LOCATE - A useful service from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Friday, 14th May 2010
Steps you can take to reduce risk when you travel abroad
As well as our extensive programme of evening courses up and down the country, Cactus also acts as a “language travel agency” for language courses abroad in 25 languages in over 45 countries worldwide.
Unusually for a language training organisation, clients booking course packages are covered by Cactus bonding through TOPP and ATOL. In addition, Cactus is ISO 9001:2008 quality assured by Lloyds Register which means we adopt continual improvement approaches to help ensure everyone enjoys learning a language.
However, when it comes to travelling abroad to learn a language in the country it is spoken, there are considerations and risks beyond the scope of our control or circle of influence. This is where Cactus hands over to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the FCO’s Know Before You Go campaign.
We recommend that anyone planning a visit abroad should consult the FCO website at http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/.
The information held here is the most up-to-date available, fed by UK embassies and consulates around the world, and covers everything from natural disasters, regions of conflict, political unrest or risks from crime and terrorism. It’s the kind of info which people often try and blank out when they’re thinking of an idyllic holiday away from life’s trials. But the clue is in the title; knowing before you go is going to increase your propensity to have a great time when you get there. Whilst naturally this is quite a British National-centric service, our clients from around the world can make good use of this information. And for those who prefer to get their information through social media, there is an equivalent Facebook page and Twitter page.
LOCATE
Whilst browsing the FCO site, we came across the LOCATE service, which allows British nationals to register and give details about themselves and their trips.
You can enter details of any number of trips, give travel dates, the place you’re staying as well as entering emergency contacts back home.
Now to some this might appear to be a bit Big Brother-esque to tell the government where you’re going to be spending your holidays, but it’s also true that as soon as something kicks off abroad, friends and relatives are immediately on the phone to the Foreign Office, expecting them to have relevant information and a repatriation plan.
This appears to be joined up thinking that if you give details of your trip before you travel, including which hotel or host family you’re going to be staying in, then they’re much more likely to be able to update folks back home if the unthinkable does occur. Whether you get helicoptered out to safety is possibly a different matter, and a question for your travel insurer to answer. But this scheme gets our thumbs up.
Tags: foreign and commonwealth office, know before you go, locate
Posted by Sarah Watkins 2010-05 under Experience Cultures,
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