We will go back on some of our tweets of interest of the past week and expand further on the indicators that we presented, as they affect the security situation of a country. When we produce vulnerability assessments for our clients, six vulnerability (threats) factors are analyzed and assessed while four hazards are also analyzed and assessed. If gaps are identified they are covered by atmospherics elements. The goal of our tweets is to highlight and provide examples of the research that we do.
From February 26:
1. We respectfully disagree with Cuenca area [as a travel destination] for many reasons. Muggings in the city & landmines to the south are two problems.
2. We advise travellers to be wary of "off the cuff" exotic destinations recommendations. Do your due diligence; we read numerous "nice" places to visit by popular blogs that were not advisable due to higher threats to tourists
Our comment: Daily, we find questionable & unsafe travel destinations that are recommended throughout the media, by travel professionals and in various social medias. The common trait to these destination choices is the lack of valid information with regards to the personal safety, the threats, hazards and other associated risks that may involuntarily endanger tourists and business travellers alike. Examples abound: from backpackers who get in trouble while hitch hiking abroad (self-endangerment), to tourists being extorted (criminal threat) while in popular resorts or to having one's drink spiked with date rape drugs, credible safety prevention is usually absent.
Travel recommendation for specific countries or regions should at the very least be accompanied with quotes from your government travel advisory website. There are many travel agencies that rely on those sites to provide guidance and due diligence for their customers. The problem is that governments advice to travellers is over cautious, is reactive (they update, then advise after a fact occurred) and rarely provide helpful insight. Unfortunately this results in a huge information gap that may bring uncertain outcomes for the traveller, ruining the vacation of a lifetime...
Think we exaggerate? Please read this article from the very excellent Lindsay Murdoch. His article is very telling and showcases why and how governments travel advisories can often be incomplete. We, as a travel security advice firm had preliminarily assessed this back on 28 November.
Another theme that is recurring in order to keep travellers safer are the near real time tips or shared experiences that are found on internet forums which usually prove to be quite effective. At the same time, some other travel advice found there can better be left ignored.
For some, reading the papers, watching the news or judging for oneself can do. Life is a gamble, right?
Some famous last words before departure can be "your travel destination is perfectly safe". Scary... but may be too late when abroad, regrettably.
Where can the traveller find good, up to date and proven advice in a centralized manner?
A "one stop shop" for all personal safety requirements against threats and hazards?
Not easy!
Our outlook: We provide proven, reliable and accurate assessments while also offering easy to follow courses of actions for the tourist and business traveller alike in order for them to remain safe while abroad in higher risk countries and to return home unharmed.
Every travel destination is uniquely different and requires adequate research, analysis and accurate assessments to properly advise against the possible threats and hazards. We welcome inquiries so we can determine your security needs. Your first consultation is always free.
We invite you to review our past twitter posts @parsecconsult as well as this blog's entries.
We encourage feedback and questions to our e-mail: parsec.consulting@gmail.com
Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting
Attribution: copies and redistribution of the above material in any medium or format is authorized providing full attribution is credited by using full link of present blog.
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