13 August 2008

British Behaviour Abroad

On 12 August 2008, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) published their third annual report: “British Behaviour Abroad” highlighting problems affecting British nationals during travel. The period covered was from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007. Although the report does not include all adverse events that affect British travellers, there are several important messages to take away.

Issues affecting British nationals abroad included lost passports, arrests, hospitalisations, deaths, rape, as well as many other less serious assistance cases.

As examples, 8,304 Britons needed assistance in the USA, 6,710 passports were lost in Spain, 1,415 Britons were arrested in the USA, 602 were admitted to hospital in Greece and 385 died in France.

Thailand had the highest rate of hospitalisation per number of travellers, with many of the hospital admissions the result of motorbike accidents. Thailand has one of the world’s highest road traffic accident rates, most of which involve motorbikes.

Indonesia had the highest rate for serious assistance cases, 10.1 for every 1,000 British nationals (both visitors and British nationals resident in the country)), followed by Pakistan (2.0) and then India (1.4). British nationals were more likely to be arrested in Cyprus, followed by the United States and then the United Arab Emirates.

Many incidents could be prevented if travellers prepared properly for travel, paid more attention to their surroundings and followed local customs and laws.

The FCO is particularly keen to encourage British holidaymakers to obtain comprehensive travel insurance. There have been concerns that due to the credit crunch, travellers will try to save money by not purchasing insurance.

The FCO advises the following measures to reduce the likelihood of requiring consular assistance and make journeys safer:

• Always fill in the next of kin details on your passport.
• Make two photocopies of your passport. Leave one at home with family or friends and carry the other copy with you, separately from your passport. Your passport can also be scanned and stored on a secure on-line site, making the details easy to retrieve anywhere in the world.
• Keep passports in a secure place. Any loss should be reported immediately to the local police, a report obtained and the British Embassy contacted.
• Before you travel find out what is legally and culturally acceptable at your destination in order to avoid breaking the law or upsetting local customs.
• Avoid areas where you might be unwittingly caught up in trouble, e.g. marches, rallies or protests.
• Seek travel health advice well in advance of your trip. Ensure you follow recommendations for vaccinations, malaria tablets, and any other measures advised.
• Obtain comprehensive travel health insurance. Check that high risk activities are covered, e.g. scuba diving, bungee jumping. Declare all pre-existing medical conditions or the policy may be invalid.
• Register your contact details with LOCATE, the FCO service for British travellers. The FCO will pass on your details to the local British Embassy. In the event of an emergency or international incident, the FCO will have an instant record of your details enabling them to contact you.
• Apply for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This will allow you to access state funded healthcare in all countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) plus Switzerland.
• Avoid excessive use of alcohol. Many arrests, accidents, and rapes abroad are related to drunken behaviour.
• Watch your drink while out in public to prevent it being “spiked” with drugs or extra alcohol. Don’t drink alcohol in countries that prohibit it.
• Be aware that your travel insurance is unlikely to cover you if you have an accident while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• If a member of your travelling party dies during your trip, the death must be registered in the country in which it occurs, and you must contact the local authorities immediately.

The report is available on the FCO website.

Links

NaTHNaC Health Information Sheet: Personal Safety During Travel

NaTHNaC Country Information Pages

FCO Know Before You Go

FCO LOCATE service

 

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)