The blacklist of vacation destinations to avoid if you care about your gut

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The blacklist of vacation destinations to avoid if you care

Are you planning to go to Spain? In the islands? As the summer holidays approach, Forbes magazine has published the list of holiday destinations where tourists are most likely to fall ill.

Summer vacation are slowly approaching and it’s time to plan and choose destinations. To avoid destinations at risk for your health, the magazine Forbes Advisor Travel Bug Index published a list of countries where you are most likely to get sick. To do this, they collected more than 2.4 million testimonials of tourists on forums by noting the words “e coli”, “diarrhea”, “gastroenteritis”, “salmonella” or “food poisoning”. They cross-referenced this information with other data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) like the recommended vaccines or boosters, the risk of malaria, places where it is not recommended to drink tap water… A score out of 100 was then assigned to each destination. The higher the score, the more likely tourists were to get sick. Below are the results.

Worldwide: Caution in Punta Cana and Egypt!

  1. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (90.4/100)
  2. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
  3. Sal, Green cap
  4. Playa del Carmen, Mexico
  5. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
  6. bali, Indonesia
  7. Hurghada, Egypt
  8. Tulum, Mexico,
  9. Boa Vista, Green cap
  10. Cancún, Mexico (52.5/100)

There France comes in 24th position of the world ranking with a score of 19.4/100.

The 10 destinations where people get the most sick in Europe

The risk of intestinal problems is much lower when traveling to European countries:

  1. benidorm, Spain (26.4/100)
  2. London, United Kingdom
  3. Sunny Beach, Bulgaria
  4. Paris, France (19.4/100)
  5. Tenerife, Spain
  6. Minorca, Spain
  7. Majorca, Spain
  8. Rome, Italy (12.1/100)
  9. Zante, Greece
  10. Mykonos, Greece (11.2/100)

More info and new tips

What are the most common illnesses caught in these countries?

► Salmonella : bacterial infection of the intestines caused by contamination from contaminated water or food

► Gastroenteritis : it is transmitted by contact with infected people, contaminated water and food

► Escherichia coli : a bacterium present in the intestines that is usually transmitted from stool via contaminated food, water or animals

► Food poisoning : it is caught when eating food contaminated with germs

► Traveler’s diarrhea : it is transmitted mainly by water and food

Source: Holiday Sickness Index 2023: Destinations Where Tourists Are Most Likely To Fall Ill, Forbes, April 21, 2023

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