Plane Crashes Are Far From Your Biggest Travel Worry
Every time a plane crashes, social media explodes with panic-stricken posts about never flying again. But here’s what nobody mentions: commercial air travel has become twice as safe in each of the last five decades, with the risk of a fatality just 1 per 13.7 million passenger boardings in 2018-2022. In 2024, the global aviation accident rate was 1.13 per million flights (one accident per approximately 880,000 flights). The numbers don’t lie – you have a better chance of winning certain lotteries than dying in a commercial aircraft.
The death rate in 2022 was 1.33 deaths per 100 million miles traveled for car travel, making your drive to the airport exponentially more dangerous than the flight itself. Air accidents are so rare that they always make the news. In contrast, a passenger car crash may not even make the local news, let alone the international airwaves. That daily commute you take without thinking twice? That’s where the real risk lies.
Shark Attacks Happen Less Than Lightning Strikes
Every year, around 80 unprovoked attacks are reported worldwide, while on average, sharks kill five people per year in unprovoked attacks. Meanwhile, humans kill tens of millions of sharks every year. The irony is staggering – we’re literally a million times more dangerous to them than they are to us.
Want some perspective? Lightning strikes killed nearly 76 times more people (1,970 deaths) than sharks (26) did between 1959 and 2010 in the Coastal US. Dogs killed more than five times the number of people (349) than did sharks (65) in the US between 2009 and 2018. Even household items pose greater risks – in 1996, toilets injured 43,687 people, ladders injured 138,894 people, and 198,849 people were hurt by nails, screws, tacks, and bolts. In comparison, there were only 13 shark injuries and deaths during the same year.
Terrorism Fears Blown Completely Out of Proportion
The media coverage makes terrorism seem like an everyday threat when traveling, but the statistics tell a wildly different story. A poll conducted by Chapman University in the United States suggests that 38.5% of people were “afraid” or “very afraid” of being a victim of terrorism. This is despite the fact that only 71 people in the US were killed by terrorism between 2005 and 2015.
PolitiFact reports that 301,797 people have died from gun violence in the US over a similar period. Despite being a worldwide threat and cause for concern, terrorist attacks have involved relatively few international travelers. You’re thousands of times more likely to be injured in your own bathroom than become a victim of terrorism abroad.
Street Food Won’t Kill You (But That Hotel Buffet Might)
Here’s one that’ll shock you: you’re more likely to get sick from a sketchy hotel buffet than a busy street stall. The worst food poisoning I’ve ever had was a salad at a fancy restaurant, not street tacos. Street vendors often cook food fresh in front of you, while hotel buffets can sit under heat lamps for hours, creating perfect breeding grounds for bacteria.
Some countries have a reputation for putting travelers at a higher risk for gastrointestinal illnesses. But you can get sick from an improperly handled meal anywhere in the world. Food and water-borne illnesses can occur anywhere (who hasn’t regretted that grocery store salad bar or family potluck?), but developing countries pose the highest risk. The key isn’t avoiding all local cuisine – it’s choosing busy places where food turns over quickly.
Crime Abroad Is Often Lower Than Home
The numbers might surprise you: out of the 4 million UK citizens who travelled abroad between 2014 and 2015, only 19,244 travellers needed consular assistance after becoming the victim of a crime worldwide. Less than 20,000 people who became victims of a crime out of 4 plus million. That’s less than half a percent!
Many of the places I feared most actually feel safer than the U.S. I grew up near LA, lived most of my adult life in NYC, and statistically, those cities are more dangerous than most places I’ve traveled. I’ve walked alone at night in small towns abroad feeling completely safe – something I wouldn’t always do back home. The percentage of US travelers who become victims of violent crime abroad is considered statistically very low, with most studies indicating it falls well below 1%.
Kidnapping Is Extremely Rare for Regular Tourists
Hollywood movies have convinced us that tourists are constantly being snatched off streets worldwide, but reality paints a different picture entirely. Most kidnapping incidents that make international news involve high-profile individuals, business executives, or people in very specific high-risk regions during active conflicts. Regular backpackers exploring popular tourist routes face virtually zero kidnapping risk.
Even in countries with higher kidnapping statistics, these crimes typically target locals involved in business disputes or wealthy residents, not budget travelers staying in hostels. Most kidnappings are “express” and last less than 48 hours, frequently targeting people leaving hotels, traveling in taxis, or walking in wealthier areas. The key word here is “wealthier” – kidnappers aren’t interested in someone carrying a worn backpack and staying in a ten-dollar dormitory. The risk-to-reward ratio simply doesn’t add up for criminals targeting ordinary tourists.
Natural Disasters Strike Everywhere, Not Just “Dangerous” Countries
People avoid certain destinations thinking they’re escaping natural disaster risks, then return home to face hurricanes in Florida, earthquakes in California, or tornadoes in Oklahoma. Mother Nature doesn’t check your passport or respect borders. Japan, one of the most disaster-prepared countries on earth, faces regular earthquakes and tsunamis, yet remains incredibly safe for travelers thanks to excellent infrastructure and warning systems.
Meanwhile, supposedly “safe” European destinations can surprise you with volcanic eruptions in Iceland shutting down air travel, or flash floods in Germany. The difference isn’t the presence or absence of natural disasters – it’s how well-prepared the country is to handle them. Developed tourist destinations typically have robust emergency systems regardless of their geological situation. Your hometown probably faces just as many natural disaster risks as that exotic destination you’re worried about visiting.
Getting Lost Without Internet Is Nearly Impossible Now
The fear of being stranded without communication in a foreign country made more sense twenty years ago, but today it’s largely obsolete. Even the most remote destinations usually have some form of internet connectivity, whether through local WiFi, internet cafes, or affordable international data plans. Offline map apps can guide you without any connection at all.
Plus, people everywhere are generally helpful to confused-looking tourists with smartphones, regardless of language barriers. Translation apps work remarkably well even offline, and pointing at a screen showing your hotel address in the local language works in virtually every culture. The days of being truly lost and incommunicado while traveling are essentially over unless you’re trekking into genuinely remote wilderness areas.
Solo Travel Safety Fears Are Massively Exaggerated
Most people assume solo travelers are fearless, but the truth? You don’t need to be brave – you just have to be curious enough to try. Confidence comes after you do the thing, not before. The solo travel industry tells its own story about safety: with a current value of $482 billion in 2024, the solo travel industry is experiencing significant growth, projected at a 14% CAGR between 2025 and 2030. Notably, women are a key demographic in this market, accounting for 54% of solo travelers. This strong female presence in the solo travel market is further reflected in traveler sentiment, with 59% of female solo travelers feeling safe traveling alone.
Most of my fears were just that – fears. Even now, I still get nervous before heading to a new place. But I’ve learned that’s just excitement in disguise, and almost every time, those nerves disappear as soon as I land. The world isn’t as intimidating as it seems from a distance. Solo travel can be empowering and liberating. Don’t let fear hold you back from embarking on your own adventures. Just stay vigilant and trust your instincts.
The Truth About Travel Dangers
Bad things can happen anywhere, but the same precautions I take in NYC – watching my stuff, trusting my intuition, and avoiding isolated areas at night – keep me safe abroad, too. Most of these fears are just noise – barriers we put up that stop us from ever booking that first trip. We naturally overestimate the risk of rare events, like shark attacks or terrorism. But there are things you can do to think more rationally about the real risk.
Going swimming and not being attacked by sharks is not surprising so it is not particularly memorable. This failure of memory to deliver representative samples of evidence suggests a need to think carefully, not only about the bias in memory retrieval, but also in the samples available to us in the world. When you want to work out how rare an event is (and an appropriate response), you should try to think about all the times it didn’t happen (negative instances) rather than those when it did!
The media thrives on fear because it captures attention, but remember that millions of people travel safely every single day without making headlines. The common myths about traveling abroad can have you living in fear, but I promise the world in welcoming place well worth exploring. The biggest danger isn’t what might happen to you abroad – it’s letting unfounded fears keep you from experiencing the incredible world that’s waiting just outside your comfort zone.