Our Methodology
Every TripGuards risk score and safety guide is built on a transparent, repeatable methodology. This page explains exactly how we work — so you can judge our credibility for yourself.
Who We Are
TripGuards is a travel safety intelligence platform — not a travel agency, not an influencer blog. We don't sell "everything is beautiful" content. We analyze safety data so you can make informed decisions.
Our approach is that of a data curator: we analyze government advisories, verified traveler incident reports, local news, and official legal information — and distill it into honest, actionable safety intelligence.
The TripGuards Risk Score
Our risk score runs from 1 to 10. It is calculated using 7 weighted criteria, each informed by multiple data sources. The score represents overall risk for an average tourist — not for every type of traveler in every situation.
How cities are ranked, and why many are tied
Cities are ordered by total score, lowest first. Where two cities finish on the same total they share a rank, and the next rank skips accordingly — so a tie of three at 15th is followed by 18th. Shared ranks are marked with an = in the index table.
Ties are common by design rather than by accident: roughly three in five cities share a total with at least one other. Every sub-score is a whole number from 1 to 10 assigned by an analyst, so seven of them combined resolve the field into around thirty genuine tiers, not fifty. We could break those ties on the unrounded arithmetic and publish a tidy 1–50, but the extra decimals come from our choice of weights rather than from anything observed about the cities. Inventing a distinction the evidence does not support would make the ranking look more precise and be less true.
So when the formula cannot separate two cities, the ranking says so. Compare their sub-scores instead — that is where the actual difference lives.
See the formula applied to 50 major tourist cities — every sub-score published: City Safety Index 2026 →
Our Data Sources
We prioritize primary sources over aggregators. The hierarchy:
US State Department, UK Foreign Office, Australian Smartraveller, Canadian Global Affairs. These are the gold standard for safety information.
Destination country laws, visa requirements, entry regulations. We cite official government portals, not travel agency summaries.
Reddit (r/travel, destination-specific subreddits), TripAdvisor forums, verified review platforms. We look for patterns, not individual anecdotes.
English-language local news sites, regional news aggregators. Used to identify recent incidents, new regulations, and emerging trends.
We use AI to synthesize and structure the above sources — not to generate information from training data alone. AI is our analyst, not our source.
What We Don't Do
- We don't write "everything is fine" content to please advertisers or destinations
- We don't use Wikipedia or general Tripadvisor pages as primary sources
- We don't present AI-generated data as firsthand experience
- We don't hide risks to increase affiliate conversions
- We don't reproduce outdated information — guides are reviewed regularly
Limitations & Disclaimer
TripGuards provides intelligence, not guarantees. Safety conditions change rapidly. A city rated 4/10 today may face different circumstances next month. Our scores represent a point-in-time assessment based on available data.
Our risk scores are calibrated for the average tourist taking standard precautions. They are not tailored to every individual situation — a solo female traveler, a business traveler, or someone with specific medical needs may face different risk profiles.
Always verify with your government's official travel advisory before booking. TripGuards is a supplementary resource, not a replacement for official guidance.
How Often We Update
We take accuracy seriously. If you've visited a destination recently and found something incorrect, outdated, or missing in our guides, we want to know. Our guides improve with real traveler input.