A?survey of more than?1,000 travellers from?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.
p> A?survey of more than?1,000 travellers from?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.?More than?40% of those polled said they were?worried about terrorist attacks and?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 one?in five also said they had felt threatened or intimidated by passport control/security at an airport, with respondents recalling experiences of?body searches, lengthy questioning ? even at gun point, and intimidating behaviour, with countries including the US, Russia, Thailand, Greece and Hungary highlighted. More than one?in ten 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 more than?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.
The survey also found that more than?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. Travellers are also avoiding certain situations because of safety concerns according to the company, with?65% saying that they would?not?accept lifts from someone they met on holiday and more than?7% avoiding travel on local transport and attending sports events. The company's managing director, Gareth Robinson, said: ?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.?
The company?offers a range of travel advice at?www.carrentals.co.uk
