‘Asia's leading beach destination' named world's most dangerous country to travel. Not Thailand, Malaysia
British website HelloSafe has released a ranking of the world's most dangerous countries to travel, and an Asian beach destination tops the list.
HelloSafe analysed 35 different criteria, divided into five categories, to come up with the rankings. These categories included the occurrence of natural disasters, violence in society, health infrastructure and more. Their 'travel safety index' ranks nations on a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 being the most dangerous.
The Philippines was named the world's most dangerous to travel, according to the HelloSafe rankings. They attributed it to ''high levels of violence within society.'
Interestingly enough, this archipelagic country was also named "Asia's Leading Beach Destination" at the 2024 World Travel Awards.
Despite being named world's most dangerous country to travel to, the Philippines remains a favourite among tourists, thanks to its beautiful beaches and coral reefs. In 2024, it received 5.4 million foreign tourists.
This year, the Philippines also introduced a visa-free policy for Indian tourists.
The list of the world's most dangerous countries was topped by Philippines and followed by Colombia and Mexico. India placed fourth on the list, above Pakistan - which took the 10th spot.
Here is a look at the world's most dangerous countries, as per HelloSafe:
Philippines (82.31)
Colombia (79.21)
Mexico (78.42)
India (77.86)
Russia (75.65)
Yemen (74.6)
Indonesia (72.94)
Somalia (70.8()
Mozambique (69.69)
Pakistan (68.03)
Within Asia, the Philippines, India and Indonesia were named as the least safe countries to travel to. On the other hand, Singapore stood out with a score of 19.99, making it the second safest country in the world, behind only Iceland. No other country from Asia made it to the top 10 of the world's safest countries to travel.
(Also read: 10 million tourists visited Asia's 'most-loved country' in Q1; more than Thailand, Indonesia)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
24 minutes ago
- Mint
The Postcard Hotels and Resorts eye cities with luxury offerings
Next Story Varuni Khosla The urban hotel expansion will target greenfield hotels in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, among others, offering rooms twice the size of typical city hotel rooms. Kapil Chopra, the founder of Untitled Hotels & Resorts Pvt. Ltd, which owns and operates The Postcard. Gift this article NEW DELHI :Indian luxury hotel brand The Postcard Hotels and Resorts, best known for its boutique resorts in remote and scenic locations, is expanding into cities with properties offering only 800-square-foot suites—nearly double the average size of a city hotel room. Indian luxury hotel brand The Postcard Hotels and Resorts, best known for its boutique resorts in remote and scenic locations, is expanding into cities with properties offering only 800-square-foot suites—nearly double the average size of a city hotel room. The urban hotel expansion will target greenfield hotels in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, among others. The first such property is already under construction in Tirupati, the temple town of Andhra Pradesh, Kapil Chopra, the company's founder and former president of Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, told Mint. Record domestic travel and rising demand for space, privacy and consistency among urban luxury travellers has triggered the shift. 'City hotels today are becoming increasingly standardized, often losing any sense of local character," said Chopra, the founder of Untitled Hotels & Resorts Pvt. Ltd, which owns and operates The Postcard. 'Many of them could be located anywhere in the world, devoid of any meaningful connection to India. That's why we are getting into this space," he added. The new city hotels will be built under the same brand and will follow the same operating model of either managed or leased properties. Despite the high cost of urban real estate, they will feature 800 sq. ft suites and offer amenities, including anytime breakfast and flexible check-ins. 'True luxury in India begins with space," Chopra said. On average, building a luxury resort room costs between ₹ 1.5-2 crore, he said. The average room size at its resorts is around 1,200 sq. ft, and its average daily rate (ADR) for 2024-25 stands at ₹ 33,000—a premium over most luxury chains. ADR is a key hospitality metric that tracks the average revenue earned per sold room in a day. The hotel chain, which began operations in 2018, currently operates 11 properties and is expanding aggressively. In 2025 alone, it has launched or is in the process of launching seven new hotels across locations such as Tirupati, Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, Goa's Chicalim and Mandovi River, Chitwan in Nepal, Jawai in Rajasthan and Nainital in Uttarakhand. It aims to open about 22 new hotels by 2027-28, with properties under development in Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, Carmona and Nerul in Goa, and the Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh. It recently opened a resort in Assam and plans to open an over 75-room luxury resort in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer. He said these additions would be part of a strategy of launching one exceptional property per location—with Goa as an exception—aimed at drawing more long-stay international travellers. 'In the past six months, we've signed six new hotels, effectively adding one new luxury property every month," he said. 'We're also building travel circuits in regions where no other luxury operator has gone before." The chain also claims to have significantly reduced its project timelines, with most properties going live within 18 to 30 months. It can take 5-7 years to build a city-based property from scratch and around five years to build a resort. Travel and tourism boom The expansion coincides with strong growth in India's travel and tourism sector, which added ₹ 21 trillion, or 6.6%, to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 and supported 46.5 million jobs, according to the industry forum World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). While spending by foreign tourists hit an all-time high of ₹ 3.1 trillion, domestic travel drove total spending to ₹ 15.5 trillion in 2024, up 22% from 2019, it added. The hotelier intends to attract international travellers using Goa as a gateway to southern India. 'Our ambition is to shape distinctive travel circuits both in the South and the North-East," he said. 'We want to introduce luxury to regions where no other hotel chain has ventured—capturing India's beauty and diversity in a way that hasn't been done before. Leh is one such location." India's leisure hotel supply has surged 388% over the past 16 years, from 12,500 rooms in 2008 to 61,000 in 2024, according to hospitality consultancy Horwath HTL. With the country's total branded or formalized hotel room inventory crossing 200,000 in 2025, including city hotels, leisure now accounts for roughly 30.5% of the overall supply. The growth shows no signs of slowing: If the current pipeline of 113,000 rooms is executed as planned, the leisure segment alone could reach 106,000 rooms by 2029, commanding a 35% share of the total expected branded inventory of 300,000 rooms, according to Horwath HTL. Chopra expects the Postcard to become a unicorn in the coming years. 'We've been consistently profitable, not just on an Ebitda-adjusted basis, but at the bottom line," he said. Ebitda is short for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. While he did not share the company's revenue, he said it currently manages assets worth ₹ 4,500 crore. The company follows two business models: building or leasing and operating hotels and managing properties for individual owners. Chopra and cofounders hold a 72% stake, with about 28% held by early investors who joined in 2017-18. Topics You May Be Interested In Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Mint
35 minutes ago
- Mint
'Bharat bahut sundar desh hai': Croatian students speak Hindi to welcome PM Modi
In a historic first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to Croatia has stirred heartfelt celebrations among both the Indian diaspora and local Croatian citizens — including Hindi speaking students, who warmly welcomed him in the Indian language. Elizabeth, a Croatian student from the Department of Indology at the University of Zagreb, expressed her joy, saying, 'I am very excited to be here. It will be a great pleasure to meet PM Modi.' Another student added, 'PM Modi's visit is a big thing for the entire nation... I like speaking Hindi.' A third student simply affirmed, 'India is a wonderful nation, and I would love to visit India.' The Prime Minister's visit, part of the final leg of his three-nation tour following stops in Cyprus and Canada for the 51st G7 Summit, has been marked by an outpouring of enthusiasm from the Indian community in Croatia. Upon his arrival in Zagreb, PM Modi posted on X, 'A short while ago, landed in Zagreb, Croatia. This is a special visit, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to a valued European partner. I am grateful to Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic for the special gesture of welcoming me at the airport.' Members of the Indian diaspora gathered in large numbers to greet him. One attendee remarked, 'It looks like the entire nation has come here to welcome PM Modi.' He further told ANI, 'PM Modi has put India on the path of development... India is on the path to becoming 'Vishwaguru'... It is a matter of honour for us that PM Modi is coming to Croatia.' Chandrashekhar, a Canadian citizen originally from Mysore and currently holidaying in Croatia, said, 'We are very fortunate that PM Modi is here and we get a chance to greet him and show our respect... As Indians, we feel very proud that he is visiting here.' Yoga Guru Mahamandleshwar Swami Vivek Puri also welcomed the Prime Minister's presence, saying, 'It is important for us that the Prime Minister of India is coming here, especially for us practising Yoga and following Sanatan Dharma, because he started the International Yoga Day. With this day, many people started to understand that Yoga is not just an Indian tradition but a tradition of all humans.' Highlighting India's transformation, Swami Vivek Puri added, 'This visit is a great opportunity to show that India is not a poor or dirty country, and that India, in fact, is a great country. India is changing. India is laying out so many kilometres of highways per day. That is something that people in Europe, especially Croatia, need to know.' Ajitananda Das Brahmachari, who has lived in India since 2012 and considers it his second home, shared his excitement: 'We feel very privileged to welcome PM Modi. There are so many similarities between Croatian and Indian people... The whole diaspora is welcoming him wholeheartedly.' PM Modi's visit marks the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to Croatia, underlining the growing strength of Indo-Croatian ties. He is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and meet with President Zoran Milanovic.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
PM Modi receives ceremonial welcome in Croatia on historic first visit, interacts with Indian diaspora
'This is a special visit, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to a valued European partner. I am grateful to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for the special gesture of welcoming me at the airport,' PM Modi wrote on X read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Zagreb on Tuesday, marking the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Croatia. In a post on X shortly after landing, Prime Minister Modi noted the historic nature of the visit and expressed gratitude to his Croatian counterpart, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, for personally welcoming him at the airport. A short while ago, landed in Zagreb, Croatia. This is a special visit, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to a valued European partner. I am grateful to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for the special gesture of welcoming me at the airport.@AndrejPlenkovic — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 18, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'This is a special visit, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to a valued European partner. I am grateful to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for the special gesture of welcoming me at the airport,' PM Modi wrote on X. PM Modi also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora upon his arrival at a hotel in Zagreb, marking the final leg of his three-nation tour. Kathak artistes performed before PM Modi with the rhythmic beats of India's classical dance form. #WATCH | Zagreb, Croatia | Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets and interacts with members of the Indian diaspora as he arrives at a hotel in Zagreb, Croatia. At the invitation of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, PM Modi is paying an official… — ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2025 The visit to Croatia follows earlier stops in Cyprus and Canada, where he took part in the G7 Summit. PM Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival in Croatia. The visit is being hailed as a key milestone in India-Croatia relations, aimed at deepening bilateral ties and exploring new areas of cooperation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During his stay, PM Modi is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and also meet President Zoran Milanović. Discussions are expected to focus on enhancing cooperation in trade, technology, culture, and other areas of mutual interest. The visit also highlights India's broader commitment to strengthening its partnerships across the European Union. Earlier, PM Modi described his visit to Canada as 'productive' and said the G7 Summit witnessed fruitful discussions on diverse global issues. Concluding a productive Canada visit. Thankful to the Canadian people and Government for hosting a successful G7 Summit, which witnessed fruitful discussions on diverse global issues. We remain committed to furthering global peace, prosperity and sustainability. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 18, 2025 'Concluding a productive Canada visit. Thankful to the Canadian people and Government for hosting a successful G7 Summit, which witnessed fruitful discussions on diverse global issues. We remain committed to furthering global peace, prosperity and sustainability,' PM Modi said in a post on X. PM Modi participated in the Outreach Session of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis and addressed a Session on 'Energy Security: diversification, technology and infrastructure to ensure access and affordability in a changing world'. In his address, he highlighted that energy security was among the leading challenges facing future generations. While elaborating on India's commitment to inclusive growth, he noted that availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability were the principles that underpinned India's approach to energy security. Highlighting India's commitment to a sustainable and green future, he underscored that India has undertaken several global initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Global Biofuels Alliance, Mission LiFE and One Sun- One World- One Grid, and called upon the international community to further strengthen them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
