Sometimes I wonder if we are all headed towards one collective Darwin Award as a society. Despite being issued the highest travel warning possible for danger, tourists won't stop visiting one destination. They visit every year by the thousands, and you really have to wonder what they're thinking.
I'm of course talking about Libya. The country has dealt with years of unrest. I wouldn't describe it as a safe to visit even when dictator Muammar Gaddafi was in power. But since then, there's been a power struggle amid various groups and plenty of fighting and terrorism in the region. For all those reasons, it probably doesn't surprise you to learn US labeled the area with a Level 4 travel warning.
That's the highest travel warning the US can give.
The travel warning says, "Crime levels in Libya remain high, including the threat of kidnapping for ransom. U.S. citizens have been targets of these crimes."
Travel Warning
It also warns, "Terrorist groups are present in Libya. No terrorist incidents that involved foreigners have been publicly reported in Libya since 2015. Nevertheless, terrorist attacks could occur with little or no warning, targeting public spaces like tourist locations, hotels, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities."
Likewise, the travel warning continues, "Kidnapping is widespread, and victims have included U.S. citizens. Kidnappers may take advantage of unplanned opportunities. Criminal or armed individuals or groups have threatened to and/or have seized or detained and threatened to kill, injure, or continue to detain individuals in order to compel a third party (including a governmental organization) to do or abstain from doing something as a condition of release."
You also have unexploded landmines in the region. So you may be shocked to learn that 100,000 tourists visit the country every year despite the travel warning. The destination is popular among danger tourists, who risk their lives for the thrill.
One tourist who didn't heed the warning ended up at the barrel of a gun. Daniel Pinto, 26, says he was held at gunpoint, according to New York Post.
