Vietnam, Singapore: safest travel destinations in Southeast Asia

By VnExpress   November 17, 2016 | 05:32 am PT
Both countries are well-known for their sustainable political situation.

Vietnam and Singapore are the only countries in Southeast Asia marked throughout as having "low travel security risk", according to the Travel Risk Map for 2017 compiled by International SOS and Control Risks.

Both countries are well-known for their sustainable political situation and low violent crime rate.

While seven in 10 surveyed respondents expressed concerns over terrorism threats, Vietnam and Singapore should not be an issue. The countries were the only two in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marked as "having no impact of terrorism" in 2015 by the Global Terrorism Index.

Vietnam is ranked as having "rapidly developing variable medical risk" along with other ASEAN countries, except for Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, where medical risk has been flagged as high, and Singapore, where it's low. 

International SOS said that medical care in Vietnam's remote areas could be an issue due to a shortage of medication while in major cities "appropriate standard of medical care is available from select providers."

As the world is on alert for the infectious Zika virus, half of travelers have changed their plans for fear of being infected by the virus, according to the report.

Vietnam's Zika cases are approaching 50, and the virus is continuing to spread in the south of the country. 

Chaotic traffic, especially during rush hour, has classified Vietnam and Thailand as the only two countries in Southeast Asia with road safety risk as "very high". International SOS recommended people not to travel by motorbikes when visiting Vietnam and instead choose a reputable transport company. Singapore lies at the other end as the only ASEAN country with "very low" road safety risk.

During the first eight months of this year, Vietnam recorded over 13,000 cases of traffic accidents, marking a decrease of 7 percent on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

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