Official Government Travel warnings ignored
Almost half of Australians surveyed say they have ignored official government travel warnings when considering an overseas holiday, a poll on the issue has revealed.
The survey, conducted by Australia’s leading holiday destination website totaltravel.com over the last four weeks and involving more than 500 respondents, asked: The Australian Government issues regular travel warnings. How much attention do you pay to them?
While just over half of those surveyed (293 or 53 per cent) said they always followed the travel warnings, one in four travellers (148 or 26 per cent) said they were willing to take a risk and only sometimes followed the advice.
And one in five (117 or 21 per cent) believed they could look after themselves and rarely followed the advice.
Paul Fisher, spokesman for totaltravel.com – ranked the number one site for Australians seeking information about destinations – said the survey result will raise concerns in the Federal Government about the effectiveness of its official travel warnings.
“Clearly, many travellers are not taking these warnings seriously and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) should review why this is the case,” Mr Fisher said
Mr Fisher said the survey result was especially significant given it was conducted just weeks after the mass evacuation of Australian citizens from Lebanon and in the lead up to the fifth anniversary of the “September 11” terrorist attacks in the United States.
“Despite issues such as war, terrorism and diseases like bird flu being constantly in the headlines, almost half of those surveyed said they would still take the risk, believing they could look after themselves and ignore travel warnings,” Mr Fisher said.
Graham Muldoon
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025