By now, the idea of Scandinavian countries being among the best places in the world to live has entered firmly into the public's consciousness.
Countries such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland regularly rank among the best in the world both in terms of standard of living and safety for tourists, while these nations' standards around things like unemployment protection and parental leave are often held up as examples by those who want to see similar protections in their own countries.
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Even so, the U.S. State Department just updated its travel advisory for Americans who may be coming to Denmark. The country, home to just under six million people, has been seeing a rise in terrorist attacks that the U.S. government agency in charge of citizen safety abroad said can strike "with little or no warning" and target areas frequently visited by tourists such as Copenhagen's City Hall Square and Nyhavn port.
State Department to tourists: 'Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Denmark'
"Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in the Kingdom of Denmark," writes the note updated on Sept. 17. "Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas."
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Numbers released by the country's government show that over 63 million tourists came to Denmark (or, in domestic cases, traveled within its cities) in 2023. More than 600,000 of these tourists came from the United States.
Denmark remains at a level two "exercise increased caution" rating on the State Department's four-scale system. Countries ranked the same include France and Mexico, discounting certain specific areas with high levels of crime while countries at level one "exercise normal precautions" include Canada, Greece and Japan.
In general, countries that are home to major metropolises such as Paris and London are ranked as level two instead of one due to the ongoing risk of terrorist attacks (Japan is a notable exception).
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'Be aware of your surroundings when traveling to tourist locations'
In a warning that is the same for all countries at the same level, the State Department reminds visitors to "be aware of [their] surroundings when traveling to tourist locations and crowded public venues" and "follow the instructions of local authorities" in the event of unexpected situations.
In the last two weeks, the State Department also issued similar warnings for "level two" countries Italy and the United Kingdom and raised Haiti's travel advisory to the highest "avoid all travel" level.
The country has been in a state of declared emergency after rival gangs stormed Haiti's two largest prisons in an effort to leverage the prisoners to help overthrow the current government, but cruise ship company Royal Caribbean (RCL) was still making stops in Labadee, a port town a six-hour drive from Port-au-Prince that it leases as a private beach, for several months into 2024.
The updated advisory reads that the Port-au-Prince Airport is often used as a "focal point for armed activity" while "the U.S. government is very limited in its ability to help U.S. citizens in Haiti."
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