Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan and Syria. What do these countries have in common?

They are all on the travel-ban list of the United States of America.

The reason for most of these countries being placed on the no-fly list are terror groups that are active in these countries and continually terrorize the population. 18,814 deaths of 2017 can be attributed to terror organizations, over half of these deaths can be placed on the shoulders of just four terror groups, Boko Haram, the Taliban, Als-Shabaab and ISIS. Often attributed to the Middle-East, in a western country we do not like to see our selves linked to any of this terror.

However, think about where you last went on holiday? Turkey? Egypt? Morocco? The sun shines brightly in these culturally diverse countries. The food is fantastic and visiting these places is relatively cheap.

Another country many love to travel to, the beach holiday, is, of course, the Maldives. The fast sinking islands have become a tourist destination many can only dream of. Though the sandy beaches and crystal clear waters come with a price, tourist arrivals have increased by 91 439 people from June 2012 to December 2018.

In 1972, the tourism industry started in the Maldives with 2 resorts and 280 beds. In 2018, there are 130 resorts operationalized on the islands. And the resorts are necessary because no vacationer wants to spend their time in an overcrowded Male, the capital of the Republic of Maldives.

Male has 449,552 inhabitants on an area of 6.8 kilometres squared. That is one of the reasons why the city is considered one of the most dangerous in the world. The last thing on your mind when going on such a dream vacation would be terrorist groups.

However, ISIS has one of its strongest footholds in the small city, which tourists travel through in order to get to their all-inclusive luxury resorts. Most inhabitants of the country are Muslim, which creates an easy opportunity for jihadists to spread their terror as the country has been relaxed with religiosity. Many recruits stem from the Maldives, but not only does ISIS shop for their victims in this small, almost forgotten city, Al Qaeda has also been linked to this area since 2013.

So the next time you book a holiday and the Maldives pop in your mind, perhaps keep the sandy beaches and crystal clear waters in your head. Because is a holiday really worth it when terror is being spread throughout the countries capital and no one is doing anything to stop it and it is not even talked about?