Canada issues travel advisories for these popular European countries this week | insauga

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There are only a few weeks of summer travel left and Europe is a popular spot for tourism.

Travel in Europe is generally safe but travellers should take precautions.

The large number of people gathered for the Paris Olympics has led to some safety concerns, and this week a terrorist threat in Austria cancelled Taylor Swift concerts.

The Government of Canada maintains a Travel Advice and Advisories page to help travellers make informed decisions and travel safely outside Canada.

They analyze trends and incidents affecting international travellers, monitor world events and collect updated reports from different sources.

Here are some of the European countries with travel advisories:

Italy

Risks: Threat of terrorism and petty crime.

Reasons: Terrorists have carried out attacks in several European cities and further attacks elsewhere in Europe are likely. Attacks in Italy cannot be ruled out. Targets could include airports, tourist attractions, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, shopping centres, markets, hotels and other sites frequented by foreigners.

Petty crime such as pickpocketing and purse snatching occurs, and tourists are frequently targeted.

Netherlands

Risks: Threat of terrorism and petty crime.

Reasons: Terrorist attacks in the Netherlands cannot be ruled out. Further attacks elsewhere in Europe are likely. The Dutch government maintains a public alert system on terrorism and communicates threat-level changes online and through local media. The current threat level for the Netherlands is level 4 (“substantial”) on a scale of 5.

Petty crime, such as pickpocketing and bag snatching, occurs, particularly in larger cities.

Germany

Risks: Threat of terrorism and petty crime.

Reasons: There is a threat of terrorist attacks in many European cities. The Government of Germany maintains a public alert system on terrorism. Alert level changes are communicated through local media.

The German government has reintroduced internal border controls at certain border crossings. You may be required to pass through immigration controls when entering Germany, even if arriving from another Schengen area country.

United Kingdom

Risks:  Threat of terrorism and demonstrations.

Reasons: Since July 30, there have been ongoing demonstrations and violent clashes between protesters and police. The violent disorder has been driven in part by misinformation on social media that whipped up anger over a stabbing rampage at a dance class that killed three girls and wounded 10 people.

False rumours spread online that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker led to attacks on immigrants and mosques.

France

Risks: Threat of terrorism and Olympic Games issues.

Reasons: During the Olympic Games, especially in Paris, travellers can expect an increased presence of security forces, major disruptions to traffic and movement, including transportation networks, large crowds and public gatherings, restrictions on flying drones over Paris, and an increase of petty crime, including theft and pickpocketing.

The Olympic Games finish on Aug. 11, and the Paralympic Games run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

For a complete list of advisories and further information, see the website here.

Lead photo of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany: Roman Kraft

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