The State Department Just Issued a Worldwide Travel Advisory for Americans

On Thursday, the State Department issued a worldwide travel advisory for US travelers. The advisory was issued due to “increased tensions” around the world and includes a few specific instructions for travelers to take going forward.

A White House representative confirmed to Thrillist that this is not the first warning of its kind to be issued by the State Department. Previous worldwide cautions were most recently issued in January 2019 and August 2022.

Here is the exact language of the advisory:

“Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against US citizens and interests, the Department of State advises US citizens overseas to exercise increased caution. US citizens should:

The worldwide caution follows recent Level 4 travel advisories issued for Lebanon earlier this week, and to Gaza on October 14. Level 3 travel advisories were issued for Israel and the West Bank on October 14.

The advisories for Gaza and Lebanon cite terrorism and armed conflict as reasons for the Level 4 warnings. The advisories issued for Israel and the West Bank cite terrorism and civil unrest.

To recap, the State Department classifies its advisories into four categories:

The STEP initiative will provide travelers with location-based travel alerts, after inputting their trip information—if you are in an area where you have concerns for your safety based on the events happening there, this is a way to keep up to date on cautions directly from the US government.

The State Department also has outlined what it can and cannot do during various crises—you can read about what to expect in the event of a crisis on the State Department website. For an updated list of all the most recent travel advisories issued by the State Department, Thrillist has got you covered here.