Did you see our recent LinkedIn post, sharing the news that portable carbon monoxide alarms are now on sale for the first time in UK airports?
SAFER TOURISM FOUNDATION
This is a result of campaigning by the Safer Tourism Foundation, which launched The Pack Safe Appeal in memory of Hudson Foley, who tragically passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning whilst backpacking in Ecuador two years ago.
| Find out more on the Pack Safe Appeal |
The Safer Tourism Foundation, a LATA Safety Scheme partner, is an independent charity, dedicated to saving lives and preventing serious harm or injury to travellers, both at home and abroad.
Its aim is to help ensure everyone who travels on holiday, at home in the UK or abroad, stays safe and well.
The Foundation was established in 2016, ten years after the deaths of two children, Bobby and Christi Shepherd, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning whilst on holiday in Corfu in 2006.
Bobby and Christi’s mother, Sharon Wood, worked with the travel industry to develop the Safer Tourism Foundation, as a positive legacy from this tragedy.
THE LATA RISK & RESILIENCE SCHEME
All LATA members have access to the Risk & Resilience Scheme – previously the Safety Scheme – , which was introduced with the aim of improving standards in accommodation and transport across Latin America.
We partner with Sanderson Philips, who provide comprehensive safety audits and these include checking for carbon monoxide detectors and for appliances that could emit carbon monoxide. Whilst accommodation providers can do their absolute best to provide these detectors, and the audits will show if they are installed, they cannot check the batteries just before your stay – or your customers.
CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS
This small device, that costs just £25 in the airport shops, could save a life and we strongly recommend taking one with you wherever you travel for your own peace of mind.
We also encourage you to add this advice to your customers’ pre-departure notes.
Earlier this year, Cathy Foley, mother of Hudson, wrote about the Pack Safe Appeal in the iNews. A reader saw the story and related to it, with her daughter heading off imminently on her own backpacking trip. She insisted she take a detector, which went off one night in a hostel. Had she not read the story, the outcome could have been catastrophic. You can read the article here (subscription required).
By getting portable carbon monoxide alarms stocked in WHSmith’s airport stores, the Foundation has turned a devastating loss into a lifesaving reality for future travellers. The campaign has also influenced the FCDO to update its travel advice, ensuring that awareness is a top priority.
Thank you, and congratulations, to the Safer Tourism Foundation for campaigning for this. We are sure that the more awareness there is, the more lives it will save. If you haven’t seen it already, do take a look at the interview on ITV News and spot LATA’s Martin Johnson commenting on the appeal.
| Watch the ITV interview again |
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