Aussies warned of 22 destinations to avoid in 2025
Smartraveller has revealed their list of 22 destinations for Australian travellers to avoid in 2025 due to a range of ongoing safety concerns.
Smartraveller keeps an updated record of travel advisories for countries around the world based on information from embassies, high commissions, consulates, the Australian intelligence community and the National Threat Assessment Centre in ASIO.
From this extensive data, each country is given an "overall advice" level for travellers, which ranges from "Exercise normal safety precautions" in the safest locations to "Do not travel" for the destinations where the safety of Aussie travellers is most at-risk.
As many start to formulate their 2025 travel plans, Smartraveller has 22 destinations listed as "Do not travel" due to ongoing safety issues, from the threat of terrorism and violent crime, to strict laws and "uncertain security situations".
In Europe, three destinations made the list: Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
These destinations have been flagged due to the "volatile security environment" caused by Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, which has threatened to impact Belarus.
Three Asian nations are also listed as "Do not travel": Afghanistan, North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), and Myanmar.
Only two destinations from the Americas are listed as "Do not travel": Haiti and Venezuela - both due to overall security risks, while the Middle East has five countries in the list of places to avoid for Aussies: Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.
The ongoing military conflict between Israel and Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories has caused tensions across several nations in the Middle East and Aussie travellers are warned not to travel to any of these locations for their own safety.
Africa is the continent with the most countries listed as "Do not travel" by Smartraveller, with nine destinations currently flagged: Burkina Faso, Somalia, Libya, South Sudan, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali and Niger.
Image credits: Shutterstock