Travel Advisories: What Should You Do?

Oh, State Department. How you all love to make our lives difficult.

Last week, the US State Department upgraded their travel advisories for Jamaica to Level 3: Reconsider Travel. Since Jamaica is one of my most frequently booked destinations, I’ve heard from multiple clients inquiring whether it is safe to travel to the island. I have had clients pivot away from Jamaica altogether after seeing this advisory. So what should you do if your intended destination is slapped with a travel advisory?

Well…if it’s a Level 4, you probably shouldn’t go. Iran is a Level 4, and if you’re planning your holiday there, don’t go.

The real issue here is the Level 3 advisories.

First, make sure that you visit travel.state.gov to read the actual advisory in full; don’t rely on a headline you may have seen on social media. There’s often context to advisories. Jamaica has been at Level 3 since 2022 – the U.S. reissued the advisory because they added suggestions about Americans getting travel insurance and added additional types of crime to the list. I always suggest travel insurance anyway, because you can’t rely on your private health insurance policy to get you medical assistance outside of the United States. Travelers should also consider enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program regardless of destination, which is a great way register with the local US Embassy or Consulate.

This will be year 12 that I have been booking travel to Jamaica, so I have had this conversation countless times in the past whenever an update is made to the advisory. Eventually it will pivot to Mexico, and everyone will be questioning their travels there (this just happened at the end of 2023). Unfortunately, the world is an unstable place and bad things happen everywhere.

Because of this, I always advise clients to use caution and common safety practices when traveling. These are the actual safety recommendations from the State Department:

If you decide to travel to Jamaica:

• Do not attempt to bring firearms or ammunition. This includes stray rounds, shells or empty casings. The penalties for carrying firearms and/or ammunition, even inadvertently, are severe, and can include lengthy prison sentences.
• Avoid walking or driving at night.
• Avoid public buses.
• Avoid secluded places or situations.
• Do not physically resist any robbery attempt.
• Be aware of your surroundings and keep a low profile.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.
• Review the Country Security Report for Jamaica.
• Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklist.
• Visit the CDC page for the latest Travel Health Information related to your travel.

In summary, I’m not going to advise you to cancel your trip OR to go; it’s your choice. I just want to provide full context so you aren’t making abrupt choices! I always say that every traveler’s risk tolerance is different. However, I do offer you this bit of perspective: Other countries issue VERY similar advisories about traveling to the US due to the crime and domestic issues we face here. In fact….I live outside of Washington DC and I have to check my surroundings at stoplights because carjackings seem to be trending right now. Just be cautious.

UPDATE: Jamaica has now entered the chat

NPR recently posted an article that features Jamaica’s response to the recent Travel Advisory, which fires back at the perception that Jamaica is any more dangerous than any other destination. They cited their 3 million American visitors in 2023 as proof of this.