Iceland Safest to Travel, India Among Four Worst for Travelers: Report

According to a British travel magazine, Iceland is the safest travel destinations and India ranks at the bottom four, making it one of the worst places for traveling.

Which? Travel recently ranked 20 of the most popular countries around the world for their safety. It considered several factors like crime rates, the likelihood of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and health concerns. It looked at data generated by the World Economic Fund for crime rates, the World Risk Report for the likelihood of major natural disasters, the NHS Fit for Travel website for health risks and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) assessment of terrorism risk levels.

According to the magazine, Iceland topped the charts with the lowest risk of natural disaster and crime rates. The country has seen only 36 murders since 2000. Japan has been named as one of the most dangerous places in terms of natural disasters while Iceland, despite experiencing up to 500 earthquakes a week, as well as active volcanoes, runs little risk of natural disaster, according to World Risk Report.

On the other hand, India, which is one of the world’s most popular travel destinations, has been ranked at the bottom four along with South Africa, Turkey, and Thailand as one the most dangerous places to travel.

With a safety index of 4.1, India is slightly ahead of other countries like Thailand, Turkey, and South Africa. India had 7 percent chances of natural disasters. On the health side, foreign travels to India are likely to encounter Diphtheria, Hepatitis A, Tetanus, Typhoid, Malaria, Dengue Fever, and Zika. On terrorist attacks, the report said India was “very likely’ to face terrorist attacks.

“The UAE and Singapore were also considered extremely safe, with Spain the next safest of the six popular European holiday destinations that we looked at. Worst rated were South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, India, and Mexico,” the report said.

In terms of crime risk, the World Economic Fund Safety Index suggests that Iceland, UAE, and Singapore are the safest places, followed by Spain and Australia. Further, South Africa has been ranked as the most dangerous places in terms of crime risk.

In terms of natural disaster, Barbados is the safest destination for tourists, followed by Iceland and UAE, the report suggests.

While considering the “terrorism” factor, the report says, “The FCO says that terrorism ‘can’t be ruled out’ anywhere. Even Iceland and Japan receive this warning. Elsewhere in the world, it’s either ‘likely’ or ‘very likely.’ It’s ‘very likely’ in Australia, Jordan, France, the U.S., India, Thailand, and Turkey.”