Travel firms urged to support FCO safety campaign
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has called on the travel industry to support this year’s campaign to encourage young holidaymakers to stay safe abroad.
More than 30 UK travel industry partners supported the campaign last year – including ABTA, Thomson Scene and Club 18-30 – and the FCO has called on more to get on board this year.
It claimed the "Take Your Pic" social media campaign helped to reduce the number of incidents among 15 to 30-year-olds in nine target resorts from 821 in summer 2014 to 789 last summer, despite an increase in arrivals.
Incidents in the resorts – including Ayia Napa, Ibiza, the Greek islands, Magaluf and Sunny Beach – ranged from lost or stolen passports to much more serious cases including sexual assaults, missing persons and deaths.
Paul Rodwell, FCO’s southern Europe regional campaigns manager, said: "Hundreds of young Brits continue to get into difficulty every year so it’s important for us to continue our work to reduce the number of incidents.
"Take Your Pic exceeded expectations last year and the drop in reported incident in participating resorts was very encouraging.
"We want to get more of the UK travel industry involved this year so we can all make sure young Brits have a great and safe holiday."
Nikki White, ABTA head of destinations and sustainability said: "Matters like these are where the travel industry can work well together to safeguard the millions of young holidaymakers who head overseas every year.
"Holidays should be memorable for the right reasons and the Take Your Pic campaign highlights simple steps that can help to promote safe and healthy holidays."
The Take Your Pic campaign uses social media and other communications channels to provide young British nationals with travel tips, ranging from facts about the resort they are visiting to local phrases, important local laws to be aware of and common pitfalls.
To build on the 2015 success, industry partners are needed to give support ranging from following and sharing digital campaign content to organising competitions and merchandising, among other opportunities.
Companies interested in getting involved should call 0207 781 2342 or email [email protected]
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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