US issues travel advisory for Jamaica and Bahamas, here are other countries that pose risk to tourists

Warning residents of the possible violent crimes such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults and homicides, the Department of State has cautioned people that local police doesn’t always respond well to severe criminal incidents.

The warning note also reminds US citizens that if subjected to such accidents, their families would have to wait a year or even more for the Jamaican authorities to issue final death certificates.

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State Department’s travel advisories explained

Ranking from level one, these advisories go up to level four. The first one recommends “normal precautions”, whereas the precaution level heightens in level 2. Despite the “increased precaution” warning, this rating doesn’t fully guide one to avoid the country altogether.

On the other hand, countries marked with the level four rating are listed as ”Do Not Travel”. Both level three and four countries are marked under “Reconsider Travel”.

Countries listed in the Level three US travel advisory

Burundi

Chad

Colombia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Egypt

El Salvador

Ethiopia

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Honduras

Jamaica

Lebanon

Macau

Mauritania

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Saudi Arabia

South Sudan

Trinidad and Tobago

Uganda

Countries with Level 4 travel warning

Afghanistan

Belarus

Burkina Faso

Burma

Central African Republic

Haiti

Iran

Iraq

Libya

Mali

North Korea

Russia

Somalia

South Sudan

Sudan

Syria

Ukraine

Venezuela

Yemen

Find more here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/

Safety tips for travelling abroad

US citizens are recommended to join the free service of the Step Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which will help you prepare for emergencies. Find more about it here https://step.state.gov/

Additionally, other general tips to keep in mind while travelling outside the US are as follows. Keep an eye out. Pay attention to the surrounding and never travel alone. Be alert of what’s happening around you and keep communicating with someone. Make sure to keep a check of the news so that you’re well aware of what’s going on.

If you spot something suspicious, speak up by reporting it to local law enforcement. In order for you to have a contingency plan, you should know about the airports in the region as well. Keep contact details for the nearest US embassy in the region handy in case of emergency. You may also want to update your social media so that your loved ones are in the loop about where you are.