Travel Aware

Traveladder.co.uk are supporting the FCDO's "Travel Aware" campaign.

As part of our commitment to helping our customers we make the most of working with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) on their wide-reaching "Travel Aware" campaign.

The directors of traveladder.co.uk and Brokersure Ltd have worked with the "Travel Aware" campaign for very many years since it was the "Know Before You Go" scheme.

The campaign has been created to reduce the number of preventable problems faced by British travellers abroad. It aims to raise awareness of potential hazards and change travel behaviour.

The good news is that many of the most common problems encountered by travellers abroad can be prevented or made less stressful by taking a few simple precautions. So by providing the right information to travellers before they set off, we can help our customers avoid a lot of trouble on their trip.

Traveladder.co.uk’s Role - As a trusted brand, we play an important part in the "Travel Aware" campaign by providing information to travellers through our existing communications this includes tips like:

• Make sure you have valid travel insurance, even if you’re only planning a short trip. And make sure it will cover you for wherever you’re going and whatever activities you plan to take part in while you’re there.
• Visit your GP at least 6 weeks before you travel. They will check that your vaccinations are up to date and give you helpful health advice for your trip.
• Read up on your destination, including local laws and customs. A good travel guide should give you this information, and it’s also worth talking to your travel agent or tour operator about possible risks.
• Make photocopies of your passport, visas, insurance details and any other important travel documents. Take one copy with you (packed separately from your real documents) and leave another copy with a relative or friend at home.

We can also point customers towards the FCDO website: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. Here customers can find lots of handy information, including:

• General travel advice to help them avoid preventable risks
• Travel advice by country, to keep them informed about their specific destination
• The ‘Don’t go to…’ list of countries where the risk of terrorism, civil unrest or health problems is so high that the FCDO advises against travelling there
• An explanation of what services the British Consulate can provide to travellers when things go wrong – and what services they can’t
• A range of handy checklists, from general checklists for before they travel and whilst they’re abroad, to checklists designed for specific groups such as gap year students, women and gay or lesbian travellers

Reaching High-Risk Travellers

The messages of the "Travel Aware" campaign are relevant to all UK travellers. But research shows that certain groups are particularly likely to experience problems on their travels, so it is important to ensure the travel-safe messages reach them. These groups are as follows:

• Young travellers (package holiday makers aged 18-30, hen and stag do’s)
• Older travellers (including over 55 package holiday makers and retirees abroad)
• Travellers to sporting events
• Gap Year Students
• British Minority Ethnic Groups

As part of "Travel Aware", the FCDO has run a series of ‘mini campaigns’ targeting specific groups. These mini campaigns feature messaging which is tailored to each groups’ needs, and use media that they are more likely to see.

Examples Of Past Activity

• Sports fans - Sports fans travelling abroad to support their team are a high risk group because their trips often involve alcohol, potentially hostile fans of opposing teams and large numbers of people in small areas. What’s more, when their trip is only for a day or two, sports fans may not bother taking out travel insurance. A number of mini campaigns have successfully targeted sports fans, including the 2009 Champions League Final where 30,000 Manchester United football fans travelled to Rome to support their team.
• In resort activity - "Travel Aware" continued its successful partnerships to promote travel advice in resort, helping to reach a key audience of 18-30 year old holiday makers who are typically less likely to prepare fully for their trip and more likely to take risks when abroad. In 2009, the campaign reached over 150,000 young people in destinations across Europe, Turkey and Egypt by working with tour operators Club 1830 and 2wentys to tackle problems common to this audience whilst on holiday.
• Young independent travellers - Because they make their own travel plans rather than booking a package through a tour operator, independent travellers are quite a disparate group to reach. However, as they often visit more ‘off the beaten track’ destinations and have no holiday rep to turn to if things go wrong, it’s important they are well prepared.Student Brand Ambassadors represent the campaign across eighteen UK universities by distributing promotional materials, organising features in student publications and on student radio and offering FCDO travel advice alongside gathering knowledge about student travel habits.