A TRAVEL AGENT’S GUIDE TO

TIPS, TOOLS,

TECHNIQUES

AND IDEAS

TO KEEP YOU

AND YOUR

AGENCY TEAM

SAFE WHEN

TRAVELLING

ON A FAM OR

VACATION

STEPHEN CROWHURST, CTC

A Travel Agent’s Guide to

TRAVEL SAFETY

TIPS, TOOLS, TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS TO KEEP YOU AND YOUR CLIENTS

SAFE WHEN TRAVELLING ON A FAM OR VACATION

Stephen Crowhurst, CTC

A TRAVEL AGENT’S GUIDE TO TRAVEL SAFETY

A Travel Agent’s Guide to TRAVEL SAFETY

Copyright © 2018 Stephen Crowhurst

All Rights Reserved

Limit of liability/disclaimer of warranty: Stephen Crowhurst publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation, warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising therefrom. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information, the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

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CONTENTS PAGE #

Introduction 3

Travelling Safely in Today’s World 5

Expecting the Unexpected 7

Your Role in Client Safety 8

Take the Test 11

SAFETY AND AWARENESS TIPS AND TOOLS 12

• Common Sense 12

• Planning and Preparation 13

• Accessible Safety 14

• Active Shooter Training 15

• Air Travel Safety 16

• Assertiveness Training 19

• Battery Boosters 20

• Bus / Coach Travel Safety 21

• Cameras – Hacked and Overtaken 22

• Car Travel Safety 24

• Cruise Ship Safety & Survival 26

• Commercial Mass Surveillance 35

• Cultural Training – Knowing the Rules 36

• Distress Signals and Codes, You Should Know 37

• Drink it, or Leave It 42

• Dropbox and Storage Devices 43

• Fire Extinguishers in the Car 44

• Flameproof Travel Clothing 45

• Flashlights + SOS 46

• Go-Girl Urination Device 48

• Hotel Safety 49

• How to Find Your Parked Car 51

• Pick Pocket Proof Clothing / Bags 52

• RFID – ID Protection 53

• Safe Surfing Online With a VPN 54

• Selfie Survival – Rear Views 55

• Smartphone Emergency Apps 56

• Smart Traveller Program – USA 57

• Smart Traveller Program – Canada 58

• Smart Traveller Program – Australia 59

• SmartTraveller.Gov.Au – Female Travellers 59

• Train Travel Safety 65

• Whistles and Alarms 66

• Window Shopping and Awareness 67

CORPORATE TRAVEL SAFETY 68

TRAVEL SCAMS TO WATCH FOR 70

• What is a Scam? 70

• Distraction Scams 70

• Recognizing and Avoiding These Classic Travel Scams 70

• “Excuse me is this your wallet?” 70

• The Step Back and Say Cheese Scam 71

• You Watch My Bag and I’ll… Scam 71

• It’s in The Bag! 71

• Friendship Bracelets 71

• The Hotel Credit Card Update Scam 72

• Taxi Turmoil Scam 72

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• Taxi Meter Scams 72

• The Friendly Stranger 72

• The Bump, Smash and Threaten Scam 73

• The Bump in the Road Scam 73

• The Cardboard Children of Rome Scam 73

THE TOTAL SCAMTOUR PACKAGE 74

SELF-DEFENCE TRAINING Tips, Tools and Insights 76

• Your Natural Weapons 77

• Clothing as Weapons 77

• Personal Objects as Weapons 78

• Found Weapons 78

• The Pinch and Twist Technique 80

• Weapons Training 80

• Weapons Not Allowed Here 80

CREATING YOUR AGENCY’S SAFE TRAVEL GUIDE 81

• How Accidents Happen 82

• 48 Types of Accidents 84

• Niche Market Accidents 85

• Activity List 86

• Check Travel Alerts for the Destination 87

• Which Countries are Having Trouble? Map it out. 88

• What Top 3 Accidents Should You Warn Your Clients About? 89

• Whose Job Is It? 90

• “It Will Never Happen to Me!” 91

• Six Awareness Tips to Pass On 92

• Is There a Doctor in the Tent and Where’s the Loo? 93

• Your Safe Travel Window Display 95

• Creating Viral Safety Social Media Buzz 96

• World Awareness 97

• Your Legal Implications and Obligations 99

• Word Traps = Litigation 100

• Limitations of Liability 101

TRAVEL INSURANCE & SAFETY ADVICE 102

• Countries Needing Proof of Coverage 103

• The Schengen Visa and Insurance Requirements 103

• Cruise Insurance 103

• Earthquake Insurance 103

• Americans Are on Their Own 103

• Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion Insurance 104

• Insurance Associations 105

CLIENT’S TRAVEL INSURANCE QUESTIONS 108

MORE SAFETY & SURVIVAL DEVICES 110

• The Red Cross Store 111

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS BOOKS & MORE 112

SAFE TRAVEL GUIDE TIPS FOR CONTENT AND LAYOUT 113

ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN 114

About the Author 116

Other Publications by Author Available from The Travel Institute 117

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INTRODUCTION As travel agents, I know most of you had the calling early in life. For me, it was planning my overland trip from London, UK to Japan when I was about thirteen or so. If the calling did not arrive early, then you changed careers when the travel bug took a bite. Throughout your travel trade career, I am sure you have had some fantastic experiences and also a few narrow escapes that you can parley into safe travel advice for your clients – which is the focus for this book. Despite all the death and destruction and pending wars and fake this and real that, travelling the world is as safe as travelling your own city, town, village, area and neck of the woods. However, here’s the thing – if fate says it’s your time, then it’s your time. If a combination of events occurs, and you just happen to be in the midst of it all, then your FATE falls to LUCK when survival is literally out of your hands. I prefer not to live in a fear-based environment or mindset, but I do hanker after being aware, watchful, attentive and depending on what is unfolding, suspicious and ready to defend – and that is another premise for this eGuide.

*** I’ve been travelling on my own since a teenager. By that I mean I was on the road with one or two buddies hitchhiking, taking trains and long-haul coach rides. Over the years I have learned from my mistakes that range from misreading a compass, stepping on slippery rocks, walking alone at night, not having a flashlight and more recently, not having an emergency app and not having an extra power source for my iPhone. Back in the day, as they say, we did not have mobile phones to summon help. If we were caught out in some way, we had to solve it ourselves or die trying – and many did. By luck, I found my way down from the mountain in a thick mist. My left shoulder is still crook from the fall on the rocks with a heavy camera bag. Walking back to my hotel in Toronto one night, my martial arts training took over when one of two guys took a swing at me. I now carry a flashlight so I can exit a hotel when there’s a power outage. My emergency app is enabled, and I carry a charged battery booster for my iPhone. Additional lessons learned have been at the expense of others and their stories of escape, survival and currently, more often than not, their death. Travelling safely is part common sense, part self-awareness mixed with general life experience, direct travel experience, studied cultural understanding, repetitive training, fate and luck. It is also centered around the technology you carry with you and knowing how to use it for emergency purposes. In terms of staying safe on the road, when cruising, taking the train, bus, coach, taxi, a car rental, at your hotel, resort, inn, hostel and when walking along a treed avenue or window shopping, your safety and your survival lies literally in your hands. The tips, tools, techniques and ideas in this book are meant for you, the travel agent, to investigate, test, try and if possible, expand upon and add to your own experiences. Review your past travel situations and narrow escapes to decide what you have learned and then make sure you have a safe travel conversation with your clients. That conversation should also include a discussion about travel insurance. Your clients need to be invested in their personal safety.

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Your role is to educate your clients so that they travel out and back and return safely to book another trip with you. Selfish I know, but hey, you cannot afford to lose an excellent client when a few words of advice would have brought them home safe and sound to book again.

Content Written for the Female Reader The content of this eGuide is primarily written for my female readers. As we know, women in travel account for over 80% of the travel agency workforce, so I’ve written with that number in mind. That said, my male readers can also apply the information, tips, tools, techniques and ideas to their own travels. I’ll leave it to you to adapt the content to suit your personal travel situations, customer service programs and overall corporate needs.

Practice, Practice, Practice Practice is key to travelling safely. That means practicing such things as telling whoever is in your Travel 5 where and when you are going and returning. Practicing how to turn on your smartphone’s Flashlight app when the lights suddenly go out. Learning to send an SOS emergency call or your GPS location by hand or by voice to first responders is an important thing to practice too. Practicing how to handle physical attacks and verbal abuse is essential. Your body language, mannerisms and dress code can be an invitation to a criminal or a mugger. Knowing how to assert yourself to ward off such attacks is important. They all require practice. Practice and preparation win the day, or at least with practice, you would stand a better chance of negotiating, escaping, surviving and signalling for help depending on the severity of your situation. As you read through this eGuide, be sure to do your due diligence on my suggestions and recommendations and seek advice from local professional survivalists, law enforcement officers, trainers and your peers. The outcome, once you finish reading this book, should be a Safe Travel Guide that you create for yourself, your agency team and your clients. You may require legal advice depending on what you plan to write in your guide. Be sure to consult a professional. Travel Safe! Steve Crowhurst, CTC www.sellingtravel.net

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TRAVELLING SAFELY IN TODAY’S WORLD The issue of travel safety is usually far from any traveller’s mind until of course, a tragedy happens. And when it does happen, suddenly the focus is on updating and changing systems, processes, and we must not forget that wonderful face-saving phrase that CEOs and politicians love so much: “We’re conducting an investigation, and we will learn from this.” Meanwhile, somebody’s loved ones have died in what could have been prevented or at least minimized. There’s something else we should not forget or rule out, and that is the stupidity of some travellers – and you know who they are. They are the clients who attract danger through their actions. If you’ve taken enough FAM trips, you will, I know, recall the travel agent who makes a fool of themselves by drinking too much, or going out of bounds, mistreating service staff and misunderstanding cross-cultural signals. The words “could have been prevented” would make for a great call to arms. This one-liner could and should be the safe travel battle cry of all travel agents. If you know enough about travel safety, and you will after you’ve read this eGuide, you will be able to counsel your clients as to how they might increase their awareness to stay safe based on the type and style of their vacation, their destination and route. The airline industry has suffered over the years from catastrophic crashes. Then Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III appears on the scene to update a few flight manuals. Drawing on his years of flying to stay calm and manage the unexpected event, he ditched his ailing American Airlines plane, landing on the Hudson River, saving all on board. Watch the movie. In more recent years the cruise industry has been tested, too. The Concordia tragedy set the scene for what not to do when a ship capsizes. Short lesson learned for passengers: do not return to your cabin when your ship is sinking! Moreover, the crew must remember they are being recorded on a dozen mobile phones – the advice they were giving to panicked passengers was in fact: return to your cabins. The airline industry and the cruise industry are joined in tragedies that include capsized ferries and tour boats, hotel fires, rail and tour bus disasters, earthquakes, fires, storms, tsunamis, shark attacks and out of the blue attacks by mentally disturbed people and terrorists wielding knives, swords, and shooting automatic weapons.

Owning the News As each of these events unfolds, isn’t it amazing how quickly the mass media news anchors can be standing in the middle of a howling blizzard, walking through the rubble of what was once a holiday resort and reporting back to their viewers the so-called facts? It is in the heat of these moments that travel agents have a chance to stand up and be counted and make sure the general public, or at the very least, agency clients, receive the correct news and situational updates. I call this, Owning the News. It is important to own your own news when you are about to face a litany of cancellations due to mass media gossip channels reporting doom and gloom for anyone travelling. Typically, for some reason, they dump on the travel trade by advising their viewers not to travel, period.

Whoever Owns the News, WINS!

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EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED It might sound trite, writing that you, we, me should expect the unexpected. I mean who walks around expecting anything other than getting to work on time, coming home and having supper with family and friends? The thing is, we do expect the unexpected, and it happens without us knowing. Or so it seems. When that traffic backs up, when the next bus is cancelled, or the train is delayed, you already know what to do. Over the years you have been conditioned to react to a delay and automatically go into recovery/survival/get there mode. You take a different turn off to get around the traffic; you take a different bus route, or, from experience, you go for an early dinner at a café close by knowing how long things usually take to right themselves. You can handle the expected unexpected because you have experienced it many times before and have the solutions pre-programmed in your head. You have been re-wired to act on that automatic response. When something more drastic happens, such as being confronted by a knife-wielding maniac as the crowd parts, and you, staring at your smartphone walk on, oblivious, and suddenly look up. What do you do? Chances are not much because you have never considered this scenario. You have never expected it, nor trained for it. You are at the mercy of whatever fate and the deranged attacker have in store for you. If you were trained to react in this situation, your coat, jacket, phone, pen, belt, handbag, briefcase, backpack and earbuds cord could be turned into defensive tools to deflect an attack. The challenge, however, trained or not, is being able to go from checking your phone to defending yourself in one or two steps – that’s less than one second. Even if you could evade the attacker, push him aside and run away, that reaction needs to be automatic. Only training will allow you to react appropriately, and it would help tremendously if you just happened to be wearing footwear made for running.

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SAFETY AND AWARENESS TIPS AND TOOLS

COMMON SENSE Common sense is sadly lacking in so many travellers today. Could be from lack of worldly experience, no one to explain what the elders have learned and passed down and so that person ends up living in a bubble and not prepared for travelling.

Race, Religion and Lifestyle It’s a bit of a strange world at the moment. There are many movements to keep women safe from sexual assault and women’s voices are louder and stronger than ever before. This is good. It’s great. But some women have chosen to turn against common sense advice, taking it as an affront. In the UK recently, the police acknowledged a certain area that was not safe for women walking alone, and if they were in that area, they should probably not wear earbuds or earphones and be more focused on their surroundings than their phone. The response was not good. A well-travelled woman would say, just as any well-travelled man would say, “that’s plain common sense.” Unfortunately, the groups who chose to deride the comment by the police issued a slogan, “Headphones Don’t Rape Women” – raising issues about telling men not to attack women. Some people may take on that slogan and put themselves in danger by not listening to common sense and a well-intended warning, initially for women, but also for men.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-45809169 We do not yet live in a society where anyone can walk anywhere without being aware of one’s surroundings. White people should not go here. Black people should not go there. Asian people… Gay… Muslim… put any label in front of “should not go or venture there,” and that would be good advice. If you take it as an affront to your sex, race, religion or lifestyle, then a rude-awakening is coming your way soon. If you choose to ignore the advice, then that’s your choice. If nothing happens, that’s the best outcome. If something does happen, then it was your fault. The warning was there. Make sure you include a Common-Sense page in your Safe Travel Guide.

SELFIE

LUNCH!

YUM!

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ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING Assertiveness training would give you the power to call out, loud and clear, “Hey! Take your hands off me!” when a stray hand from the guy seated next to you makes a move. Asking others around you for help may produce a good Samaritan or no reaction. Summoning a flight attendant might help your situation IF the flight attendant has been trained to handle such an event. If no one comes to your assistance, the flight attendant is overwhelmed, the captain, co-pilot or purser are not summoned, and no one alerts the police to be standing by upon landing then move to an empty seat if one is available and phone the police from your seat. Few airlines in the USA allow cell phone use – however, go for it. If challenged then ask for the captain to radio ahead and have the police standing by when your flight arrives. Video the situation if you can. Take control. If someone in authority asks for your name, do not disclose it verbally. Tell whoever is asking the questions to move elsewhere away from the assailant. Send a text message to your partner/friends in your life and ask them to meet you at the arrivals lounge.

Training Most of the assertiveness training I found online seemed to be based on handling inter-office and corporate situations. There may be some gems that you can transfer to handling interactions when travelling. You might consider combining this type of training with a self-defence course that teaches you to be assertive mentally and physically should it come down to reacting with a physical response.

Say it Loud and Proud If it’s one thing I’ve learned from watching someone else in confrontational situations – say it loud, full voice, and point at the person causing you the distress. Do it so that everyone around you can hear and then see what’s happening. Typically, the offender will slink away, and others might step in to help. If the altercation is isolated, then a different approach is required. Your response would need to be calming, disarming, but ready to kick butt if necessary. Once away from the altercation, you can find other people to assist you.

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CRUISE SHIP SAFETY & SURVIVAL As an old Merchant Navy sea dog working onboard cruise ships in the late 1960s, I’ve seen my share of accidents, experienced huge waves, flooded cabins, and participated in emergency lifeboat drills. Luckily, (my favourite word) we never experienced an emergency that required the lowering of lifeboats, and that was a good thing because the moving bits were encrusted! There were a few lifeboats that were maintained and used as tenders to take passengers from ship to shore. There were also places below decks, deep down in the crew areas that became a trap when the watertight doors closed. Meaning there was no way back or forward unless you had the strength to lever back that door. I don’t mind saying that I always ran that segment. During a cruise FAM with Holland America, our ship just missed hurricane Liza that struck La Pas, Baha, Mexico. The captain decided not to head for port. He sailed out to sea. You can imagine the size of the waves as we sailed into the coming storm. In La Paz, the capital of the state, 412 people died, and 20,000 were left homeless. Nearly one-third of the homes in the town were destroyed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Liza I have sailed on a few cruises, but it’s not my favourite form of vacation, so chances are you have cruised many more times than I have. When I do travel on the ocean, taking a ferry, for instance, I always check the exits, walk to the life rafts and look at them. Habits die hard. Then comes the question: how the hell would I be able to launch that thing (the inflatable raft) in an emergency? This section is extremely important to you as a cruise loving and cruise-selling travel agent. You should learn how to stay safe onboard the cruise ships you promote and sell and be able to advise your clients on how they too can sail safely.

The Concordia Legacy The capsizing of the Concordia has been told many times. It did set the bar higher regarding safety regulations, and we assume since then all cruise lines have upped their safety standards. The fact the Concordia capsized onto rocks, saved the day. Had the capsize taken place just further out, the death toll would have been huge. The lessons learned: when a ship lists, only one side can lower lifeboats and depending on the degree of list the lifeboats will be dangling away from the deck and impossible to get into. The boats could be lowered all the way to the sea, but then passengers would have to jump several stories down into the ocean and swim to the lifeboat. Lifeboats work well when the ship is upright. Sinking slowly, but upright.

Too Many Passengers Not Enough Life Boats Fast forward to now and with the latest and largest ships ever launched being checked for safety. Someone has calculated that on the latest and largest ship, more than 1,500 people would be left to fend for themselves. Meaning the number of lifeboats multiplied by the regulated capacity per boat leaves 1,500 people without a seat to safety. New safety chutes, supposedly for the crew, are installed on some ships. Recent reports labelled these chutes as dangerous and gave the example of a woman clutching her baby, leaping into the chute, sliding or falling three or four stories and above her, a 200lb man hurtling after her. You can imagine the outcome.

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CULTURAL TRAINING – KNOWING THE RULES

It is amazing to me that so many tourists take off without a hint of what to expect when they get ‘there’ and complain that it’s not like home. It is also amazing that one or two tourists believe they can carry drugs home or rare birds or rhino horn dust and are surprised when caught and sent to a jail – also, not quite like home. Three pals and myself on the street in Alicante, Spain, during the era of military dictator Francisco Franco. It was hot. My pal Joe removed his shirt during the mid-day – we were downtown. Suddenly he was in the middle of several men trying to hustle him off. We quickly figured they were plain-clothed police and our mate Joe should not have removed his shirt. Like loyal pals, we managed to get a shirt on him, begged forgiveness and they let us go. A lesson learned. Today there are books, videos and training courses available to anyone not sure of the cultural dos and don’ts of the destination they travelling to. Any woman travelling to a male-dominated country where religion rules the people and more so women, it’s worth the effort to learn how to travel in that country. Even the smallest faux par will land a woman in the worst of places. Not what you want to have happen on your vacation or during a FAM. Here are two books from my library that will start you on the road to cultural understanding. Of course, you can find everything you need online, but not in the way the content is laid out in these books. Make it a Safe Travel Guide must-do: before anyone from the agency or your clients take off to certain countries, consult these books, and your government posted travel alerts.

Things might have changed from when these classic books were published, but, courtesy, politeness, saying please and thank you can never go amiss. The older traveller will usually have that built in respect whereas the casualness and social media background of the younger traveller may come across as too friendly in some countries. Best to stick to the proven niceties and courtesies until someone advises you, “Call me by my first name…” or, “Sure you can sit with us, no problem.” Men should always remember, in certain countries, you must always be aware if how your actions impact others, especially women.

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FLAMEPROOF (FR) TRAVEL CLOTHING I remember a time when I was, so it seemed at the time, always in the air. That was during my BDM days, travelling to Uniglobe agencies to help boost their sales. The more I flew, the more I realized my number was coming closer. A buddy had “survived” a near miss when his plane and another kissed wing tips. I say survived because it was that close, and after that, he quit his position that had him flying constantly. The rig of the day back then was to wear leather shoes with leather soles. Reason: they would take longer to burn if you had to escape from a plane and walk across hot metal. Clothing as in suits etc., should not be body-hugging. If the loose fabric did burn, it would not immediately adhere to skin. Fast forward to now and guess what? We have access to Flame Proof or FR clothing. The first thought is: WHAT! Gotta be ugly looking. But take a look at this image. That’s not bad. Have to leave that decision to my female travel agents. Would you wear it? Here’s the information behind FR:

1. The material/product should not melt and drip (which would indicate a propensity to stick to a person’s skin) 2. It should resist ignition.

You can explore FR clothing here by going to the main website home page and search for FR Clothing. Amazon carries all the FR brands, including Wrangler jeans and others.

https://www.sheplers.com/ https://www.carhartt.com/

https://www.amazon.com/

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SELFIE SURVIVAL – REAR VIEWS

Selfies are a bane to most travellers. Those long selfie sticks get in the way, and their owners don’t seem to care. All that selfie-shootin’ tourist wants is an I was there shot – however, that old extended selfie stick could help save you or your client from being attacked, mugged or accosted when you use the stick and smartphone combination to check out what’s going on behind you. Yes, it’s something like a James Bond movie using all those spy gadgets, but then this is for real. There will be times when you feel you are being watched. You can quite easily and unobtrusively check out who is behind you, watching or showing too much interest by using the selfie mode. Let’s say you are you are enjoying a coffee in a café and get that sense you are being watched. Tilt your laptop screen down a little as you enable the built-in camera or Skype for instance. Alternatively, hold your tablet or phone at an angle until you enable the camera and selfie mode. When ready, lift up the laptop screen or bring your tablet or phone in line so you can see behind you, then click. You don’t even have to look as if you are looking into your screen. Shoot a selfie then enlarge it on screen to see what’s going behind you. Here’s a similar technique when you are standing on the street after leaving the café. Aim your selfie stick higher as if shooting a selfie once again. At this angle, you will be able to see several blocks behind you. If that monster is still there, you have a challenge. Do not hesitate to head into a store, look for security and explain. Ask them to call the police and make sure if they do apprehend the person, that you do not divulge your name or where you are staying. Stand away from the suspect and do not look at him/her. The “aiming” of your camera and selfie stick takes practice. Work at it. You can use your smartphone or tablet in close quarters to see down the train carriage, on the street, at a bus station, across the road and down the street. If you make eye contact, do not stare or look as if you are inviting the person to come to you.

The iPhone Earbud Shutter Release You can snap a selfie when you have your earbuds plugged into your iPhone. Press the + button, and you will take a photo. So now, it would look like you are listening to music and not watching what’s going on around you. Press the + button, check out the activity behind you and decide your next move. This + button also allows you to take “spy” shots, by holding your camera one way, look the other way and press the + button. Write this into your Safe Travel Guide.

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CORPORATE TRAVEL SAFETY

If you own, manage or work for a corporate travel agency, chances are you are following specific protocols expressed by the accounts you service. It may seem that only the large multimillion-dollar accounts are concerned about the travel safety of their employees, however, any businessperson who is constantly in the air needs to be protected, especially female travellers. Here are a few facts and stats from recent reports that indicate businesswomen are more than concerned about travelling on their own and that only 5% have received safe travel training. This statistic indicates a huge opportunity for you and your team to reach out and provide safe travel tips and tools. The key here is to deliver on the HOW, not just the WHAT.

1. 83% of those surveyed reported that one or more safety-related concerns or incidents had occurred while travelling for business in the past year.

2. 63% think about safety always or frequently while travelling and concerns over safety have been escalating.

3. 45% of female travellers feel less safe or much less safe about travelling than they did five

years ago.

4. 84% said that their employers either did not provide travel safety tips/resources or that they weren’t aware of any such tools.

The report states the biggest risks that concern women on the road involve theft and scams.

5. 93% of women were concerned about pickpocketing and purse snatching; 86%were worried about credit card fraud; 63% are worried about identity theft, and 62% are concerned about taxi scams.

Many of the tips and tools found in this book can be mentioned to your corporate travellers and their support teams. Don’t be shy about mentioning or asking if your frequent flyers carry extra battery power for their smartphones, pack a flashlight, or have an SOS app ready to go when needed. You can double check with a simple statement like this: “… got a question for you, as I’m interested in the type of safety precautions you take when you fly…” From there, based on the client’s response you can dig a little deeper and be more specific. They might be way ahead of you and teach you a few things that you can pass on to other corporate travellers. You also want to know about specific companies in the business of keeping corporate travellers safe. Here’s one such company based in the UK.

DRUM-CUSSAC This company offers an online training program which is worth mentioning to your corporate clients. They may already know about Drum Cussac and that’s great if they do. If not, you have scored a point or three. Here’s a brief intro to their program: Designed to address the ever-changing risk landscape facing business travellers, the TravelPrepare e-learning course provides employees with the knowledge they need to travel globally, avoid risks and return home safely.

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THE TOTAL SCAMTOUR PACKAGE – THE JET LAG SCAM Here Steve Gillick takes us on a trip, courtesy of Scamtours. Put yourself in the traveller’s shoes and be ready NOT to make these mistakes when you travel on vacation or leave the FAM to go on your own. Mention this possible sequence of events to your clients too. Here we go:

***

Jet lag which is a scam artist’s best friend. When you arrive at a far-flung destination where you have travelled overnight and switched several time zones, your thinking may be dulled and your concentration may not be as acute as it should be. You exit the immigration desk and find the currency exchange office. As you are in the airport you have been trained to believe that you are safe and scam free. Not so. The woman counts out the local currency for you. She even pretends to make a mistake and adds another bill to the pile and counts again, and then counts the money directly into the tray for you to retrieve. Later that day when one of your bills is refused, you learn that many of the bills are counterfeit. Everyone in the country knows about counterfeit bills, and that is why they hold every bill up to the light to ensure they see the watermark, indicating the legality of the tender. Of course, you did not do this when you exchanged money. You trusted the fact that you were in the airport. Next time you’ll be more careful.

*** So, with your local currency in hand, you hop into one of the ‘legal’ taxis outside the terminal building. The driver is friendly and asks if this is your first time in the country. You say YES. WRONG! You have just given a potentially unscrupulous person enough information to start the: Welcome to my country – Scamville, scam. If it’s your first time, then chances are you don’t know the most direct, and cheapest fare to your hotel. The taxi driver knows the most circuitous way to get to the hotel and, explaining that there is a traffic jam up ahead, he takes the detour. The usual 20-minute ride has been extended to nearly one hour, with a fare to match.

***

Next, the driver asks why you are staying at the particular hotel you asked to be driven to. He then explains all the problems and complaints from his customers about this hotel, and let’s you know that he knows of a much better one that he will take you to, which will also save you money. (Yeah sure!)

***

You finally get to your hotel and the driver pulls up just a few yards away from the front door so the bell boy can’t really see you. The driver points to the meter—which, in your jet-lagged state, and the fact that you are unfamiliar with the currency, is quickly translated to you as $25.00 plus tip. You pay the man and bid him farewell. As soon as you leave the taxi you start to think and realize that the fare was actually equivalent to $2.50—not $25.00. You mis-read the decimal point and you tipped the guy!

***

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To clear your mind, you decide to go for a walk. You ask the hotel concierge directions to a local tourist attraction. He provides the information and then you set off to explore. The concierge was so nice by giving you a map of the ‘short cut’ to the attraction, to save time and see an interesting neighbourhood along the way. As soon as you leave, the cell phones are in action. The concierge calls an associate, describes what you are wearing and roughly when you will be passing by a certain place along the ‘short cut’ route. Once you arrive, a man or woman will pick your pocket or grab your camera or pass by on a motorcycle or bicycle and grab whatever they can. Welcome to our Country!

WHAT A WONDERFUL TOUR THAT WAS! Most of these events could have been prevented with pre-trip planning and research. Encourage your clients to take responsibility for their own safety and security by educating themselves and listening to your advice. Travel scams work because they are for the most part, simple scenarios that take advantage of your fears or your gullibility or your sense of good will. Being aware of travel scams and how they work is part of the preparation that any traveller should undergo before they set out to explore, whether it’s a package tour, a luxury cruise or independent travel. Always be vigilant, use hotel safes to store your valuables, take minimal cash with you when you are out and about and retain a healthy scepticism when meeting new people. There are just too many scenarios where a traveller who has known a friendly local for less than 5 minutes, decides to put their total trust in the person and the results are sometimes disastrous.

A Few Words About Common Sense When a client asks for travel advice, the response from family, friends, and yes, even travel professionals is often, “just use your common sense and you’ll be fine.” But “common sense” is rarely defined. It means establishing rules or a “commonality” of what makes sense when you travel. The comments noted above are part of the common rules that could make the difference between a ruined vacation and a great travel experience. Be a hero to your clients by giving them some insight into safe travel practices. It’s all part of building the trust relationship that leads to return sales.

MORE ABOUT STEVE GILLICK Steve Gillick is the author of two booklets (now sold out) on Travel Scams: ‘Defining Travel Common Sense’, and ‘Son of Scam’. Aside from authoring a column for five years on Scams, and uncovering more than 150 scams, Steve has been a featured speaker at conferences on travel safety, as well as appearing in newspapers, radio and television as an authority on the subject. steve@talkingtravel.ca https://www.facebook.com/stevegillicktalkingtravel

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SELF-DEFENCE TRAINING

SELF-DEFENCE TRAINING TIP, TOOLS AND INSIGHTS As a teenager, I was bullied by a guy who would wait at the top of the road until I was on my bike heading somewhere beyond him. Each time I’d back off and go away. Then he did it one time too many. I rode up, dropped my bike to the ground and went into his space and into his face, saying, “Let’s go!” Nothing happened. He rode off. Lesson learned. From the age of eleven, I have been involved in the martial arts: Judo, Karate, Aikido and Tai Chi. Today I “think” martial arts more than practice. Practicing in your mind is an old technique and believe it or not, when splat happens, your muscle memory, mind, body and spirit are pre-programmed to react. The only thing missing is stamina meaning you must be able to defend yourself quickly and efficiently before tiring.

Finding A Self-Defence Course Near You Start with yourself and your agency team. Get the guys involved too. Call up your local police station and ask if they teach a self-defence course for women. If so, get down there and check it out. Female officers will sometimes visit your place of business to instruct. The next source would be to check out local martial art schools. Now here’s where you need to be careful. Many of these schools are riding on MMA/UFC fame and techniques – however they do not know or understand the nitty-gritty of self-defence for a woman wearing the latest fashions, business suits, travelling on public transport, or driving alone at night. Other martial schools teach a soft type of woman’s self-defence that would be useless in most situations other than fending off a happy drunk with no intentions of hurting anyone. When it comes to learning how to defend against what could be murderous intent, the training must be tough, hard, exhausting and repetitive and the techniques must be based on a reactionary style that can only be termed: survival at all costs.

Awareness and Survival One of the first things any self-defence course would teach you is awareness. The art of awareness, being aware of your surroundings, listening to and acting on what your gut is telling you. When your stomach cringes and tightens up, that is your instinct kicking in. The meaning is clear. It means: get out of there, do not go there, do not go with them/him/her, do not have that drink, do not accept that ride. Yet, when you read about various assaults, the victim knew not to go, but could not say no. They did not have the training, confidence or the words to say no. Awareness training, mixed with assertiveness training, mixed with hard-core self-defence techniques should keep you out of situations you should never have ventured into. The Power of NO is important to learn. It takes practice.

Finding and Using Weapons Some schools will teach a woman how to punch. It’s a good thing to learn but and assuming it will be a man that attacks you, men are used to boxing, punching and being punched since boyhood. Then there is the knee or kick to the groin. Once again, men are used to defending this area since boyhood. It is a natural reflex, to cave in, moving the groin backwards and out of reach.

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TYPES OF ACCIDENTS The list below will give you 48 causes of an accident or discomfort that your client might experience when they travel. They happen here, so they can happen, there. How far you go is up to you, however, it is worthwhile reminding your clients of one or two major and common accidents that happen to tourists when they are not paying attention, and even when they are. They slip. They trip. They step on sharp shells. They get hit by a wave.

1. Acid attack

2. Adventure

3. Airborne

4. Airplane accidents

5. Animal attacks

6. Assaults

7. Auto accidents

8. Barefoot

9. Big waves

10. Boat accidents

11. Car accidents

12. Clinical negligence

13. Cold / flu related

14. Defective products

15. Dog bite

16. Fire

17. Flood

18. Food poisoning

19. Gun related

20. Hail

21. Headaches

22. Heat related

23. Hijacking

24. Insect bites

25. Lifestyle

26. Medical error

27. Norovirus

28. Poison

29. Plants

30. Racial

31. Sand in eyes

32. Shark attack

33. Slips, trips and falls

34. Snake bite

35. Sports injury

36. Sprained ankle

37. Stampede - human

38. Storm

39. Structural collapse

40. Terrorist attack

41. Thrown object

42. Train, tram and

43. Tsunami

44. Viruses

45. Water related

46. Weather

47. Wind

48. Wrongful death

This list is just a smattering of what can cause someone to suffer an accident, but overall it covers the basics. Your job now is to think about what activity your clients do when on vacation and advise them how to be prepared.

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CLIENTS’ TRAVEL INSURANCE QUESTIONS Selling insurance coverage to your clients is a difficult thing to do if you haven’t studied the product, the fine print and scripted yourself to deliver the information like a pro. Time to call an agency meeting or collect your home-based colleagues together to challenge the following questions collected from your preferred insurance vendors’ websites. Call your insurance provider for the correct responses and work with your manager for coaching.

THE QUESTIONS • How much does travel insurance cost?

• What does travel insurance cover?

• Is it too late to purchase trip insurance if today's past the date I made my first trip payment?

• When should I buy travel insurance?

• If I buy my insurance now, will the plane tickets that I purchase later for those parts of the trip be covered?

• If I arrange part of my entire trip through a travel agent, does the ‘supplier default’ coverage cover us if the travel agent goes broke or doesn't deliver the purchased tickets?

• What doesn’t travel insurance cover?

• Can I get travel insurance even if I don't use a travel agent?

• What is a pre-existing condition?

• When covering a pre-existing medical condition, do I need to buy enough insurance to cover all my prepaid trip arrangements? Is there a deadline?

• What do you mean by the look back period?

• What day do I use for my initial deposit day?

• What do I use for my travel dates?

• What kind of trips does travel insurance cover?

• Where do I have to live to be able to buy one of these plans?

• What should I do if I get sick or hurt?

• Who’s considered your family member or a traveling companion?

• Do all of us have to purchase travel insurance?

• What’s a terrorism incident?

• Does my credit card, homeowner’s or my regular medical insurance policy cover me while I'm travelling?

• What do I get with the 24-hour emergency hotline services?

• How do medical evacuation/transportation and medical repatriation differ?

• What does travel delay and trip cancellation cover?

• Since I bought my travel insurance – my medication has changed by one pill. Am I covered? What do I need to do?

• How do I apply?

• Is coverage available to anyone?

• What is a deductible?

• When is coverage in force?

• Should I pre-certify health insurance expenses?

• I am already living or travelling abroad, can I still get coverage?

• Can I purchase travel insurance for my friend, relative or employee online?

• My wife and I are buying round trip vacation insurance for a trip worth $10,000 do we split the cost when quoting?

• Why do I need travel insurance?

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About the Author

After a successful career as a travel agent and agency manager with Thomas Cook, agency owner, Director, Business Development & Regional Vice President of Uniglobe Western Canada, travel trade management consultant and trainer with SMP Training Co., contributor to CT Magazine, publisher, artist, photographer, and author, a humourous, no-fluff no-theory keynote speaker edu-entertaining audiences across North America, the UK, Egypt, Bosnia, China, Spain – Steve now focuses on writing travel trade How-To books available through The Travel Institute, and online from Amazon.com. He has been writing how to sell travel articles since 1987.

An adventurer at heart, Steve was outdoors as a kid, then as a teenager he joined his school’s outward-bound program. From those outdoor experiences he learned to hike, climb, kayak and drink cider in a country pub after a day’s hike! In 1967 he joined the British Merchant Navy and sailed the world on P&O ships, scrubbing decks, waiting on tables and supervising the swimming pool as the life guard. He emigrated to Canada in 1970 and now lives on Vancouver Island. In 2017 he published his first novel, Revenge! Book One of The Sadamune Blades Trilogy. In 2018 he published his second novel, Blood Negotiator. Here are the links to Steve’s websites promoting his travel trade how-to eBooks, his novels and his photography. Please visit his websites when you have time.

www.sellingtravel.net www.stevecrowhurst.com

www.phartography.weebly.com

The good old days!

Self-Defence WORKS!

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Other publications by Stephen Crowhurst Available from www.thetravelinstitute.com

A Travel Agent’s Guide to Ancestry Tours

A Travel Agent’s Guide to Attracting & Retaining Corporate Clients A Travel Agent’s Guide to Building an Adventure Travel Niche

A Travel Agent’s Guide to Prospecting for New Clients A Travel Agent’s Guide to Weddings & Honeymoons A Travel Agent’s Introduction to Attraction Marketing A Travel Agent’s Introduction to Selling Group Travel A Travel Agent’s Introduction to Women Only Travel

FIT and Group Travel Course Bundle Handy Clip Art and Graphics That Sell Travel

How to Sell More Books with Do-It-Yourself Marketing PowerPoint Tips for Travel Trade Professionals

Presentation Skills for Travel Trade Professionals Selling Faith Based, Spiritual & Personal Journeys Selling Flexible Independent Travel Arrangements

The Travel Agent’s Guide to Charging Fees The Travel Professional’s GO VIDEO! Handbook

The Travel Professional’s Guide to Managing Your Career The Travel Professional’s Guide to Selling Travel with Humor

Travel Safety 101 – Expecting the Unexpected Travel Writing for Travel Agents

Using Photography to Sell More Travel Webinar Presentation Skills for Travel Trade Professionals

THE POWER OF HOW SERIES

How to Close the Sale How to Publish on Amazon.com

How to Sell Destinations How to Sell Travel in Uncertain Times

The above titles are digital downloads in PDF format

and can be read on your eReader, tablet and desktop computer.

Travel Writing Travel Agents, Travel Safety & Selling Adventure Travel are also available in soft cover from Amazon.com.

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Since 1964, we’ve been developing all types of travel industry training for all experience levels – from those new to the industry who need guidance on how to become a travel agent to experienced executives wanting to grow their management and leadership skills. We’ve earned the reputation as the education destination because our training is relevant, on-demand, and not just the same old stuff.

The Travel Institute 945 Concord Street

Framingham, MA 01701 Tel: 781-237-0280

800-542-4282 Fax: 781-237-3860

Email: Info@thetravelinstitute.com

Learn More. Earn More.

https://www.thetravelinstitute.com/