In the past month, we’ve heard about revolutions (as in Egypt and Libya) and natural disasters (New Zealand and Japan) and the Cricket World Cup (affecting India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) that could potentially be disruptive to travelers. Some of these stories were accompanied by mentions of travel advisories or warnings. What does that mean to travelers who are in or are traveling to those countries?
When Ray Flynt, President and CEO of Travelers Aid International, wrote the inaugural post for this blog, he introduced one of the most important resources for Americans planning to travel abroad. (For our international fans, the site still hosts plenty of information that would be useful for you.) In light of the recent world events, I thought we should highlight a few specific resources from the agency that runs our overseas citizens support and our embassies and consulates around the world.
The State Department issues two kinds of advisories, which are always posted on their website and are sometimes disseminated by the media:
- Travel Alerts: Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, political demonstrations or violence, anniversaries of terrorist events, and high-profile events such as international conferences or regional sports events are examples of short-term conditions that might generate a Travel Alert. There are about a half-dozen countries, as well as the South Pacific tropical typhoon prone zone, listed.
- Travel Warnings: These are issued when long-term, protracted conditions make a country dangerous or unstable, or when the U.S. government’s ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff. There are more than 30 countries listed for a range of reasons.
An army of analysts and foreign affairs specialists from a number of government agencies provide information to the State Department to assess conditions around the world, and these advisories are issued promptly and updated routinely. I’d call these resources a must-read before you leave the country. You never know what happened between the time you last paid attention to the news and when you leave for the airport.
But while these warnings and alerts are issued for potentially dangerous situations, they are not necessarily denials for travel or activity in the country. Airlines and travel agencies are not required to adjust their policies on refunds or reschedules, and this could sometimes become extremely unfortunate for travelers who have planned their exotic once-in-a-lifetime adventure or have invested a lot of money into the trip. If you happen to already be in a country affected, in most cases, departures will also be at your own expense.
It’s more of a “travel-at-your-own-risk” advisory. People are still traveling to Israel, which has been under a travel warning since last summer (and before) for security reasons, and many brush aside the travel alert in Australia for their summer typhoon season and vacation Down Under. But these advisories have a lot of information for travelers, which allow those going to the countries to pack appropriately and to research and develop contingency plans, should they decide to travel.
So, before you head out of the U.S., check the State Department travel alert and travel warning pages to see if your country (destination and en route stops) is listed. If it is, read the advisory carefully and do your own risk analysis on whether it would be appropriate to adjust your travel plans. Call your airline or travel agent to ask about refund or reschedule options.
Have you altered your plans because of a State Department advisory? We’d love to hear from you — leave your story via the “comments” link below.
- Helpful Traveler Tony
Tags: Cancellations, Department of State, DOS, foreign travel, Tony, travel advisory, travel alert, travel warning, web resources
