Ah, yes Michael, but after reading your article, I m still not sure I want to go swimming with shark

Exactly two weeks before Pete and I were scheduled to get on our flight to Honduras, news segments all over Canada were broadcasting that a Canadian man had been killed in a violent robbery off the coast of Honduras. At the end of one particular newscast we watched, the announcer blatantly stated: travel agency manila philippines It is not safe for Canadians to travel to Honduras.
I prepared for what I knew was coming after the news broadcast comments from my Mom and others about if we really thought it was a good idea to be moving there. I answered several of the same questions repeatedly:   No, we are not going to that particular area.  Yes, of course, we will be careful.
We have had these conversations enough times to know that this onslaught of concern was coming. During our year around South America, if any news came out about any incident somewhere south of the United States border, we were sure to at least get one comment out of someone. When the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti, I had to explain to a friend that seeing as we were then in southern Argentina, travel agency manila philippines that he was actually closer to the devastation then we were.   Did he feel the earth tremor in Alberta?   No, I didn t think so.
With all due sympathy to the family involved in the horrific attack in Honduras, I couldn t help but scoff as the local news again applied it s big blanket theme of the world is a scary place to any location beyond it s own borders. After every attack against a Canadian when not in Canada, the unfortunate country travel agency manila philippines where the incident takes place suddenly rises to the top of everyone s do not travel list. People retreat back to their cozy cocoons, continue to watch the news, and shake their heads in wonder of what this world is coming to .
Sensationalist news wins again, and you can t help but wonder is there an ulterior motive at play ?  Could it be that rather then have people spend their holiday dollars elsewhere, that they are encouraging residents to stay home and watch TV?  In turn, this will boost the ratings of their specific news channel, as well as contribute to the local economy travel agency manila philippines by buying the products advertised in their commercials.
Of the 206 countries/regions they rated, 67% of them were labeled as requiring visitors to exercise a high degree of caution while visiting, or worse .  And of the 33% that were given only a normal caution rating, there were sometimes travel agency manila philippines extreme advisories against specific regions within these countries.
For the majority of would-be vacationers, who wants to travel to a part of the world where you must at least be highly cautious of safety at all times?   Doesn t sound like much fun .  And it will, realistically, scare people away from traveling at all. Goal achieved! People will continue travel agency manila philippines to sit at home, watch TV, boost the ratings of news channels, and contribute to the local economy travel agency manila philippines by buying the products advertised in the commercials.
Now, I can t discredit the government s rating system for all 206 regions/countries as I have yet to make it all the way around the globe, but I can look specifically at the countries I traveled to in the last year. Three of them (Peru, Ecuador and Colombia) have regions that, according to the government, should have been avoided entirely. Oops!
Yes, we had been warned about these particular areas by locals and exercised some extra caution we traveled travel agency manila philippines only by day and kept one hand on our valuables at all times. We probably travel agency manila philippines exercised a high degree of caution but did not for one minute consider avoiding all travel .   And we live to tell, as do the large majority of foreigners who travel in those areas . (This is not to say that all such rated countries should be considered for travel there are definitely certain places that are on my no-go list. But after doing considerable research and talking to others travel agency manila philippines who had been through the area, we knew it was easily doable).
In the last month, in my home city of Calgary, Alberta, there has been: 1 homicide, 1 attempted murder, 41 sex offenses, and too many assaults and robberies to count. Canadians hurting Canadians. I realize travel agency manila philippines that this is not a fair comparison as I m not considering several important facts, but this is just to point out that scary crimes happen everywhere .   And yes, you can choose to stay at home, watch TV, boost ratings, etc., and you will increase your chances of avoiding these crimes in your own neighborhood and beyond.
Or you can get off the couch, experience the world outside your borders, and make an educated decision for yourself. And I will bet my travel money that it will not be as big, bad and scary as you are told it is.
I love this post! We ve been thinking about writing about the reactions most people give when we told them we re going to Colombia: a mixture of disbelief, concern, and doubt Why Colombia? Isn t it dangerous? Etc, etc
You should read Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear by Dan Gardner. It reiterates what you have written about in your post and gets you thinking about a lot of other fear mongering techniques out there in this scary world!
I would even add the rising childhood obesity rate to this as well. IF kids are to go outside and play, they must have x amount of padding , and to play at their own risk . There may be needles in that sandbox! You may fall off your swing a break your arm! Some parents are probably like, You know what? It s just easier and safer to stay home.
Amen Dalene! After 3-1/2 years of living on Roatan, I still get people telling me I should return to Ontario, Canada, because it is to dangerous here??? I ve never been robbed, assaulted or anything else. I use the same common sense practices as I did in Canada.
It is different for sure, but so is the food I eat and the lifestyle I live the best information anyone will get when travelling to a new location will come from the people who live there NOT CBC, CNN, BBC, etc.
Yes! The people who actually experience travel agency manila philippines and live it are ones that should be listened to. Sure there is bad shit that happens in these places, but bad shit happens everywhere. We choose to live and travel. Not be trapped at home in a cage because of some advisory or media sensation.
Amen! I was trying to talk about this with some friends last night who were negative about the idea of traveling to Mexico. Yes, there are some scary things happening there, but usually it s drug-related. And I wished I d had some stats at my fingertips about all the murders travel agency manila philippines that have taken place in the US in the same time period. US murders don t get quite as much play in the media, do they?
I agree Gray. The murders in the US or Canada for that matter don t get a much play in the media. People think they have this security blanket in their own home country and these warnings and advisories just reinforce not leaving (especially travel agency manila philippines Mexico lately). It s really a shame.
I agree, great article. travel agency manila philippines 16 months before our RTW, we broke the news that we wanted to travel to my parents. travel agency manila philippines The next morning I had a phone message from my mom explaining travel agency manila philippines how dangerous Mexico was, and why I couldn t go there.
Crazy, right? A friend on facebook was debating going to Mexico the other day (in her status), and one of her friends responded saying Why? You re just going to get drugged, raped or killed C mon people!!
The worst part, though, is when you, as a generally more adventurous traveller, admit that there s a bit of a danger in going to a particular place (like Mexico, where there s essentially a small-scale civil war happening, resulting in nearly 36,000 casualties in less than five years). Those conversations end up spiralling downwards pretty quickly into one of those the world is dangerous, don t leave the safe confines of North America/Western Europe chats.
yea, as you know, I did a post a while back about risks and real risks. I agree that a ton of this stuff is totally overblown. Hell, if you go by Lonely Planet Guides, about every city in the world is really dangerous and you need to be on the look out constantly . everywhere. Silly stuff.
Ah, yes Michael, but after reading your article, I m still not sure I want to go swimming with sharks ha! So, maybe I can understand other people s fears a bit, I guess? LP is the WORST for that I guess they are writing it that way to cover their own asses, but, seriously! They go way overboard.
Excellent post!! travel agency manila philippines I heard similar horror stories when I went to drive through Albania, Bosnia and Montenegro. Yet only one time did I feel afraid (surrounded and mobbed by about 50 gypsies will do that :-)). Even in that instance I was able to extricate myself and ended up having a marvelous time in three of the most beautiful countries I ve ever seen. I do listen to the advisory warnings, but I am not controlled by them. I simply try to be sensible and wise, travel with people I trust, and have a plan if something does go wrong. I lived in fear for many years and I won t do it anymore.
Krista sorry to hear about your crazy experience, but glad that it all ended up as good as it did! This sentence: I lived in fear for many years and I won t do it anymore. is not only key to enjoying travel, but enjoying LIFE! People miss out on so much if they give into their fears.
Fantastic, yet depressing, read. There s so much literature in academic circles about this sort of thing: the risk society, and how attempts to mitigate risk end up putting us more at risk (whatever that means).
I can say with pretty high confidence, though, that many of the areas of Kenya (one of Africa travel agency manila philippines s bright spots, according to the Canadian government s outposts abroad!) are far safer than, say, Regina or Surrey. What terrifies me is that so many people accept the government travel advisories as indisputable facts about the situation on the ground. Sigh.
At the end of the day, staying safe abroad isn t something a government agency can really tell you how to do. It s something you have to figure out on your own, and, once you do, you realise that the world is a much more sane and safe place than we re ge