Bombs in Bali, shoulder-fired missiles in Mombassa, high-explosive nail bombs in Sydney. Too often these days the headlines reveal shocking attacks in unexpected locations. Despite the rash of violence in seemingly safe places, it’s the opportune moment to trade a little reality for relaxation at amusement parks around the world. The worry: getting there and staying safe.

Currently, more than 30 countries make up the U.S. State Department’s list of places where Americans should use extreme caution or completely avoid. Other governments, including Australia and Canada, have issued warnings about travel to the United States. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, international travel to the United States fell by 11 percent in 2001 and will worsen before it improves.

Even traditionally “safe” travel destinations in Europe are not considered so safe anymore. In November, the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide warning that heightened security within the United States may mean that terrorists will target U.S. interests overseas. Likewise, European officials put the entire continent on alert late last year after investigations uncovered well-established networks of Muslim militants operating within Europe.

Yet even in the face of such alarm and uncertainty, for most international travelers, the odds of becoming victimized by a terrorist are still relatively low. “Terrorism doesn’t even make the top 10 in terms of risk,” says Bruce McIndoe, the executive director of iJet Travel Intelligence, a Maryland-based group that monitors global travel risks for corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and travel agencies worldwide.

It’s also worth noting that, despite its top spot in the news, terrorism is nothing new. Not so long ago, the Irish Republican Army was exploding bombs all over Britain and disgruntled Algerians were blowing up trash bins in France’s Metro stations.

“It’s unlikely we’ll ever have a time where we’ll be 100 percent safe,” says Jim Seay, president of Millersville, Md.-based Premier Rides. “But the benefits of travel far outweigh the risks. For me, seeing so many other cultures has certainly been a highlight of my career, and for the industry, the sharing of expertise across the globe is an important process that needs to continue—and it will as long as we’re all smart about travel.”



Planning Ahead

One of the most important ways to get smart about travel—whether traveling for business or pleasure—is to spend more time on the planning side of the trip. “Rather than encounter a terrorist, it’s more likely a person coming to the United States will make a wrong turn out of the airport and end up in a dangerous neighborhood,” says Seay. He learned his own lesson about the necessity of pre-trip homework in the early 1990s when he mistakenly assumed his credit cards would work while visiting a former communist country. Suspecting fraudulent cards, the police detained him in a holding cell for half a day—guarded by a 17-year-old with an AK-47—while Seay waited for the American Embassy to come to his aid.

Such an incident can turn what would be a relatively simple matter in your own country into a nightmare in another. Further, not every nation maintains the same standards of safety control on everyday items that many travelers are used to. “Do you know how many people walk through closed patio doors and are cut to shreds?” asks David Bromilow, of SLE Worldwide Insurance. “People often feel a false sense of security in foreign countries and they take things for granted.”

He says he’s also heard of too many instances when people jumping into swimming pools mistake depth markers for feet instead of meters.

Clumsy mistakes aside, staying safe while abroad—whether it’s from terrorists or, more likely, petty thieves—means staying aware of your surroundings and blending in as much as possible with the locals. “Usually, if there’s an incident it’s a local crime that happens while a traveler is engaging in an otherwise safe activity, such as hailing a taxi,” says Bromilow, who for the past 20 years has traveled all over the world as a safety consultant for the amusement industry.

That’s what happened recently to Alan Ramsay, vice president for operations at the Cumberland, R.I.-based consultant firm CLM Entertainment, while traveling to an IAAPA meeting in India. To get to Chennai, he flew to Bombay but had to catch a bus to transfer to a domestic flight at a different airport. It wasn’t terrorists who knocked him to the ground, but a group of 10 or 11 Indian men in their twenties—amid hundreds of passersby on the street. Ramsay was surrounded by the unruly group and thrown to the ground. Security broke up the crowd before the incident escalated, but Ramsay was shaken up by the event.

His advice after the fact: Travel in pairs, be aware of your surroundings, carry your passport in your front pocket, and, when possible, get the lowdown on the location from an associate who lives or has traveled in that region. “Whatever comfort level you’re used to in your own country, it
doesn’t exist at the same level in the place you’re traveling to,” says Ramsay. “Know what to expect before you leave home.”

Metro Memos

To that end, the U.S. State Department offers a plethora of tips to make savvy travelers out of all tourists. If you live in any major metropolitan city in any country in the world, you probably take many of these precautions already. Common sense, says Lalia Rach, Dean of New York University Tisch Center for hospitality and tourism, no matter where you are, is always key. But some tips are not so obvious, or they apply only to a particular region of the world.

Let’s use driving as an example. One of the biggest safety issues abroad can be sitting behind the wheel of a rental car. Many travel safety experts recommend avoiding it. If you must, blend in by having any marks that identify it as a rental car removed and by avoiding exotic looks. “Sport utility vehicles and luxury cars are prime targets of carjackers,” notes the iJet web site.

Also hard to imagine is someone smashing your car window at a traffic light to snatch a bag off your seat. But it happens, and in many tourist areas, thieves have refined this to a fine art. “In cities around the world, ‘defensive driving’ has come to mean more than avoiding auto accidents; it means keeping an eye out for potentially criminal pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders,” warns a State Department brochure. In countries where this is an issue, including areas of southern and Eastern Europe, keep the windows rolled up, doors locked, and valuables in the trunk, stashed under seats, or on the floor. (Another iJet tip: Carry a 3 x 5 card with useful motorist assistance phrases written by a local.)

It may sound unbelievable, but after a car accident in places such as Indonesia, it’s not uncommon for bystanders to attack the person perceived to be responsible. Because of this, the State Department advises drivers involved in accidents to head immediately to the nearest police station—despite the local law that requires both parties to wait for authorities to arrive.

“If I’m thinking of going to a country in the midst of unrest, I make an informed decision about whether I should go there by reading about the current situation and checking out the State Department’s web site,” says Rach. “Then I talk to my contact in the country and tell them, ‘Look, this is what we’re hearing in the media about the state of affairs in your country. What’s the reality?’ and often times the media has it a bit over the top.” For people traveling for pleasure without a business contact in an unfamiliar or potentially volatile country, Rach suggests working with a government-certified guide or having your hotel help with travel arrangements within the country. “If you really feel out of your league, your travel agent or tour operator can be your best friend,” says Rach. “But be discriminating in your choices. Don’t be passive. Ask them if they’ve been in the country themselves, if they’ve used the bus. If they’re not helpful, try another one.”


Hidden Dangers

On its web site, the State Department offers country-specific information on civic unrest or on whether it’s safe to take a taxi. In some foreign cities, such as Bangkok and Manila, for example, it advises against getting into a taxi where there is already a passenger—it could be an accomplice planning to help the driver rob you. For Mexico City, the consular tip sheet warns that the only taxi you should get in is one that you’ve called in advance as robberies and assaults in taxis there are frequent and violent.

Where there is a pattern of tourists being targeted by criminals, these tip sheets point out areas of town where visitors should be especially wary. For example, a visitor planning a trip to Spain should know in advance that violent attacks are increasing near major tourist attractions in Barcelona, particularly near the Picasso Museum and in the Gothic Quarter, where thieves often work in pairs. In Paris, near the Eiffel Tower, hoodlums have robbed tourists at knifepoint. In restaurants, many Americans have reported their purse snatched from the floor near the table. “These are places where tourists would definitely want to leave passports and extra cash in the hotel safe,” says a spokesperson at the Office of Tourism in Paris. Armed with advance knowledge, a visitor to Spain would also know that ETA, the Basque separatist group, has been blowing up cars for years, most recently in Costa del Sol and Bilbao.

Safety experts agree that most terrorist groups are looking to make a statement about political issues within their own country or region, making it less likely that a foreign tourist would become the victim of a terrorist act. “The general business traveler or amusement park tourist shouldn’t be worried,” says Boyd Jensen, a lawyer for the amusement industry with the firm Garrett and Jensen in Santa Ana, Calif. “It’s one thing for terrorists to attack the Pentagon,” he says. “But targeting women and children out for a holiday at amusement parks is hitting way below the belt.”

Still, these days, it’s best to be prepared for anything—“travel, but be alert” appears to be the mantra on experts’ lips. “We shouldn’t let people dictate our activities,” says Seay. At the same time, he adds, it might be a good time to discover what’s in your backyard. “If you live in Florida, it might be time to drive to Orlando versus trying to drive to Jersey City,” he says, “because it’s the traveling to and from that is most dangerous.”

Plan of Attack
Long ago amusement parks established elaborate safety plans that have certainly gathered no dust following September 11. “There are very few places that you can go that are safer than amusement parks,” says Jensen. “Access has always been controlled extremely well, and over the years individual parks have formed relationships with hospitals, law enforcement, and fire departments. They’ve been preparing for decades for anything.”

Of course, parks should encourage families to have their own safety plans in the event of an emergency. Rena Callahan, a spokesperson for Disney World in Orlando, says she’s been noticing that visitors with teenagers are using two-way radios to keep track of each other. “Another idea is to designate an emergency meeting point in advance and then be aware of what everyone in your group is wearing so that you can better describe what someone looks like should you become separated.”

International travel warnings tell people to stay away from “soft targets,” or spots where westerners congregate—be it in their own country or another—such as hotels, resorts, tourist sites, nightclubs, bars, and fast food restaurants. But, Jensen says, “If I had a family, I’d want to go someplace where I could worry less because it had the resources available were a problem to occur.” Jerry Aldrich, president of Amusement Industry Consulting in Orlando, agrees, “The vigil is always on in amusement parks. If I felt like I could travel safely within a country to get to the park, I’d feel safe within the park.”

Oftentimes, a country’s amusement park is frequented more by local adventure seekers anyway.

Snehal Adenwalla, owner of Adenwalla Brothers amusement park in Gujarat, India, says his park caters to residents who know there is no point in worrying what will happen every day. “Terrorists are throughout the world,” he says. “By and large, people in India have been victims of terrorism for years. It’s a way of life. We accept it and go on with our lives.” For travelers, accepting it is one thing, but with more than 100 national, international, and separatist terrorist groups operating in India, according to iJet, when you’re in India or any other conflict-prone country, play it safe by avoiding any conversations about religion and politics.

Other tourist spots in the hot seat (besides the United States) include Thailand, previously regarded as one of the world’s safest tourist destinations. That changed following the deaths of nearly 200 foreign tourists in Bali. “If there’s a place that resembles what you had in Indonesia, it’s Thailand,” says iJet’s McIndoe. The Thai government has responded to travel warnings issued by multiple governments by launching a “Thailand is Safe” campaign, stating that heightened security means the country is not dangerous for tourists and business travelers. Other Southeast Asian countries have taken a similar approach. A spokesperson from the Philippines Department of Tourism said that travel warnings are “overcautious,” while a Thai foreign minister has urged all countries issuing such warnings to reverse their stance. Similar remarks came from tourist authorities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, which, according to Yaszid Mohamed, Malaysia director of tourism, is “a safe and stable country to visit.”

Frankly, says Rach, there is no fail-safe protection against terrorists or local crime attacks because no matter where you go or where you live, it’s always possible you could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But don’t use it as an excuse to keep your feet planted. Instead, plan ahead, keep alert, and remember that the worst experience the majority of international travelers ever experience is lost luggage.