Dangerous travel for the ‘added thrill’ is on the rise as visitors flock to high-risk countries

Some tourists are no longer seeking a relaxing vacation — but rather are on the hunt for serious adventure. More visitors are traveling to countries that the State Department advises against, for a variety of reasons, according to travel experts who shared insights with Fox News Digital.

In a trend known as dark tourism, “risk travelers” are visiting countries such as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan today. Dark tourism involves travelers visiting the sites of natural disasters, mass murders or other events or situations in which something bad has happened. 

One man in his 20s, Eli Snyder, from Kansas City, Missouri, backpacked through Afghanistan.

“I live for visiting places as dissimilar as possible from how I’ve grown up in suburban America outside of Kansas City,” he told Newsweek back in May.

“Sometimes this means visiting a dangerous place. But it remains true, as I’d much rather visit Pyongyang [the North Korean capital] than Winnipeg.”

Rob DelliBovi, CEO of RDB Hospitality Group and based in New York, told Fox News via email that he calls this trend “thematic travel.”

“A lot of people ‘collect’ experiences, and some are more sinister than others,” he said. 

“It can be compared to people who travel just to eat a great meal – only the other side of the coin emotionally.”

He added, “If they’re going to a place with a travel warning or a hurricane coming, etc., it’s also an added ‘thrill’ of being there and making it out,” he said. 

DelliBovi said the Middle East definitely has the most volume in terms of visitors to dangerous areas — followed by Central America and then Africa.

A senior director at FocusPoint — a company for critical event management, specializing in providing emergency responses for individuals and organizations — told Fox News Digital there is a reason a country or region is designated as a “do not travel” area. 

“What we often see [are] persons who purchase our membership and then visit a country that is a Level 3 (recommend against travel) — and then, during their stay, the country becomes a Level 4 (do not travel),” said the director.

The company does not sell travel insurance but provides travel risk memberships, both short-term and annual plans.  

“Countries are assigned a Travel Advisory, Level 1-4,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“The levels of advice in our Travel Advisories are based on established risk indicators such as crime, terrorism, kidnapping or hostage taking, civil unrest, natural disasters, health, wrongful detention, and other potential risks.” 

Afghanistan, Lebanon, Haiti, Iran and Bangladesh, among other countries, are listed as Level 4 “do not travel” areas. 

When asked about what dangerous countries Americans have been visiting, the spokesperson said, “US citizens are not required to register their travel to a foreign country with us, so we cannot track with fidelity how many US citizens are in any particular country.”

A FocusPoint international senior director said the government is not going to assist you” in most cases. 

The director added, “Your government is not going to evacuate you under most circumstances.”

FocusPoint memberships do not cover in-country responses for persons who travel to a country where their home country’s government — or the Home Office of Canada and Britain, or the US State Department — provide “do not travel” guidance.

“During an emergency, the US government may have very limited ability to provide assistance,” said a State Department spokesperson.  

“Conditions in any country may change at any time.”