Exercise high degree of caution, Australia warns travellers to India

Sydney, Jan 10 (UNI) The Australian government has warned travellers to exercise ''high degree of caution'' in more than 80 countries, including India.

The Federal government's Smart Traveller website issued further warnings for some specific regions in these countries.

Six countries, basically war zones, were marked ''do not travel'', that included Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan.

As many as 21 countries, including Pakistan, were put in the ''reconsider your need to travel'' category.

The travel advisory was made using assessments from Australian missions overseas, inputs from intelligence agencies and advisories prepared by consular partners such as the US, Britain, New Zealand and Canada.

A representative of Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said the site provided help to 900,000 expatriates and Australian travellers.

''Each year, the department is called upon to assist over 33,000 Australians,'' Mr Smith was quoted by the Age as saying.

''Travel advisories are updated regularly. For example, the travel advice for Kenya has been updated almost daily since the recent troubles began, to provide Australians with the most up-to-date information.'' Travellers are encouraged to register their details on the website before a journey as it helps the Foreign Office to track how many people are there in a particular zone for the requirement of regular monitoring.

''Unless Australians register, the Department of Foreign Affairs cannot identify how many Australians are in a particular country, or identify how to contact them if needed,'' he said.

The website classifies the threat perception to foreign visitors in a particular country under five categories -- Be alert to own security, Exercise caution, High degree of caution, Reconsider your need to travel and Do not travel.

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