Recent Prague news sources have been reporting about updated US State Department country specific information on the Czech Republic. The not-so-cheerful report mentioned the pickpockets, high probability of being ripped off by taxi drivers and increased incidents of rophynol (the so-called date rape drug) being slipped into unsuspecting people’s drinks. The City of Prague and tourism folks are of course up in arms about this, not wanting to further endanger their tourist numbers which have already been affected by the low dollar and rising prices of the city.
Never having visited this section of the State Department’s website, I decided to see what information it can share. The International Travel pages present travel warnings, travel alerts as well as country specific information. Travel warnings will be fairly obvious to anyone who watches the news: currently they are warning against travel to Georgia, Algeria, Yemen and Columbia. Travel alerts are used for more brief incidents that may affect your travel, like hurricanes, planned protests or high-profile events that may be occurring.
The country specific information is extremely thorough. It includes useful information like contact information for the local US embassy or consulate; health conditions; entry requirements; crime statistics and security information. It’s a great place to do some research before visiting a country for the first time. Even though the above mentioned crime stats on Prague seem alarming; even the State Department admits the Czech Republic has a relatively low crime rate. And the warnings about taxi drivers and pickpockets can apply in nearly any large city around the world.
