Stay safe on holiday

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is urging British holidaymakers not to cut corners on travel insurance as its third annual British Behaviour Abroad report reveals that Brits are continuing to get into trouble overseas.

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6,710 passports lost in Spain

The report, based on incident figures from FCO records, reveals that 8,304 Britons needed assistance in the US, 6,710 passports were lost in Spain, 602 Brits were hospitalised in Greece and 1,591 died in Spain over the period April 06-March 07.

In a separate survey commissioned by the FCO, two thirds of British holiday makers say that they will be spending less on their foreign holiday preparations this year due to the credit crunch. This has prompted concerns that people will opt out of getting comprehensive travel insurance, adding potential financial ruin to the trauma of any serious problem abroad.

Foreign Office Minister, Meg Munn, said:

"This report highlights what can go wrong on holiday. It is a reminder to all that taking out comprehensive travel insurance is a crucial part of your holiday planning and not something that should be sacrificed to save a few pounds.

Helping British nationals in distress overseas is one of our most important tasks but many of the problems faced by holidaymakers are preventable. By carrying out some simple research on the laws, customs and health requirements of a country in advance, many people could prevent their holidays being ruined. Our message is: Stay safe and have a great holiday."

The report reveals many interesting findings including:

• Taking into account the number of British visitors and residents, Indonesia showed a very high rate of serious assistance cases (10.05 for every 1,000 Brits) followed by Pakistan (1.95) and then India (1.37)
• There are a number of reasons for Indonesia's high rates of serious assistance cases including accidents, theft of money and passports and involvement in drugs. Local law provides for random drug tests by police which take some visitors by surprise, a positive result is then sufficient evidence to charge for using drugs.
• Spain had the highest number of hospitalisations (695) followed by Greece (602) and then Thailand (324)
• Many of the hospitalisations in Thailand are a result of motorbike accidents – particularly in the Southern islands. Thailand has one of the world's highest road traffic accident rates, almost all of which involve motorbikes
• Proportionally, Brits were more likely to be arrested in Cyprus, closely followed by the USA and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Many of the Brits arrested in the UAE were transiting between the UK and elsewhere and were detained as a result of the country's zero policy on drugs, with possession of as little as 0.01g leading to people being arrested and detained. Low tolerance of alcohol related activities and driving offences as well as low tolerance of any perceived anti-Islamic behaviour, such as a lack of respect for UAE officials, also contributed
• Although approximately 247,000 fewer people visited India in 06/07, 56% more passports were lost than the year before

For specific travel advice by country visit www.fco.gov.uk/travel and click on your destination.