August's deadly hostage attack in Manila drew international attention to the issue of safety for tourists in the Philippines.
And while it has been acknowledged as a rare tragedy, a security expert says that there are universal precautions travellers should take.
'Travellers should educate themselves on the hazards of their favourite holiday destinations,' Simon Francis, senior director of security services at Kroll, a risk consultancy company, said.
'The Philippines has quite a significant gun culture. There are a lot of people with firearms, many of which are not registered, and therefore, untraceable,' he said.
Francis said for most places in Asia, the safety risks had remained relatively unchanged over time, but noted that in southern areas of Thailand and the Philippines, separatist movements and quasi-terrorist groups posed a risk of kidnappings and attacks.
As the war on terrorism had escalated, countries such as Singapore and Malaysia had cracked down on terrorist activity and it was believed some terrorists had gone to the southern Philippines, where there had been isolated attacks at resorts.
