Latest reports show travel risks around the globe

From catching Covid-19 to getting caught in a blizzard, traveling will be dangerous business as of late.

But just how dangerous often depends upon the destination — and the way you define the risks.

On this list, which relied on perceived crime rates on the crowdsourced global database Numbeo, Asia and Europe dominated the rankings of “safest” cities.

Taiwan’s Taipei scored the best, while Buenos Aires, Argentina, ranked the bottom (rating: 36.7), in line with the report.

However the top five places for “health and safety” in Euromonitor International’s “Top 100 City Destinations Index 2022” are different.

That rating, published in December, analyzed “political stability and social safety,” which incorporates the impact of Covid-19 (resembling total cases, death and vaccination rates) in addition to road injury accidents, government corruption and terrorism statistics.

Here, cities within the Middle East and Asia got here out on top.

1. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
3. Doha, Qatar
4. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
5. Singapore, Singapore

“The Middle East … takes the primary 4 positions,” said Vitalij Vladykin, senior research manager at Euromonitor International, while “Singapore is ranked first when it comes to the political stability category in 2019-2022.”

“Health and safety” is one in every of six aspects utilized by Euromonitor International to compile its annual city destinations index.

Its Travel Risk Map 2023 shows that much of North America and Western Europe — in addition to places like Turkey, Israel, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates — have “low” medical risks.

The map shows Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea and parts of Africa have “very high” medical risks, which International SOS defines as having “almost non-existent or severely overtaxed” health-care systems.  

The countries coloured in purple have “significant variation” in medical risks, which may mean discrepancies in care levels between cities and rural areas, in line with the report.

This map doesn’t reflect the Covid-19 outbreak currently occurring in China, said Dr. Irene Lai, medical director at International SOS. Relatively than showing specific disease outbreaks, the map focuses on “background” medical situations in countries around the globe, she said.

International SOS’s Travel Risk Map also assesses security risks, which include crime in addition to political violence resembling terrorism and war, social unrest and susceptibility to natural disasters, in line with the corporate.

Sally Llewellyn, International SOS’ security director, said that some 25 spots around the globe have “insignificant” security risks: American Samoa, Andorra, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, Norway, San Marino, Seychelles, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna.

Some countries have various risk levels inside their borders. For instance, the map shows most of Egypt has “high” security risks, but risks are lower in Cairo and areas east of the Nile River.

Mexico has a mix of “medium” and “high” risks on the map, while Thailand’s borders with Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia are deemed to be risker than the remaining of the country, in line with the map.

International SOS said security risks increased in several places this yr, including Ukraine, Colombia and the Sahel.

The Sahel is a region in North Africa that features portions of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan and other countries. The region has a mixture of “high” and “extreme” security risks, in line with the map.