Are Aussies Scared to Travel

With the carnage around the world caused by IS are the Australians are getting worried about travelling to countries that have a high Muslim population? How’s there travel plans?

The Philippines has a high population of Muslims and also it has a list of terrorist attacks that goes on for pages and pages. So, is it safe to travel to the Philippines?

The number of tourists now visiting the Philippines is dropping, not just because of the perceived IS problem, but mostly down to the open corruption at the airports and throughout the country. More than anything this will cause and has caused the number of people wishing to come to the country to drop. When you think about it the very first face you see at the airport may be setting you up for extortion. This is even before you have to deal with the notorious Manila taxis.

Most of any so called terrorist attacks are taking place on the Island of Mindanao. But, that is like saying a murder in Perth means everyone in Australia is a murder. It is just not so.

I lived in Mindano for 7 years and most of that time lived in Davao City, which is one of the safest cities I have ever lived in. Move on down towards the South and it changes. I have had problems in Gensan with people pointing guns at me, but others say it is a great place. Terrorism is something that really does not affect many expats, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time is down to pure bad luck.

Kidnappings is a different matter. Especially during election years the ransom money comes in very useful. It is hard to protect yourself from this unless you have no money and you have no gain to these people .So, keeping a low profile is vital.

Is it safe. It is as safe as it has always been. The airport corruption is another issue completely.