W T I Home Page Key to Success Business Travelers What's new? Did You Know? WTI BOOKS Do's & Don'ts Americans Traveling Abroad Practical Tips Reviews of Books Recommended Resources REPORTS Country Reports Sample Report How to Order Author Profile Links Guest book	About the Book: "DO'S & DON'TS AROUND THE WORLD" is intended to guide foreign travelers and to spare them of mistakes that could embarrass them, hurt them, cost them money and ruin their trip abroad. Country Reports:   There is a report for every country. Each report describes hundreds of country-specific cultural and social do's and don'ts. The country reports should be useful and beneficial to every international traveler, irrespective of the country of origin and/or country of departure. How the Country Reports were Prepared: Information contained in the country reports was provided by representatives and officials of the countries using survey questionnaires provided them by the World Travel Institute. The institute is proud to note that this is the first world-wide survey ever published of country-by-country do's and don'ts.
	Do's and Don'ts Books (9 volumes): The individual country reports are also available in book form comprising 9 volumes: Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, The Caribbean, The Middle East, Oceania & Japan, USA-Canada-Australia, Russia and The Independent States. Each volume contains separate listings for each country in the region. DO'S AND DON'TS BOOKS Edition: ISBN#; Pages: Price EUROPE 1-890605-00x;332pages;$29.99 SOUTH AMERICA 1-890605-03-4;245pages;$19.99 AFRICA 1-890605-04-2; 440pages; $34.99 THE CARIBBEAN 1-890605-02-6; 220pages; $19.99 ASIA 1-890605-01-8; 250pages;  $24.99 RUSSIA & THE INDEPENDENT STATES 1-890605-06-9; 160 pages; $12.99 USA, CANADA & AUSTRALIA 1-890605-08-5; 75pages; $12.99 OCEANIA & JAPAN 1-890605-07-7; 185pages; $15.99 THE MIDDLE EAST 1-890605-05-0; 120pages; $12.99

A PREFEACE TO THE COUNTRY REPORTS

Several countries are at the crossroads of economic, social and cultural change and are undergoing profound changes. The trend towards globalization and integration of world economies are all a part of the forces transforming and changing social and cultural practices through out the world. One obvious outcome of this evolving and dynamic process is the change in social and cultural norms and practices; changes that have in some countries resulted in relaxation and/or accommodation of, and in other countries led to re-affirmation and tightening of the status quo with respect to social and cultural practices and other rules of etiquette.

Every year people travel out of their countries to one or more foreign countries. For the majority of these travelers their utmost wish is for an exciting and incident-free stay in the host country. Unfortunately, many of these travelers do not have an incident-free stay abroad. Even among those for whom safety is not a major issue, there is almost always the one spoiler an embarrassing moment or encounter. Seasoned travelers have not escaped this spoiler, nor have they come up with a permanent solution to this seemingly unimportant, but unconformable nuisance. One can only think of a partial cure that, at best, guarantees the chance of minimizing part of such episodes. That cure are the country do's and don'ts reports; reports that catalogue important and often forgotten do's and don'ts for countries around the world.

In the country reports specific country-by-country DO's and DON'TS are provided. The aim of these reports is to highlight areas and topics that, as a traveler to a foreign country, you may want to watch out for and take appropriate precautions against. We suggest that before traveling or upon arrival at your destination, you re-verify those topics and practices you hold so dearly. An important source of such a verification process will be the embassies, consulates and tourism bureaus representing those countries or regions.

The reports are unique in many ways, not the least being the format. Some topics in the reports may even appear to be repeated. This was deliberate. It was also deliberate to leave the various topical items as presented instead of arranging and/or grouping them by topics. This arrangement underlies the importance and emphasis attached to every topical item and our conviction that all of the items warrant a glance or two by every foreign-bound traveler.

Other unique features of the reports include the broad headings used to address the various topical items such as "Is customary, Is allowed...Is disallowed, Is a crime etc". Again this was deliberate. But importantly, it was done so as to reflect the difficulty in addressing the issue of DO's and DON'TS among countries. This arrangement is intended to also serve as a cautionary note to potential users of the country reports. This is more so, considering that even within countries a wide range of different and sometimes conflicting cultures and practices exist and in many cases there is only a fine line between what is acceptable or not acceptable. In essence, disagreements abound.

In effect, while the information conveyed in the country reports is useful and should help relieve some anxiety among foreign travelers, extreme caution should also be taken in interpreting any particular response for any given country. Ideally, the country reports should be taken only as a reference guide aimed at alerting you and increasing your awareness to issues, practices and behavior in other countries.

Not withstanding readers who may disagree with our choice of headings or with the responses to the topical items despite earlier cautions, the reports also carry the benefit of drawing information from sources we considered reliable and official. Virtually all of the information contained in the country reports in response to the various topical issues or questions came via a questionnaire and was provided by the embassies and/or representatives of the respective countries, including travel bureaus..

Another unique feature of the country reports is its wide appeal. Most of the information should be useful to every international traveler, irrespective of the country of origin or country of destination. This goal was of particular interest to us and provided the driving force in the search for questions and issues to include in the questionnaire.

Every effort was made to include important questions, issues and areas of potential concern to international travelers and to seek answers and guidance for you, the traveler. As the questionnaire was being compiled and concluded, and as the final touches to the country reports were being made, it became very obvious that some issues of equal or greater importance are bound to be left out. It also became clear that certain items in the country reports may become contentious, controversial and may even generate heated arguments and debate. This, of course, is not the intended purpose of the country reports.

Neither the issues nor the questions raised, nor items and topics treated in the country reports was expected to be exhaustive. We appeal to those readers who may have other concerns and comments about the country reports to kindly send them to us. Similarly, we ask the same for those who may detect errors that may have slipped our attention. Such feedback will help me immensely in improving future editions. It is virtually impossible to embark on a project, and a subject matter as this without anticipating concerns, particularly given the differences in customs, contents and social practices and norm even within the same national boundaries.

It is our expectation that the information contained in the country reports will make a big difference, particularly in ensuring a safe, enjoyable, rewarding and hitch-free trip for millions of overseas-bound travelers. It certainly should save you numerous embarrassing moments and hopefully provide you with more fun-filled times and happy memories. Suggestions and letters should be mailed to Public Relations Department, WTI, P.O. Box 32674 Baltimore, Maryland 21282-2674, USA.