Report shows 1,500 needed consular assistance in one year alone
THE Foreign Office has launched a campaign offering travel advice to British Asians travelling to Pakistan and India after a report showed nearly 1,500 needed consular assistance in one year alone.
The ‘Know Before You Go’ campaign aims to offer advice to Brits travelling abroad.
A report into the number of incidents revealed that between April 2008 and Mach 2009, 1411 British visitors to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka reported problems to the FCO.
Nearly 20% of all reported consular cases in India required assistance whilst in hospital and nearly half needed support in the event of a death, the report said.
For British travellers in Pakistan, 86% of consular cases were to do with issues such as child abduction, missing persons, assault and forced marriage. Lost or stolen passports also ranked highly with 687 incidents reported across the region.
Jess Prasad from the FCO campaign said: “Many British Asians regularly travel to South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Many make the assumption that because they have friends and family there, or because they once lived there, that they do not need to take health precautions or get travel insurance. This can lead to serious and expensive problems whilst abroad, which could be avoided by making simple pre-tip preparations.”
Information about the campaign can be found at www.fco.gov.uk/travel
