers you can call if you need help while you’re abroad.

• UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s Travel Advice. Britain’s Travel Advice site has some of the most detailed travel guidelines compiled by its diplomatic corps. Its country ratings go from “green” (“safe”), “amber” (“some risk”) to “red” (“high threat”). They incorporate everything from entry requirements and local laws to healthcare facilities. Of course, you can also register your travel plans and get help if you’re a U.K. citizen. 

• U.S. Department of State’s Travel Advisories. The U.S. government’s Travel Advisories, like Canada’s, rank countries on a scale from Level 1 (“exercise normal precautions”) to Level 4 (“do not travel”). They take into account crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health issues, and natural disasters, with input from American embassies and consulates. Note: To register your trip and get State Department advisories emailed to you, sign up for the STEP program.

And while it’s true that consulting one or more of these resources can help, it’s often not enough.

“These reports are generally trustworthy,” says Raymond Yorke, a spokesman for travel insurance company Redpoint Resolutions. “But while they provide a broad overview of potential dangers, travelers should also consult local sources, recent traveler reviews, and real-time news to get a more nuanced understanding.”

What’s wrong with government travel advisories?

While official country reports, such as those from the U.S. State Department, CDC, and foreign governments, provide valuable information, experts say they tend to be generalized and precautionary. And, as is the case of Ecuador, it can sometimes lead to discrepancies between the official advice and the actual experience of travelers. 

For instance, a country might be listed as having a high risk of crime or political instability, but travelers might report feeling safe and encountering no issues during their visit. Alex Brown recalls visiting Ecuador in 2022, just days after widespread protests blockading much of the country cleared up. The country was safe, but it took the U.K. three weeks to lift the travel warning.

“There was no sign of any unrest when I was there,” he recalls.

But Brown says he’s also seen it work the other way.

“It took a few days after the October 7 attacks in Israel and subsequent Gaza War for the U.K. government to advise against visiting Israel unless you have to,” he says.

Country reports can also be written in a way that makes them less than helpful to the average traveler.

“They can sometimes be influenced by political or diplomatic considerations, which may lead to an overly cautious or overly optimistic portrayal of safety conditions,” says Frank Harrison, regional security director of the Americas for World Travel Protection.

Bottom line: Country reports are often overly broad, slow to update and so diplomatic they are of limited use to travelers.

So should you ignore a government travel advisory? No. Instead, you have to learn how to use them.

How to use a government travel advisory

None of the experts I spoke to for this story said you should ignore a government travel advisory. Rather, it’s an integral part of doing your due diligence. Here are some of the strategies they recommended:

• Never rely on just one country’s travel advisory. Check the government advisories of at least two countries when you’re planning your trip. Notice the differences between them. The truth about a destination often lies in between.

• Look beyond country reports for security information. There are privately generated country reports that can give you a more accurate — and perhaps less diplomatic — overview of a country’s security situation. John Rose, the chief risk and security officer for ALTOUR, a global travel management company, turns to Crisis24, International SOS or Dataminr, for this type of information. “You have to subscribe to these services — or use a travel provider that has a subscription to these types of reliable resources — to secure the best possible travel intelligence on any destination,” he adds.

• Consult an expert. A knowledgeable travel advisor can help you decode government travel advisories, filling in the gaps and helping you reconcile differences between two conflicting country reports. Mitch Krayton, a professional travel advisor, also likes some online resources that collect reliable information about a destination, such as Sherpa. “They also tell you what vaccines and visas you need,” he says.

In other words, as the Russian proverb goes, trust but verify.

Country safety reports aren’t the final word on safety

I’ve been a casual user of government travel advisories for years. But during the pandemic, I began to rely on them for authoritative information about pandemic travel requirements. And that’s when I discovered the maddening truth about country travel reports: They’re not always accurate or precise. 

When it came to answering questions like “What kind of COVID test do I need?” and “When do I need it?,” the country reports offered a variety of answers that I could interpret in many different ways. 

And that’s when I learned that there’s no substitute for real research. Country safety reports are definitely not the final word on safety.

I was reminded of that when I was in Ecuador a few months ago. Like Staton, I read the State Department advisory and when I waded through a crowd of festival-goers in Quito’s Plaza de la Independencia, I instinctively clutched my cell phone because I was afraid of pickpockets. But there was no murder, assault, kidnapping, armed robbery or widespread crime.

The only real danger, it turns out, was the altitude. Maybe they should put that in their report?