Several people have died as a result of the recent forest fires in Australia, which is one of the countries that many Swedes choose if they are going to travel far. According to the travel barometer, 67,000 Swedes just went to Australia in 2018.

On Australia trips, Marie Östlund states that they have noticed concern among travelers, but that they are not many.

- It calls customers who are on their way or are going to travel. We update them on the situation and make sure there is good help in place. What people don't really understand is how big the country is. When you journalists write that it is burning in Sydney, our travelers can be three hours away from the fire, she says.

UD updated travel recommendation

She points out that all community functions, such as airports and others, are functioning as usual right now and that no customers have canceled their trips yet.

The Foreign Ministry also states that there have been occasional calls from troubled Swedes planning to travel to Australia. The authority updated its travel recommendations to the destination on Monday.

"Due to the many forest fires that are going on in Australia during the summer, people who are in the country are advised to exercise caution and continuously monitor media developments," the Foreign Ministry writes.

Since the forest fires also cause fire smoke, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has listed links to important authorities that travelers need to have control over.