The Foreign Office has come under fire after more than 35 MPs and travel operators signed a petition claiming travel advice was “outdated” and “overly harsh”.
The open letter, coordinated by Experience Travel Group, describes the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice to Sri Lanka as “synthetic” and accuses the government of “systematically undermining the travel industry” by continuing to warn it would “unnecessarily deter the British” condemns. “Citizens’ visits have been abandoned.”
The FCDO’s Sri Lanka page warns that terrorists are “likely” to carry out attacks and warns of political and economic unrest in the country, among other advice. The last terrorist attack in Sri Lanka took place almost five years ago, in April 2019, and more than 250 people were killed, including eight British citizens.
FCDO advice is designed to protect and assist British citizens traveling abroad and includes information on safety and security, vaccination and visa requirements and embassy contact details. It is the UK’s authority on overseas safety and the Telegraph Travel desk only recommends trips to destinations deemed safe by the FCDO.
But during the pandemic, FCDO advice has come under the spotlight. Its pages detailed Covid travel advice such as the controversial “traffic light” system, and these politely informative corners of the internet were more than ever a source of breaking news, inevitably bringing their words of wisdom under closer scrutiny.
This seems to be reflected in the post-Covid period as well. The latest campaign advocates not only for the Sri Lanka page to be updated but also for “ministers to reform the FCDO’s approach from the bottom up” [to ensure] “There is consistency, so both the tourism industry and travelers can trust the recommendations once again.”
How did we get here and do FCDO advice pages really need a new look?
Evolution of Foreign Office recommendations
Jonny Bealby has traveled extensively and runs adventure tour operator Wild Frontiers. He remembers the early days of FCDO recommendations. “My only remaining memory of pre-Internet State Department warnings was a cross-African motorcycle trip along the Mediterranean from Marseille to Tunisia,” he says.
“I turned on my shortwave radio to hear an announcement on the BBC World Service (made by the Foreign Office, I think) telling people to ‘Leave Zaire immediately.’ Take a bag each and no pets.’ The year was 1991. It was October and President Mobutu was beginning to lose his grip on power. That’s what they were telling people at the time, via radio and the BBC World Service.”
In the pre-internet age, State Department recommendations were less common than they are in today’s age of independent travel. The vast majority of people booked their overseas trips through a high street travel agent, so if there were any concerns at this point they would be raised or, for the small number of independent travellers, a phone call to the Foreign Office. , keeping the radio on and reading the newspaper regularly for updates.
These days FCDO has an online travel advice page for every country on the planet. And their words offer more than just guidance. Most insurers say their cover will not be valid if a destination has an FCDO recommendation against travel before customers depart, and most Atol protected tour operators will cancel holidays in this scenario and offer the option of a full refund or re-booking. As of last month, 66 countries were fully or partially blacklisted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; This corresponds to approximately one fifth of the Earth’s surface area.
Are FCDO warnings getting stricter?
Sri Lankan petitioners focus on the statements on the Safety and Security page. This means: “It is likely that terrorists will attempt to carry out attacks in Sri Lanka. Attacks can be carried out indiscriminately, including in places visited by foreigners, such as hotels, tourist attractions and places of worship. Avoid crowded public places, large gatherings and demonstrations, and follow the advice of local authorities.” This follows the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, when more than 250 people were killed in attacks on three churches and three hotels in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa.
The FCDO’s language regarding terrorism is similar across all its pages. The France page warns that the possibility of a terrorist attack is “high” and lists the places where these attacks may occur (such as shopping malls, cultural events). He adds that tourists should “be careful” in public places. There is also a “very likely” terrorism warning in Germany, Sweden and Belgium. An attack is “likely” in Spain, Greece and the Netherlands, while it “cannot be ruled out” in Italy, Portugal and Croatia.
A spokesperson for the FCDO said: “The safety of the British public is a key factor in determining our travel advice. “Our advice is designed to help the British public make informed decisions about traveling abroad and is continually reviewed to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of the risks when traveling abroad. “
When you examine the fine print of the FCDO pages, there are cases where the guidance starts to fall apart. For example, Spain: “Be careful when swimming in the sea”; Türkiye: “Accepting a lift from strangers can be dangerous”; USA: “Check weather conditions before a long drive”; Croatia: “Do not leave your valuables unattended.” It could be argued that they could all fall within the scope of universal common sense.
FCDO recommendations need to be updated regularly; However, some of its pages are significantly out of date. The Greece page reads: “Athens will host the UEFA Europa League between AEK and Brighton on Thursday, November 30.” That match was almost three months ago.
And some of the statements are a bit broad. The Cyprus page states: “Driving standards are poor and the risk of road death is higher compared to the UK.” In 2023, Cyprus had 34 traffic deaths (one in 36,500 residents), while Great Britain had 1,633 (one in 41,200 residents) road deaths; For some, this margin does not indicate much worse standards.
Rebel travel companies
The majority of tour operators such as Tui, Jet2Holidays or easyJet Holidays will cancel a travel plan if there is an orange FCDO advice against “all non-essential travel” or a red warning against “all travel” to a destination. Others take a more nuanced perspective.
Andrea Godfrey, President of Regent Holidays, says: Telegram: “The safety of our customers is always and unquestionably the most important consideration. An orange FCDO alert does not automatically remove a destination from sale, but we base our guidance on extensive research with our trusted local partners, who are often best placed to advise on the situation on the ground and ensure travel insurance is available. Policies that provide adequate coverage in the market.
“Our experience from selling destinations such as Albania and North Korea is that removal of advisories can be slow, outdated or sometimes politically motivated and is not always an accurate representation of the level of risk in the destination. Ultimately, our customers will make their decision informed by the most up-to-date advice we can provide and supported by valid travel insurance.”
Wild Frontiers’ Jonny Bealby says: “I’m hugely sympathetic to the impossible task they’ve set themselves, and think there’s a real desire – for the most part – to get the right advice for travellers. That doesn’t mean I always agree with it, or even understand it; it’s how Srinagar is British It’s too dangerous for India but good for hundreds of thousands of Indian tourists? – but I guess they’re trying to get it right.
“Some of our customers will take FCDO advice fully and will not travel if there is advice against travel. Others are more optimistic about it these days and will travel as long as we can provide them with adequate insurance. We have a number of trips that are against FCDO advice and are selling well: Kashmir, Laos and Pakistan are among them.
“Am I worried about this? No. “I usually get my advice elsewhere.”