Typical Americans [and others ] who are away from home on vacation think it's just like home and can be very naive. One of the GPS stories is the group from Norway who were driving through somewhere in South America. They got a bit confused so they looked at the GPS map and went from point A to point B ,their destination. They drove right through an area controlled by drug gangs and were immediately fired at !
In some areas you may be safe in the hotel but outside especially at night you are a target. Take some street smarts when you travel. Since you might not be able to carry your pistol street smarts may permit you to avoid trouble.