When is a country unsafe?

When the Government learned of a possible terrorist attack in Kenya last week, the Foreign Office warned people against what it termed "nonessential travel" to the country. It gave the same advice about Bali following the nightclub bombings in the Indonesian resort seven months ago and has not changed its stance.

However, when an attack killed more than 40 people in Casablanca last weekend, the Foreign Office merely warned travellers to Morocco to be "extra vigilant". The FO's advice on travelling to different areas is detailed, but there are three basic levels of warnings. The distinctions are crucial for anyone planning a holiday abroad.

One is a general warning, as applied to Morocco, telling people to take care, and is often accompanied by advice to "be vigilant" or "avoid crowds or rundown areas late at night". It may be because the Government believes there is a "threat of terrorism" in the country or simply because an area has a reputation for street crime, as is the case with parts of Brazil.

It is applied to dozens of destinations, including most of Africa, parts of South America and the Middle East, and is merely meant to inform rather than deter people from travelling or companies from selling holidays there.

The most extreme warning, which tells people strictly to avoid countries, is applied to a small number of destinations, among them Iraq and Afghanistan, where the Government feels there is a very high level of danger to Britons. Countries on this list are not tourist spots but often zones of war or civil unrest (see panel, right). The "middle" warning, which often applies to holiday destinations, is when the Government slaps an "advice against non-essential travel" tag on a country.

In such cases, the Government feels that, for whatever reason, British subjects are unnecessarily putting their lives at risk if they go to that country. It is telling them not to holiday there and has the same effect as putting the countries on a no-go blacklist. Kenya, Bali and - because of Sars - Hong Kong and parts of China have all become subject to this warning.

When the Foreign Office takes such action, it immediately leads to the Federation of Tour Operators, which accounts for most travel companies, and the Association of British Travel Agents taking the country off sale.

Only determined independent travellers will be able to get to these areas and most are put off by the warnings. Those who press ahead face many risks: at the time of going to press, Kenya Airways was continuing to fly to Kenya, but travellers not on a package will not be covered by insurance should they be stranded there.

Not surprisingly, there is some confusion over the apparent inconsistency of Foreign Office advice regarding, for example, Bali and Morocco. Both have been hit by terrorist outrages, but while Bali is still a no-go area, holidays are, thus far, widely available to Morocco.

Tour operator Kuoni usually takes thousands of people a year to Bali, but no one has booked in 2003. Managing director Sue Biggs says: "Maybe they know something we don't, but we need to be seen to be even-handed with these countries."

Glen Donovan, managing director of Earth, London-based travel agency to the stars, is equally critical: "If there is specific intelligence that there is a threat of terrorism, as there was with Kenya, I think it's fair enough to advise against going. But why is there still advice against going to Bali? The inconsistency [compared with Morocco] doesn't make sense."

The Foreign Office is constantly monitoring the situation: "Our advice is there for a reason," says a spokesman. "I can't comment further on our intelligence." Travellers must assume that the Foreign Office will only advise against travelling to a destination if it feels it has to.

In the case of Bali, the Government appears to believe that there is an ongoing threat of terrorism-while the Morocco bombing was more likely to be considered a one-off.

A sensible tactic is to review the information before leaving. If there is no "advice against nonessential travel", go, heeding any other warnings on the Foreign Office website, www.fco.gov.uk. As Donovan says: "The chances of anything happening to you while you're away is minuscule."