Vietnam is ranked as a safe destination in the eyes of American tourists

Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, China and Vietnam have moved up the ranks in the annual safety rankings published by travel insurance provider Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection.

The survey in the “State of Travel Insurance Report” for 2022 also reveals some of Americans’ favorite travel destinations in Europe and the Caribbean – namely Italy, the Bahamas, Spain, Jamaica and the UK – lost points on the level of safety when traveling. Australia is similar. Between 2018 and 2022, Australia fell from 1st place to 10th place in the survey.

The “safest” place to travel

Three Asian countries ranked in the top 10 safest travel destination in a survey of more than 1,500 Americans conducted in September 2021.

The survey asked travelers about their perceptions regarding crime, terrorism, traffic and health, as well as the safety of female, colored or LGBTQ travelers.

Singapore ranked 3rd in the safest city rankings, ahead of Tokyo (5th) and Bangkok (11th). Singapore ranks 21st (out of 56) in 2020 and 25th (out of 53) in 2019 on the Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protections list of safest destinations, the company said.

According to the survey, women and younger generations tend to view Asian destinations as safer. After Iceland (1st), millennials – who are now between the ages of 27 and 42 – rank South Korea and Thailand as the two safest travel destinations in the world. The composite score also shows that millennials think Vietnam (6th) is safer than Greece (7th).

Millennials also rate Singapore #1 for “overall safety” in the city survey, ahead of Montreal and Amsterdam.

Changing perception of “safety”

Ms. Carol Mueller – vice president of Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, said, before COVID-19 pandemic Terrorism and violent crime are the top safety concerns for visitors.

But in the 2022 survey, travelers were most concerned with “being able to move around freely” and “not getting sick,” she said. Survey responses show that being stuck in a country is even more of a fear of getting sick there.

That may be why Canada tops the list, she added. Canada reopened to Americans who received the COVID-19 vaccine in August 2021, a month before the survey was conducted. Canada’s proximity also suits travelers who want to “be closer to home,” she said.

For Australia, the decrease in sense of safety is “probably due to the country’s strict COVID-19 prevention regulations”. ” she said. The Australian border was closed at the time the survey was conducted.

Volatility in rankings

Iceland and Switzerland maintained its ranking as a safe travel destination, while Italy – which has always scored well – fell in the rankings because of difficulty in entry and “because of what is happening with COVID-19”, Ms. Mueller said.

According to Ms. Mueller, rankings could be affected by a change in survey methodology in 2022. “Only people who have actually visited a destination can weigh in on its safety. From a distance, it is easy to think that European countries are safer. However, people who have actually visited many Asian countries will know first-hand how safe they are,” pointed out Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection vice president.

Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection also released a separate set of ratings for the safest countries and cities, combining survey results with crime statistics and COVID-19 volatility factors, Ms. .

Will appreciation for Asia last?

Many country Asia rose in the rankings that have been highly appreciated by health experts for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, CNBC noted.

Following Abu Dhabi, Singapore ranked 2nd and Seoul 3rd in the global rankings conducted by London-based Deep Knowledge Analytics. The agency analyzed pandemic responses in 72 cities around the world.

According to data research website Statista, both South Korea and Japan are among the countries with the lowest rates of COVID-19-related deaths in the world, with at least 1,000 recorded cases.

Rachel Fu, director of the Eric Friedheim Institute for Tourism at the University of Florida, USA, said that how countries respond to COVID-19 will affect how tourists feel safe when traveling, both before and during the trip. That will be important to regional and international tourists, she said.