The US State Department has issued a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory for 21 countries, adding two new nations to the list in April. These warnings cite risks including terrorism, civil unrest, wrongful detentions, armed conflict, and health emergencies.
Full list of countries under ‘do not travel’ advisory:
- North Korea
- Burkina Faso
- Yemen
- Iran
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Afghanistan
- Lebanon
- Central African Republic
- Belarus
- Iraq
- Ukraine
- Venezuela
- Haiti
- Libya
- Somalia
- Russia
- Burma (Myanmar)
- Mali
- Sudan
The state department regularly updates its travel advisory system, which ranks destinations on a scale of 1 to 4:
- Level 1 – Exercise normal precautions
- Level 2 – Exercise increased caution
- Level 3 – Reconsider travel
- Level 4 – Do not travel
Americans are still traveling more
Despite the growing list of “Do Not Travel” warnings, Americans remain eager to travel in 2025.
A March report by the US Travel Association found that domestic travel spending increased by 0.8%. And even though consumer confidence in the US economy has fallen every month this year, Americans are still making plans.
In fact, a record number of people said they had trips scheduled in the next six months, the association said.
But fewer people are traveling to the US
While Americans are going abroad, international travelers are showing hesitation about visiting the US
According to government data:
- 7.1 million visitors from overseas entered the US between January and March 2025, a 3.3% decline from the same period last year.
- Forecasts for the rest of the year have been revised downward.
- Tourism Economics, which had predicted a nearly 9% increase in arrivals, now expects a 9.4% decline.
Some of the drop is being attributed to political tensions and safety concerns:
- Foreign travelers are reportedly put off by tariffs and rhetoric from former President Donald Trump,
- And border detentions of tourists have added to the unease.
