As the summer travel season enters into its peak, there are many questions and concerns about what countries to avoid and what people should know about the threats and risks when traveling overseas. For Americans, Europe continues to be the most heavily traveled continent for business and leisure travel, and it has seen a rash of terrorist incidents over the past few months, particularly in England, France and Germany. Recently, the German Intelligence service stated that “hundreds” of Jihadists have entered Germany among the million + immigrants and refugees who have streamed into Europe in just a couple of years. Many have spread across Europe. This has also led to a sharp rise in crime.
The State Department has issued alerts and warnings in various degrees for much of Europe. The stream of unvetted refugees, recent terrorist incidents, intelligence chatter and general indications highlight Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Belgium as the four greatest countries of concern for terrorism In Europe. A general alert put out by the U.S. State Department states: “Extremists continue to focus on tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities as viable targets. In addition, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, high-profile events, educational institutions, airports, and other soft targets remain priority locations for possible attacks. U.S. citizens should exercise additional vigilance in these and similar locations, in particular during the upcoming summer travel season when large crowds may be common.”
The advice issued by the State Department regarding travel to Europe is the same advice that Counter Threat Group wrote about recently regarding international travel. The article is called, International Travel Safety: 5 Important Tips. The main points of the article are 1. Be alert and vigilant to everything going on around you; 2. When possible, avoid popular social places such as restaurants, bars, shopping areas and entertainment areas during peak activity times; 3. Blend in with your environment; 4. Always give yourself an out; 5. Protect your valuables. This advice is elaborated on in the article and is applicable to anywhere that you plan to travel, including big cities in the United States.
Counter Threat Group- counterthreatgrp.com-offers international travel safety seminars and country specific advice.