Risky Business? Young Travellers Falling into the Safety Gap Traps
Leeds, United Kingdom, November 10, 2006 --(PR.com)-- Young jet setters seduced by travel are putting their lust for adventure before their own personal health and safety, a new report by experiential travel specialist i-to-i revealed today.
With gap season looming, the research revealed that less than half of the young travellers surveyed (40 percent) increase their levels of caution when visiting new and exotic destinations - men being the worst offenders with just over a third (35 percent) upping their safety levels whilst abroad.
Male travellers also proved to be the biggest risk takers with a quarter (25 percent) actually owning up to taking more risks travelling than they would at home. Thirty percent admitted to frequently exploring new cities alone at night, compared to the more safety conscious opposite sex, 87 percent of whom would not take the risk and wait for either day time or someone to explore with rather than risk stepping out alone.
When it comes to keeping in touch with friends and family to keep them informed of their movements, less than half (45 percent) of those surveyed admitted to ever bothering.
Deirdre Bounds, i-to-i founder comments, “Keeping people in the loop may seem over cautious but it’s better to be safe than sorry – if people have an idea of where you are – if you do encounter difficulties, help and support will reach you so much quicker.
“At i-to-i we not only know where all our volunteers are, but we also have excellent in country coordinators located close to all our placements and usually native to the country. This provides a tight network of support, with someone close by who knows where you are and can be on hand to help should you need it.”
With young travellers seemingly taking more and more safety risks abroad, perhaps the most worrying finding is how few young travellers take out adequate insurance. Less than half (49 percent) arrange sufficient insurance for their travels, a frightening statistic considering the cost of an air ambulance plus medical fees can mount up to over £100,000.
Bounds adds “Travel insurance is absolutely paramount when planning your trip abroad which makes it even more shocking that more and more youngsters are cutting it out in a bid to save cash.
“Replacing lost possessions is just part of what your insurance covers – far more crucial is the cover it provides for medical expenses. The NHS can’t help you when you’re stuck in the Far East and costs to get you in and out of hospital can be frightening. At i-to-i we feel extremely strongly that this is the last place young people should be cutting corners. For this reason, comprehensive insurance is included with all our volunteer projects to ensure that all our travellers are fully covered whilst on one of our ventures around the world.”
In addition to these findings, the survey also revealed that:
• 43 percent of travellers drink more alcohol abroad than they would at home
• A third (32 percent) of all males interviewed admit to being offered illegal drugs abroad compared to just 15 percent or females
• Just a quarter (26 percent) of travellers carry out any sort of research into their destination prior to departure.
Bounds concludes, “Travelling gives people a wonderful sense of freedom and the opportunity to immerse themselves in new cultures, meet new people and have exciting one-off experiences. At the same time however, young travellers need to bare in mind that they are visiting places which are often completely different to home and where they will stick out like a sore thumb! It is important to be aware of your surroundings and take sensible risks rather than stupid ones, or your once in a life time trip could end up being memorable for all the wrong reasons.”
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Research was carried out by TNS amongst 1,000 16-30 year olds.
For further press information or photography, please contact Sarah Horner on 0113 205 4628/sarah.horner@i-to-i.com or Jo Little on 0113 205 4569/jo.little@i-to-i.com
EDITOR’S NOTES
1. i-to-i is a volunteer travel and TEFL training organisation based in Leeds, UK; Denver, USA; Melbourne, Australia and Co. Waterford, Ireland. Each year it sends around 5,000 volunteers to work on 500 projects in 23 countries worldwide and trains a further 15,000 people to teach English as a foreign language.
2. i-to-i is a founding member of the Year Out Group, associate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ‘Know Before You Go’ Campaign, member of the Federation of International Youth Travel Organisations and has training accreditation from the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council.
With gap season looming, the research revealed that less than half of the young travellers surveyed (40 percent) increase their levels of caution when visiting new and exotic destinations - men being the worst offenders with just over a third (35 percent) upping their safety levels whilst abroad.
Male travellers also proved to be the biggest risk takers with a quarter (25 percent) actually owning up to taking more risks travelling than they would at home. Thirty percent admitted to frequently exploring new cities alone at night, compared to the more safety conscious opposite sex, 87 percent of whom would not take the risk and wait for either day time or someone to explore with rather than risk stepping out alone.
When it comes to keeping in touch with friends and family to keep them informed of their movements, less than half (45 percent) of those surveyed admitted to ever bothering.
Deirdre Bounds, i-to-i founder comments, “Keeping people in the loop may seem over cautious but it’s better to be safe than sorry – if people have an idea of where you are – if you do encounter difficulties, help and support will reach you so much quicker.
“At i-to-i we not only know where all our volunteers are, but we also have excellent in country coordinators located close to all our placements and usually native to the country. This provides a tight network of support, with someone close by who knows where you are and can be on hand to help should you need it.”
With young travellers seemingly taking more and more safety risks abroad, perhaps the most worrying finding is how few young travellers take out adequate insurance. Less than half (49 percent) arrange sufficient insurance for their travels, a frightening statistic considering the cost of an air ambulance plus medical fees can mount up to over £100,000.
Bounds adds “Travel insurance is absolutely paramount when planning your trip abroad which makes it even more shocking that more and more youngsters are cutting it out in a bid to save cash.
“Replacing lost possessions is just part of what your insurance covers – far more crucial is the cover it provides for medical expenses. The NHS can’t help you when you’re stuck in the Far East and costs to get you in and out of hospital can be frightening. At i-to-i we feel extremely strongly that this is the last place young people should be cutting corners. For this reason, comprehensive insurance is included with all our volunteer projects to ensure that all our travellers are fully covered whilst on one of our ventures around the world.”
In addition to these findings, the survey also revealed that:
• 43 percent of travellers drink more alcohol abroad than they would at home
• A third (32 percent) of all males interviewed admit to being offered illegal drugs abroad compared to just 15 percent or females
• Just a quarter (26 percent) of travellers carry out any sort of research into their destination prior to departure.
Bounds concludes, “Travelling gives people a wonderful sense of freedom and the opportunity to immerse themselves in new cultures, meet new people and have exciting one-off experiences. At the same time however, young travellers need to bare in mind that they are visiting places which are often completely different to home and where they will stick out like a sore thumb! It is important to be aware of your surroundings and take sensible risks rather than stupid ones, or your once in a life time trip could end up being memorable for all the wrong reasons.”
###
Research was carried out by TNS amongst 1,000 16-30 year olds.
For further press information or photography, please contact Sarah Horner on 0113 205 4628/sarah.horner@i-to-i.com or Jo Little on 0113 205 4569/jo.little@i-to-i.com
EDITOR’S NOTES
1. i-to-i is a volunteer travel and TEFL training organisation based in Leeds, UK; Denver, USA; Melbourne, Australia and Co. Waterford, Ireland. Each year it sends around 5,000 volunteers to work on 500 projects in 23 countries worldwide and trains a further 15,000 people to teach English as a foreign language.
2. i-to-i is a founding member of the Year Out Group, associate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ‘Know Before You Go’ Campaign, member of the Federation of International Youth Travel Organisations and has training accreditation from the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council.
Contact
i-to-i
Jo Little
01132054569
www.i-to-i.com
Jo Little
01132054569
www.i-to-i.com
Contact
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