As tourists prepare to travel to Brazil for the Olympic Games, security in the country of more than 200 million people is under the microscope.
Last month's announcement by Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes that the city would be safe during the event has been reinforced as security forces, including 85,000 police and soldiers, begin to be deployed around the host city.
This comes as the Australian Olympic Committee declared the accommodation in the athletes' village uninhabitable and also following the June armed robbery of Australian Paralympic sailor Liesl Tesch and physiotherapist Sarah Ross in Rio.
The latest travel advice issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is urging Australians to "exercise a high degree of caution" due to in the high level of crime particularly in Brazil's major cities.
"Tourists can often represent easy targets," DFAT told SBS via a statement.
"While enjoying the magic of the Olympics, all travellers should pay close attention to their personal security at all times.
"All travellers should also buy the best travel insurance they can afford."
This is a belief shared by tourism expert Dr David Beirman, who said tourists may stick out because of their inability to speak Portuguese, Brazil's main language.
“When you start looking at issues like vulnerability to crime, tourists have a lot of things to focus on," he told SBS.
"Particularly Australian tourists, very few of them speak Portuguese and most of them stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.
"Any person who is walking down the street in any of the big cities of Brazil, not just in Rio de Janeiro, with gold jewellery, a bumb-bag full of money and designer clothes - they tend to stick out and are a target to thieving groups.
"Even though there is going to a huge police presence in Rio to protect the Olympic athletes - even if you had one million police on the street - that's not going to stop petty theft."
Dr Beirman, a senior lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, said tourists should become accustomed to their surroundings by joining organised tours during the opening days of their stay to ensure they're informed about places deemed safe by guides.
"When tourists go to a destination which is unfamiliar, they may be disoriented and you don't necessarily understand what's going on around you," he said.
"This makes you an easy mark for people who want to steal your money and rip you off in some way.
"There are a number of tour operators that do offer adventure tours of South America, including Brazil. Your tour guides are experts in Brazil and know the safe and unsafe places.
"That's a really helpful suggestion, not only for Rio, but for a lot of other places where the security situation and cultural differences may be a big factor."
The Zika threat
Brazil is one of 31 countries currently listed on the Department of Health’s website as experiencing widespread transmission of the Zika virus.
The virus is transmitted through bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads other tropical diseases like dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever.
The Department is running the "Aussies, watch out for mozzies" awareness campaign and has set out guidelines to follow before travelling to Brazil.
They include protecting yourself from mosquito bites by using insect repellent containing DEET or picaridin, and to wear light-coloured clothing that covers as much of your body as possible.
The Department has also warned pregnant women against traveling to Zika affected countries and also warned that the virus can be spread through unprotected sex - recommending the use of condoms or completely abstaining from sex.
It also urged travellers who become unwell upon returning to Australia to immediately seek medical advice.
