Personal safety advice for travelers abroad

[Extract] Although many travelers are concerned about their personal safety when traveling abroad, it is an often neglected area in travel medicine. Personal safety is one of the most important areas for travel health advisers to cover when giving advice to travelers going to virtually any country. Individual responsibility is paramount, as fewer people are going on programmed package tours.1 Travelers should also be advised about important safety nets, such as health and travel insurance, and finding medical assistance abroad. Half of general practitioners (GPs) in a New Zealand study reported giving safety advice to travelers,2 but GPs who saw a greater proportion of travelers were more likely to give safety advice.2 Seventy percent of travel health advisers in travel clinics usually advised travelers about personal safety.3 A recent study of inflight magazines in Australia revealed a paucity of advice concerning personal safety of travelers