Virtually no travellers believe international travel is safer today than it was a year ago, according to new Global Rescue survey data – a striking finding that underscores how deeply risk has become embedded in the global travel mindset.
According to the Spring 2026 Global Rescue Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey, less than 1% of travellers say they are less or much less concerned about their personal safety when travelling internationally. At the same time, 56% report being more or much more concerned, while 42% say their level of concern has not changed, revealing a stark divide between rising anxiety and sustained unease.
“Travellers are not seeing improvement in the global risk environment,” said Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies. “What we’re observing is a split between those who feel conditions are worsening and those who believe risks remain persistently elevated – but almost no one sees the world as getting safer.”
That perception reflects the steady influence of global instability, including ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and persistent cartel-related violence in parts of Mexico. Against this backdrop, the finding that virtually no travellers feel safer is both notable and entirely understandable.
The divide becomes more pronounced when viewed across gender lines. 61% of women report being more or much more concerned, compared to 53% of men, highlighting a higher level of risk sensitivity among female travelers. Meanwhile, men are more likely to report no change in their outlook, with 45% saying their level of concern is unchanged versus 37% of women, suggesting a greater degree of normalization among male respondents.
Geographic differences are more subtle but still revealing. Among US-based respondents, 56% say they are more or much more concerned, closely mirroring the global average, while 41% report no change. Among non-US-based respondents, concern is slightly lower but still dominant, with 52% reporting increased concern and 45% indicating no change.
Across all segments, the absence of any meaningful decline in concern stands out. The data shows that while travellers may differ on whether risks are increasing or holding steady, there is near-universal agreement that they are not diminishing.
Taken together, the findings point to a global travel environment where elevated risk is no longer episodic – it is expected. For a majority of travellers, concern is growing. For nearly everyone else, it is not improving.
“Stability in perception is not the same as confidence,” Richards said. “When nearly half of travelers say their concerns haven’t changed – and virtually none say they’ve decreased – it tells you that elevated risk has become the baseline expectation.”
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