Would you rule out a country as a holiday destination based on its political system?

[Takoneko]

Just curious as to whether others have any “rules” about which countries they would or would not visit based on their politics?

I only ever visit democracies and would rule a destination out if it wasn’t at least in the “flawed democracy” category on the democracy index and wouldn’t want to even transit through an “authoritarian” country. In fact I’ve paid significantly more for flights to avoid giving money to airlines operating out of authoritarian countries.

For example, I’ve been to Taiwan and Hong Kong but would not go to mainland China or use a Chinese airline (and I probably wouldn’t go back to Hong Kong now), I also think Baku looks beautiful but would not go to Azerbaijan, would love to see the Pyramids and Valley of the Kings but won’t go to Egypt etc.

I don’t think l’ve ever noticed anyone else listing it as a consideration for a holiday destination on here. Am I unusual or are there lots of us who have a similar red line?

In some ways it’s a bit of an arbitrary line to draw, I don’t examine the origins of everything I buy and probably buy tons of things that are made in China but draw my line at going there. I’m not judging people who draw their line somewhere else… I was just wondering whether it’s an unusual criteria when choosing a holiday.

Well of course. I'm not suggesting that people who'd be persecuted in a particular country should go there. But when you have someone like the pp who's ruling out all but ten countries of the world, you have to question their openness to learning and experiencing anything new or different.

Likewise the people ruling out a country because of one awful event that happened to one person.

@Zimunya Thank you for your really thoughtful and detailed reply.

On Fukushima, I think we may just have to agree to disagree. Obviously releasing the water as they did wasn't ideal and it would be better if it never existed at all. But the fact is that the water did exist, could not be decontaminated any further than it was, and leaving it where it was risked it being released all at once in an uncontrolled way the next time an earthquake hit. The release may not have been 100% safe but not releasing it had risks and dangers attached too. There wasn’t a risk-free option.

I also really appreciate the fact that we can respectfully disagree.

No but I would look carefully at their laws and customs Also be careful what you photograph

Absolutely not. I never understood why people say they won't g to X and Y country due to their position on homosexuality, or whatever. I don't understand why a country needs to be pro-homosexuality unless you're homosexual yourself, and worry about your safety. Otherwise, yes, the world includes many different kinds of governments, religions, attitudes, cultures and religions. isn't the point of travelling to experience something that's different to your own norm? If you only want to go to places that align with your normality, what's the point of travelling? Just stay at home where you feel comfortable, instead of expecting the entire planet to revolve around you and your ideals.

Yes, when you travel, you may be confronted with things you don't like. I have travelled extensively to places people tend to steer away from, and I'm telling you that every single country has its positives as well as negatives. Even so-called first world countries. It seems so arrogant and pompous to me when Westerners think they are too good for certain countries, as if their own countries aren't shitty, too, in their own way.