If I had followed the US State Departments advice, I wouldn't have been to half of the african countries that I have. And in most cases it seems to me that the advice is based on international politics more than true security issues...



Sure there are muggings, murders and rapes in african citys. So are there in "peaceful" Oslo! Hell, we even have drive-by gang shootings now!



Another thing to consider is that the "terrorist" violence in much of the africa is between local political factions, and tourists that get in the way are just plain unlucky.

I would think that more than a few innocent bystanders have been blown away in US drug related gang shootings? It's the same thing: Being in the wrong place at the wrong time...



The upside is that when you guys go to a country on the State Departments $hitlist, maybe there will be a little less other tourists!



Erik D.

Ugly Americans in the State Dept. and their "travel advisories" - no wonder the USA are so despised throughout the world.

Carcano

Yeah, not a problem. Everybody loves americans....

Zanzibar is one of those places to see for me.

Or Chicago,where I live.

This warning could very well have been issued for Washington DC.
Frank

US Depicts Tanzania As Unsafe for Tourists


The East African (Nairobi)

August 30, 2004
Posted to the web September 1, 2004

Kevin J. Kelley, Special Correspondent
Washington

VIOLENT CRIME is becoming common in parts of Tanzania and visitors face a continuing risk of terrorist attack, the US warns in a new public notice intended for prospective tourists.

"Street crime in Dar es Salaam is common and includes mugging, vehicle theft, smash-and-grab attacks on vehicles, armed robbery, and burglary," declares a consular information sheet released by the US State Department on August 25. "Crime involving firearms is becoming more common," it adds.


Americans considering visits to developing countries often consult the information sheets that the State Department regularly revises and makes available on its web site ( www.travel.state .gov/). The new notice on Tanzania supercedes a posting in February and comes barely three months after the US government renewed its travel advisory to Kenya. The continued travel advisories against Kenya cited security concerns, with Washington asking its citizens to defer all non-essential travel to the country.

The number of US tourists entering Tanzania has begun to climb following a slump in the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. Nearly 50,000 Americans visited Tanzania in 2000, making the US a close second to Britain as a source of tourists to the country.

Some Americans currently considering trips to the Serengeti, Kilimanjaro or the Islands may be dissuaded due to the content and tone of the State Department's latest advisory.

The notice calls specific attention to dangers in Zanzibar, Pemba and coastal areas of the mainland. It cites a series of small explosions in and around Stonetown last spring as well as an attack last month on a group of volunteer conservation workers on Pemba that left two of the workers with gunshot wounds.

"A series of robberies involving increasing levels of violence has occurred along the coast and in Zanzibar and Pemba," the notice adds. "Robbers have held up tour buses and dive boats at gunpoint. Several of these incidents have resulted in injuries to tourists."

"Rapes involving tourists are also an increasing concern," the notice continues. "Female travellers are warned to avoid walking alone after dark."

The threat of robbery is said to be high almost everywhere in Tanzania. "Pedestrians on beaches and footpaths, whether in isolated areas or in popular tourist venues, are often targeted for robbery or assault. This is especially true in Zanzibar and in Dar es Salaam and its environs", the notice says.

Tourists may also become victims of carjackings in both urban and rural areas, according to the State Department. "Visitors are advised to drive with doors locked and windows rolled up. Travellers are urged not to stop between populated areas and to travel in convoys if possible."

In addition to the pervasive threat of crime, tourists in Tanzania should be aware of the possibility of terrorist attacks, the notice advises.

It makes note of the November 2002 car-bombing of the Paradise Hotel near Mombasa and the nearly simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli charter plane taking off from the Mombasa airport. The information sheet does point out that the attacks occurred 80 kilometres north of Tanzania's border with Kenya, but it says "these incidents highlight the continuing threat posed by terrorism in East Africa and the capacity of terrorist groups to carry out attacks."

Americans visiting Tanzania should take account of "the risk of indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets in public places, including tourist sites and other places where Westerners are known to congregate," the notice adds.

It also recalls the August 1998 bombing of the American embassy in Dar. "The US has had excellent co-operation with Tanzanian police and security forces since the bombing," the notice says. "However, Tanzania's borders remain porous, and Americans should remain aware of their surroundings."

The State Department issued a separate announcement concerning travel to East Africa on June 29. It also warned of a continuing threat of terrorist attacks throughout the region. That announcement remains in effect through the end of this year.

The US has maintained that the threat of terrorist attacks remains greater in Kenya and Tanzania than anywhere else in Africa. According to a State Department official, the danger arises from several factors including weak counter-terrorism capabilities, proximity to the stateless Somalia and the probable continued presence of the Al Qaeda cell that carried out the 1998 twin US embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.


The warning against Tanzania could be an indication that the US is unlikely to lift its travel advisories to the region, despite the current tourism boom both Tanzania and Kenya have experienced recently. Kenya has been waiting since March, when security minister Chris Murungaru announced that the advisory, which has cost the tourism sector losses amounting to $40 million, would be lifted.

Additional reporting by Catherine Riungu in Nairobi



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