a lot of people are using this spring break week for travel a lot of families are also already planning their summer vacations and if your plans involve going to another country there is an extra step you might want to consider Queen City news anchor Andy sitowski explains why it's important to check up on your travel advisories before you pack your bags Rachel Weiss has a lot of bags to pack for her family of four something that takes time and planning we are going skiing we're going to be in s
now Mass Colorado know it's like outside Aspen and while the family isn't heading overseas this spring break there's one thing that Weiss does without fail whenever they do check the state department's website for travel advisories when we were pregnant with our second um it was around the same around the time of zika virus and we were supposed to go to Costa Rica or Dominican Republic I don't remember but either one it was high on the list and we completely recalibrated our whole trip but the a
dvisories aren't just for viruses it's all about informing Americans about their Safety and Security in another country the risk assessments are rated from levels one to four one being an just exercise caution and that's just a normal exercise caution to level four which means they're recommending that you not travel to that particular destination those include petty theft violent crimes natural disasters WEA Health outbreaks civil unrest risk of kidnapping Marcel McCrae is a Charlotte attorney
who's traveled to more than 40 different countries he says while the rankings can seem alarming they're a helpful tool I would recommend that folks get as much education as they can about a particular destination prior to visiting while more obvious level four countries which means do not travel include Afghanistan Haiti and Russia a popular tropical destination only a three-hour flight from Charlotte is also high on the list Jamaica sitting at a level three what's scary is if they say it's a le
vel three because people are breaking into Resorts and stealing your things or drugging you at your restaurants that is scary according to the state department's website those are some of the things they're seeing on the island listing violent crimes as common adding that sexual assaults happen frequently even at Resorts somewhere tourists are supposed to feel safe I think sometimes it's also about just knowing your surroundings paying attention um people who don't travel often this is probably
going to be pretty alarming to them even US government workers are prohibited from going to certain parts of the country which is why it gets that reconsidered travel designation if you choose to travel to high-risk areas anyway the state department suggests designating a power of attorney before you go along with leaving a will and even a DNA sample with your doctor a power attorney will allow you to name an agent who can conduct Affairs for you and on your behalf while you may be stuck in a de
stination if an extreme scenario happens and you have to die while you're there then obviously a will allows you to have all your Affairs and things like that in order I would recommend they hire an attorney or contact an attorney in their local area that handles estate planning or handles document Drafting and help them with those things while most people don't plan family trips to level three areas and above Weiss says at the end of the day travel is supposed to be fun and memorable so Travele
rs need to make the best choices for them if it's something that pops up and it's bad make the decision that works for your family I think the decisions I make for my husband and I might be a little bit different than what we would do for our with our kids I would just take a breath do a little bit of homework and be prepared Annie sitowski Queen City News now there are some travel advisories for several countries you can find information about them on our website that's QC [Music] news.com
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