Some tourists are no longer looking for a relaxing vacation — but rather for serious adventure. More and more visitors are traveling to countries that the State Department advises against for a variety of reasons, according to travel experts who shared their insights with Fox News Digital.

In a trend known as dark tourism, “risk travelers” are now visiting countries such as Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Dark tourism involves travelers visiting sites of natural disasters, mass murders, or other events or situations where something bad has happened.

Eli Snyder, a 20-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, was backpacking in Afghanistan.

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“I live for visiting places that are as different as possible from where I grew up in suburban America, outside of Kansas City,” he told Newsweek magazine in May.

“Sometimes that means going to a dangerous place. But that’s still true, because I would much rather go to Pyongyang (the capital of North Korea) than Winnipeg.”

Travelers are visiting countries for which the State Department has issued a “do not travel” warning. (Stefan Tomic)

Rob DelliBovi, CEO of New York-based RDB Hospitality Group, told Fox News in an email that he calls the trend “themed travel.”

“Many people ‘collect’ experiences, and some are more sinister than others,” he said.

“You could compare it to people who travel just to have a good meal – only the other side of the coin, emotionally.”

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He added: “If they’re going somewhere that has travel warnings or a hurricane approaching, etc., it’s an added thrill just to be there and experience it all,” he said.

DelliBovi said the Middle East is by far the country with the most tourists visiting dangerous areas, followed by Central America and Africa.

“A lot of people ‘collect’ experiences, and some (of those experiences) are more sinister than others,” said one travel and hospitality expert. (Chalabala)

A senior director at FocusPoint — a crisis event management firm specializing in crisis response for individuals and organizations — told Fox News Digital there’s a reason a country or region has been designated as a “no travel” area.

“We often see people who purchase our membership and then visit a country that is Level 3 (no travel) — and then, during their stay, that country becomes a Level 4 (no travel),” the executive said.

The company does not sell travel insurance, but does offer member insurance to cover travel risks, both short-term and annual.

The U.S. Department of State takes into account crime, terrorism, kidnapping, and civil unrest in an area when issuing travel warnings. (iStock)

“Countries are being issued a travel warning, level 1-4,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“The advisory levels in our Travel Warnings are based on established risk indicators such as crime, terrorism, kidnapping or hostage-taking, civil unrest, natural disasters, health, unlawful detention and other potential threats.”

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Afghanistan, Lebanon, Haiti, Iran and Bangladesh, as well as other countries, have been listed as level 4 “travel ban” areas.

“Conditions in any country may change at any time.”

Asked about dangerous countries that Americans visit, the spokesman said: “U.S. citizens are not required to register their travel to a foreign country with us, so we cannot accurately track how many U.S. citizens are in a given country.”

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The senior director of FocusPoint International said that in most cases the government is not willing to provide assistance.

The director added: “Your government will not evacuate you in most cases.”

“In an emergency, the U.S. government may be very limited in its ability to provide assistance. Conditions in any country can change at any time,” a State Department spokesman said. (Stefan Tomic; Chalabala)

FocusPoint membership does not cover on-site activities for individuals who travel to a country where their home government – ​​or the Department of Home Affairs in Canada and the United Kingdom, or the U.S. Department of State – has issued “do not travel” advice.

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“In an emergency, the U.S. government may be very limited in its ability to provide assistance,” a State Department spokesman said.

“Conditions in any country may change at any time.”