2009’s hottest destination (and that’s when the trouble started)

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Title – 2009’s hottest destination (and that’s when the trouble started)
Source – The Independent
Date – 21st August 2009

Responsible and Ethical Travel often treads a thin line and those influential bodies in the travel industry have an important role in making sure they stay the right side of it; none more so than Lonely Planet.

In this case it does seem that their decision to highlight the Bay of Fires in Tasmania as the ‘hottest’ destination for 2009 has led to a local battle which the Australians are by now very used to. The three way fight between conservationists, big business and the aboriginal community.

I don’t think we can really blame Lonely Planet for this, maybe they will even have been the catalyst to help preserve this area before it is eroded through human development, much as it may have been ignored until now, it this day and age nothing stays hidden forever.

So what can you do?

Promoting Ethical and Responsible Travel is something you can play your part in. Do your research and listen to all sides of the argument before you decide how to spend your ‘tourist dollars’ and where you decide to visit.

It is very much individual choice as to where you decide to visit and how you visit. Always balance your choices with the desires of local people and the level of ‘harm’ almost any form of travel will cause. We can certainly help you find a balance which will be acceptable to you, where your positive impact can offset some of the negative impact travel inevitably has.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Ethical and Responsible Travel, alongside sessions on Travel Health, Travel Safety, , Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Tourists to plead guilty / Community work for fraud Britons / Gap-year fraudsters plead to come home

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Title – Tourists to plead guilty /

Community work for fraud Britons / Gap-year fraudsters plead to come home
Source – The Independent / www.bbc.co.uk / The Times
Date – 6th August 2009 / 20th August 2009 / 20th August 2009

This is an update on our earlier blog entry:

· Brit pair ‘terrified’ in hellhole Rio jail

I always try and emphasise that I don’t write / post these entries to vilify those involved or to make suggestion on guilt or innocence, but rather as a warning to other independent travellers. These are warnings which could protect you from some of the potential pitfalls of your actions abroad.

The outcome of this court case has found these girls guilty of fraud and making a false report to the police, they were sentenced to 14 months imprisonment (they could have been sentenced to as much as 5 years) which was converted by the judge to community service and a fine. This is undoubtedly a lucky escape when you take into account the Brazilian jail they would have had to serve their sentence in.

However in sentencing them to two hours community service per day for 8 months, they will have to remain in Brazil for eight months as they serve their sentence. During this time they will have to fund themselves and as things currently stand be unable to return to the UK. Their appeal will no doubt try and address these factors.

Possibly just as bad or worse, both will have a criminal record which may well preclude them from certain career choices.

This will all seem very harsh when in reality it seems that these girls are far from ‘career criminals’ and the facts suggest they made a stupid mistake and an error of judgement. The fact that they were ‘robbed’ is not in question (a traumatic experience as it is for many travellers). It seems that sometime between that incident and reporting the crime against them, they made the decision to exaggerate their loss. Many people will say that this is hardly uncommon; the fact is, it is a crime.

What we emphasise to independent travellers and what we preach during our workshops over and over, is to remember when you are in another country you must abide by the laws of that country and are subject to the sanctions those laws impose. Being British does not entitle you to any special treatment, in fact it can often mean you are made an example of.

It is safe to say that were this crime committed in the UK, these girls would at worst be facing a fine and possibly some community service, so their situation is not wildly different; the problem is this has to be done over 8 months and in Brazil… it adds a rather different perspective to the punishment.

We must also always remember that insurance fraud is not a victimless crime; the insurance companies actually only lose in the short term, it is all travellers who lose in the long term, with higher premiums (premiums which rise every year, in no small part due to the number of claims received by the insurance companies).

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance alongside sessions on, Travel Health, Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Encephalitis toll approaches 130

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Title – Encephalitis toll approaches 130Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 17th August 2009

Japanese encephalitis is one of those vaccinations which some travellers ‘sacrifice’ in order to make a ‘cost saving’. It is a rare disease in travellers, which is why some people choose not to get the vaccination; which is not available for free on the NHS.

However it is important that cost is not a factor in this decision making process.

Every time you travel you need to carry out a travel risk assessment and ‘cost’ should never be a factor in this equation. Sensible risk reduction is always cost effective, as the consequences of ignoring risk can often not be calculated purely in monetary terms.

In regard to the risk assessment for Japanese encephalitis, there are a number of different factors to take into account; the region you are travelling to; the type of activities you intend to take part in; rural or urban travel; the type of accommodation you will using; if you will be staying, working or visiting farms; the duration of your stay in the area; the time of year; and recent ‘outbreaks’ in the region.

This latest outbreak in a poor and remote part of India (Uttar Pradesh) is certainly something that any traveller to the region should be aware of. It makes vaccination of anyone travelling to the area, a fundamental part of the risk assessment process; tightening up on mosquito bite avoidance measures, will also help considerably.

At

Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Health, alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

China tries to contain plague after second death

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Title – China tries to contain plague after second deathSource – The Independent
Date – 4th August 2009

Just the very mention of ‘plague’ fills people with horror and conjures up images of biblical times; not a modern world in 2009. In the 14th century the ‘black death’ (plague) killed a third of Europe’s population; some 25 million people perished.

However for the average traveller, plague need not be near the top of the list of concerns. There are no known incidences of plague in travellers returning to the UK since 1918. However ‘awareness’ is a useful tool in developing preventative strategies.

The main strategy for preventing the contraction of plague is to avoid endemic areas / outbreak areas and to be aware of those animals which act as a vector for the disease.

This particular outbreak should not affect travellers unless they are already in the area; which is very remote and rarely visited. The Chinese have become very effective at controlling outbreaks of infectious diseases by isolating infected people and infected areas; something made easier when the government has so much control over its people…

Outbreaks of plague are not as isolated as they may seem and not always confined to these remote parts of the world. Although Africa accounts for 80% of cases, central Asia is also high on the list of the endemic areas; some 2000 cases and 180 deaths reported annually (figures from 2003). Worldwide there are also occasional large outbreaks, such as the 5000 reported in India in 1994. There have also been isolated cases in rural

USA, Peru, Vietnam and Mongolia.

In Mongolia it is relatively well known that the Marmot, a common sight on the open steppe, can and do sometimes carry plague They are also hunted as a source of protein and for their skins by the local nomadic people. The Marmot is a representative of the type of animals which can carry plague, including rats, rabbits, prairie dogs, gerbils, guinea pigs and other rodents. Needless to say contact with these animals is not advisable in areas where plague is endemic.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Health, alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Brit pair ‘terrified’ in hellhole Rio jail / Brazil ‘fraud’ Britons bailed

Title – Brit pair ‘terrified’ in hellhole Rio jail / Brazil ‘fraud’ Britons bailed
Source – The London Paper / www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 30th July / 1st August 2009

Whatever the outcome of this particular case and I try always to apply the pretext that people are innocent until proven guilty, it highlights the potential for seemingly innocuous cases to turn into very serious ones.

There are many people who have defrauded their travel insurance company; they may not view it as ‘fraud’ and I have met some people who genuinely believe that it is ‘nothing serious’ and that ‘everyone does it’. Everyone doesn’t, I assure them.

There are also those people who have genuinely been robbed, pick pocketed, had bags stolen or been mugged who have taken the opportunity to embellish and exaggerate what was stolen to increase the insurance claim. This too is ‘fraud’ clear and simple. Let’s also remember these claims cost every traveller in increased premiums…

In the UK such ‘small scale’ fraud is rarely a police matter, it is usually dealt with by the insurance company themselves; even if the police do get involved the chances of spending more than a few hours in a cell awaiting interview are minimal.

We tell people time and time again, do not assume what goes at home, goes abroad. The law is different, the emphasis is different and the response is often very different. £1000 in the UK through significant to many people, is arguably not that significant to big insurance companies. £1000 in a developing country is very significant to everyone and much more likely to receive close attention. In many foreign countries there is also a dedicated police force tasked with protecting ‘tourists’, although I don’t think it is unfair to say they are really tasked with protecting ‘tourism’. Where tourism is a significant source of foreign exchange and GDP, the reputation of the tourist industry is fiercely guarded.

Most people realise that to be able to make an insurance claim when you return to the UK you need a police report from the country in which the crime took place. In this case that is what these girls seem to have done and on receiving the report the police seem to have investigated (something maybe we don’t always expect from police in the UK with ‘minor’ crimes) and discovered that there was some disparity between the report filed and the items missing.

£1000 is a lot of money in Brazil and probably a lot in comparison to the local police salary. It sounds strange but pride is a significant factor in many cases and I don’t imagine the local police and judiciary were over impressed by two young tourists trying to pull the wool over their eyes (if this is actually what happened). Travellers who get into trouble are always subject to local laws and local prison facilities. No one wants to find themselves in a Brazilian gaol, they really are dangerous places and two young English travellers are going to find this especially difficult.

I am sure that the truth will eventually come out and I hope even if they have been ‘stupid’ they are allowed home soon, because I would imagine what they have already had to face would be enough of a punishment for even a more serious crime.

There is a lesson here for everyone else.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance alongside sessions on, Travel Health, Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Graduates to get gap-year money

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Title – Graduates to get gap-year money
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 1st August 2009

Undoubtedly when this scheme is formally launched the ‘spoilers’ will be out there talking about ‘the cost to the taxpayer’ and how ‘graduates have already been funded by the tax payer during education’, but I for one will not be amongst them.

Opportunities for young people can seem few and far between sometimes and if this scheme allows 500 young people to go off and help communities who are in desperate need of it, then I am all for it. Not only will the communities benefit, but graduates who may not have the chance otherwise, will experience something which will not only change their lives but change their employability and their outlook on the world.

Purely from a political point of view at a time when the country has turned slightly inwards and far right political parties and those with isolationist manifestos have gained slightly in popularity, it is important that our younger generation are given opportunities to see the benefits of an inclusive world.

There are a number of schemes out there already which provide funding for bursaries or funding for young people including the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (

www.wcmt.org.uk).

The benefits of a constructive gap year are well documented, most employers like them, they provide real-world insight for candidates.

Many parents (despite the sense of trepidation, fear, loss of control and helplessness) accept that there are very positive benefits to a gap year. After their child has completed a successful gap year the parents experience for themselves the positive change and the increased sense of responsibility their child returns with.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance alongside sessions on, Travel Health, Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

A close-up snap

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Title – A close-up snapSource – The Metro
Date – 30th July 2009

During our workshop we look at many different aspects of

Travel Safety and even touch on the issue of danger from wild animals.

With ever more exotic destination being chosen by travellers, encounters with unfamiliar wild animals are increasingly more likely. From the prolific hunters of Africa (a list topped by the hippopotamus), to the marmots of Mongolia (which still carry plague), every continent has its own contenders for the list of ‘dangerous animals’. The feral dogs which in many parts of the world infected with Rabies and the snakes, spiders, scorpions, jellyfish, sharks, bears, big cats, buffalo, piranha and many other species which have been labelled as dangerous, can awake deeply ingrained phobias in many people.

We really try and get one message across; never forget these animals are wild!

In the UK, television, zoos and safari parks have tended to desensitise us to the real dangers. Television especially has a tendency to require more and more sensationalism. Presenters regularly approach wild animals to get themselves in-shot. What they don’t show is the planning, expert knowledge and the ‘safety net’ in place; or the real perspective which often means they are not actually as close as they seem.

I have visited many places and heard stories of deadly encounters with wild animals; in South Africa, the Japanese tourists who climbed out of their car to have their photograph taken in front of a pride of lions ‘sleeping’ off the midday sun under a tree; in the Red Sea, the diver experiencing the ‘ultimate thrill’ of feeding sharks only to end up being bitten themselves; in the USA, the campers asleep in their tent mauled by a Grizzly, because they failed to clean up properly after dinner.

Wild animals should be respected and you should keep your distance. Remember when you leave the city / your hotel / the safety of your vehicle, you enter their environment, one which they have been adapting to for thousands of years.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance, Travel Health, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

River blindness ‘can be beaten’

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Title – River blindness ‘can be beaten’Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 21st July 2009

Onchocerciasis or River Blindness is another of the terrible afflictions which local populations face in parts of the world, which can affect travellers and for which protective measures should be taken.

Once again Africa and particularly Sub Saharan Africa is badly affected by this terrible disease with it’s debilitating symptoms.

With 37 million people affected by River Blindness the news that there is hope for successful treatment is very welcome and let’s hope the funding is found to extend the work already being done.

For independent travellers the key is prevention. Bite protection is the key, so avoiding the Black Fly habitats (river banks and lakes), wearing appropriate clothing, use of insect repellent and insecticides and sleeping under a mosquito net are all essential. Make sure that if any symptoms occur (even some years after infection) you inform your doctor of your travels and where appropriate seek specialist advice and treatment.

At

Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Health, alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Tourists warned of Thailand airport scam

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Title – Tourists warned of Thailand airport scamSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 20th July 2009

There is not a continent on earth (with the exception of

Antarctica where the penguins are remarkably honest) where scams are not perpetrated. Some are worse than others, some more frightening, some more expensive, some more obvious, some very clever, some criminal and some just ‘cheeky’.
Thailand is no exception to this rule, in fact it can sometimes feel like Thailand specialises in the scam at every level. They range from the fake gemstone scam, to the planting of illegal drugs. Sadly as with many countries where the police are paid a very low wage, some scams inevitably involve rogue police officers and other government officials.

In countries where corruption is almost endemic, some scams effectively become accepted as part of ‘the system’.

The thing which worries me about this scam is first that it seems to target victims using technology (CCTV) which is easily manipulated, but more that it takes place in what many travellers feel is a bit of a ‘sanctuary’; the airport.

Culture shock affects us most in unfamiliar environments like the Far East where the heat, humidity, hustle and bustle, traffic, food, chaos of the urban areas, poverty etc. delivers sensory overload, which can be significant. Sometimes the ‘sanctuary’ of an international airport, an environment we feel comfortable in, which is familiar to us and one more akin to our home environment, is just what we need to boost confidence for the next leg of a journey.

This also means we let our guard down, we behave in a manner more familiar to the one we know at home. Everything has a price so there is no need to haggle, the food (even if we take the local option) is presented in a more western style and so we assume that we will also be protected in the way we are at home; a way we take for granted.

So to be suddenly caught up in this kind of scam is frightening and the fact that those involved are officials within the airport, the police and potentially even the judiciary, make it a very difficult one to get out of. The loss of passport puts you at the mercy of your ‘captors’ and the facilities you are kept in mean that any sum of money to free yourself seems reasonable.

The hope is that by uncovering this scam publically and by consulates putting pressure on the Thai government, it makes them clamp down and put and end to this practice.

To avoid getting caught up in the scam the best and most obvious way is to avoid shopping at the airport. If you want to shop, just don’t touch anything you are not buying and pay with a credit card so you not only get (and keep) a receipt, but also a record of your transaction is made by your card company. The last piece of advice is to be more obvious than usual when handling anything you are going to buy, don’t open your bag, hold everything at arm’s length and with finger tips so any cctv footage will clearly show you paying for items and shop alone. Shopping alone means that if you are travelling with a partner at least they can call the embassy for help if you are caught up in the scam.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Killer parasites’ genes decoded

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Title – Killer parasites’ genes decoded
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 16th July 2009

I put these articles into the blog sometimes, not because such an in-depth knowledge of diseases is important for independent travellers, but because highlighting these diseases and making people aware of them provides a degree of protection.

Those diseases which attract the most attention are those which have vaccinations or for which prophylactic drugs are available. This is because the drug companies spend a vast amount of money promoting their drugs by providing information about the diseases themselves.

This means that diseases like Dengue Fever or in this case Bilharzia (Schistosomiasis) get largely left behind and tend only to be highlighted by government departments and then only when travellers actually seek out information.

If anything these are the ones we need to take more care with, because there is no vaccination or prophylactic drugs to provide ‘easy’ protection, so it is knowledge and our behaviour which offers the only protection.

Bilharzia is an incredibly debilitating and potentially fatal disease and is frighteningly common with over 200 million cases reported every year. London’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases sees an average of 200 cases a year in returning travellers.

Local advise is especially important in understanding bodies of water which are not safe to wade or swim in. For example reports suggest that 50% of swimmers in Lake Malawi test positive for Bilharzia; those are odds simply not worth contemplating, no matter how hot it is.

At

Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Health alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.