MAPPED: How safe is your 2017 summer holiday in Europe? Terror threat REVEALED
TERROR fears have spread through Europe as Britons get set to jet across the continent on 2017 summer holidays. How safe is it across Europe for holidays this year?
Travel expert urges people to NOT cancel summer holidays
From Spain to France, Portugal, Italy and Greece, there are countless holiday hotspots across Europe.
But as political turmoil rages and terrorist plots are foiled across the continent, many travellers are concerned about their safety when traveling abroad.
A staggering 97 per cent of Brits say safety and security is their top concern when choosing their holiday destination.
Express.co.uk has done some digging to find out how safe your choice of holiday destination is this summer.
How safe is your summer holiday? Europe terror threat MAPPED
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has recently updated its categories of terror threats in its travel advice for British travellers.
Countries were previously separated into either a high, general, underlying or low threat of terrorism.
Following a consultation in 2016, the FCO has changed the category system in order to provide further detail.
The FCO said: “Following feedback received during the consultation, the way that the threat from terrorism is presented will be made more descriptive, providing more information about the predictability, frequency, context and extent of attacks in individual countries, as well as assessment of the capacity of local security services to prevent and respond to attacks.
“This approach was supported by both the public and the travel industry.”
Listed as ‘severe’, the threat of terrorism in the UK is the highest in Europe, so anywhere British holidaymakers choose to take a break on the continent will provide a lesser threat in comparison.
There is only one category higher than 'severe', which is 'critical'.
Across Europe, Russia is the only country in the category below 'severe', with a ‘high’ threat of terrorism.
How safe is your summer holiday? Map reveals terror threat of European countries
The FCO explained: “The main terrorist threat in Russia comes from Islamist and rebel groups in the North Caucasus, but attacks aren’t limited to this region. Previous attacks have seen large numbers of casualties.”
In 2015, a Russian plane en route to Sharm el-Sheikh crashed into the North Sinai, killing all passengers and crew on board.
In 2013, three suicide bombings targeted public transport in Volgograd.
In 2011, 37 people - including one British citizen - were killed at Moscow’s Domodedovo international airport.
The next terror threat category is ‘very likely’, which includes France, Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Austria and Macedonia.
Those nations with a ‘likely’ threat of terrorism include Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
How safe is your summer holiday? Spain's terror threat is 'likely'
There’s a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals
But the FCO warns British tourists to be vigilant about possible terrorist activity and to follow the advice of local authorities.
The FCO added: “Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners.”
Despite the remaining European countries having avoided the terror threat list, British tourists have been advised to be vigilant while holidaying across the continent regardless.
The FCO said: “There’s a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria.”