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SUMMARY:
- Guatemala - State of emergency
- Bahamas - Grand Bahama and Abaco Island - reconsider travel
- Hong Kong - Protests continue
Securely Travel Brief – 10 September 2019
Today’s travel brief is culled from global travel warnings and alerts.
Guatemala - State of Emergency
On 04 September the Guatemalan government declared a state of emergency until October 7, 2019 portions of several provinces.
- Izabal
- Zacapa
- El Progreso
- Peten
- Alta Verapaz
- Baja Verapaz
Civil rights have been suspended and security forces are conducting searches, seizures and detaining persons of interest. If traveling to the aforementioned provinces, check with your Embassy or Consulate before initiating travel for up-to-date guidance.
Bahamas - Grand Bahama & Abaco Island reconsider travel
The Australian government is advising its citizens that Hurricane Dorian caused severe damage to the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama on 2-3 September 2019. There are shortages of shelter, food, water and medical care, and power and communication outages (see Natural disasters). We’ve raised our advice level for Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama to reconsider your need to travel.
While the Bahama Ministry of Tourism has restarted its campaign to get tourists to return to the nation of hundreds of islands with the following advisory:
The Islands Of The Bahamas is an archipelago with more than 700 islands and thousands of cays spread out over 100,000 square miles of ocean, starting just 50 miles southeast of the coast of Florida. While the country grieves the devastation Hurricane Dorian brought upon two of the most northern islands, Grand Bahama and The Abacos, there is a silver lining. The majority of The Bahamas, including 14 of the most commonly visited islands, remains unaffected by the storm. The warm and friendly people of The Bahamas, along with hotel and travel partners from Bimini to Nassau and Paradise Island, The Exumas to Inagua, are ready to welcome travelers with open arms.
Hong Kong - Protest continue
This past weekend saw protests continue in central Hong Kong with thousands of protesters marching on the U.S. Consulate. The protesters then called on the United States to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act - a measure before congress which would require Washington to assess the level of autonomy Hong Kong has from Beijing on an annual basis, and if autonomy is compromised, to cancel trading privileges enjoyed by Hong Kong.
The protests became violent as entrances to the Central subway station were smashed, and some protesters started fires along the rather ritzy Chater Road.
