Survey Finds Growing Safety Worries Among British Travellers

LONDON, June 16, 2011 -

As the Summer Holidays Start a Survey
of Over 1,000 Travellers Finds Growing Concern Over Safety and
Security Issues - and More Action Being Taken by Holidaymakers to
Protect Themselves

• Terrorism is the biggest safety concern for
  travellers -over 40% are worried about
  this
• One third are more concerned about security issues now
  than they were a year ago
• Nearly 1 in 5 have felt threatened or intimidated by
  passport control/security at an airport

With the holiday season just weeks away, a new survey of over
1,000 travellers for leading href="www.carrentals.co.uk/">car hire comparison site
Carrentals.co.uk has found growing concern over safety issues, with
one third of respondents more concerned about security now than
they were a year ago.

The survey found that terrorism is the biggest safety concern
for travellers, with over 40% worried about terrorist attacks. Over
61% of respondents said if they saw a bag by itself at an airport
they would report it immediately, while a further 30% would report
it if it was still there after 30 minutes.  

Other safety concerns of respondents included being robbed
(27%), a flight crashing (23%), an illness outbreak (18.5%),
accommodation safety (18%) and being physically attacked
(13.5%).

However, nearly 1 in 5 also said they had felt threatened or
intimidated by passport control/security at an airport, with the
survey told of body searches, lengthy questioning - even at gun
point, and intimidating behaviour, with countries including the
USA, Russia, Thailand, Greece and Hungary highlighted.

More than 1 in 10 of those questioned said they had experienced
a serious safety incident on their travels, with researchers told
of physical attacks with weapons, car and bus crashes, aircraft
fires, car jackings and terrorist attacks.

Safety concerns mean travellers are taking a range of measures
to protect themselves, with over 74% saying they respect local
traditions in terms of dress and behaviour, while two thirds said
they don’t wear expensive jewellery, watches or clothing to avoid
drawing attention to themselves.

Over 50% of travellers now write down details of their credit
card and passport numbers, while 41% check travel advice from the
Foreign Office, and 28% wear a money belt under their clothes.
 2% also said they take a carbon monoxide detector with them
for their accommodation.

Travellers are also avoiding certain situations because of
safety concerns.  65% said they wouldn’t accept lifts from
someone they met on holiday, while over 7% avoid travelling on
local transport and attending sports events.  5% said they
avoid local festivals and celebrations.

Gareth Robinson, Managing Director of Carrentals.co.uk, says:
“Concerns over safety and security do seem to have got stronger
over the last year, and as a result more travellers are taking on
board advice such as detailing their passport numbers and
respecting local traditions.

“Security concerns aren’t stopping us travelling, but they are
perhaps making us more cautious about where we travel to and what
we do while there.”

Carrentals.co.uk offers a range of travel advice on its website-
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Carrentals.co.uk now compares deals from over 50 rental
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Media Contact, Rachel Builder & Jenny White, Context, T: +44(0)1625-511966, F: +44(0)1625-511967, carrentals at contextpr.co.uk,