Posts Tagged ‘AllClear’

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Green Tourism

Monday, January 16th, 2012
green tourism

How green are you on your holidays?

We have been feeling in a green mood lately, so we thought in this blog we would talk about green tourism.

But just what does this mean? Well, sustainable or green tourism is the industry committed to making a low environmental impact on your holiday destination, while helping to generate income and employment for the local population.

When we visit beautiful places, it’s natural to want our holidays to have a positive impact on local people and their environments. Responsible travel is about more authentic holiday experiences that enable you to get a little bit more out of your travels, and give a little bit more back to destinations and local people. Responsible travel maximises the benefits, and minimises the negative effects of tourism.

There are lots of holiday companies that specialise in providing eco holidays to places as exotic as Madagascar, Kenya or even the Galapagos Islands. But there are also ways that you yourself can just reduce your environmental impact when you are on holiday. Going on a green holiday doesn’t mean that you have to stop visiting your favourite destination nor does it mean camping in the wilderness without all of your luxuries! These are some common misconceptions that holidaymakers have, but in reality it is much more simple than everyone thinks.

Booking your Holiday

  • Ask if the Tour Operators have a policy for Responsible Travel. If they do, take a look and make sure it explains how they minimise environmental impacts and support the local economy. You could consider asking your hotel/accommodation these 10 simple questions (from ResponsibleTravel.com)
  • Aim to reduce your carbon emissions
    • Travel by train and public transport where possible
    • Book direct flights avoiding transfers

Before you travel

  • Read up on local cultures and learn a few words of the local language – travelling with respect earns you respect
  • Ask your tour operator/hotel if there are useful gifts that you could pack for your hosts, local people or schools
  • Ask your tour operator whether there are local conservation or social projects that you could visit on your trip, and how you could help support them
  • Remove packaging as much as possible from new items that you are taking with you. Not all countries have the same recycling services that we have in the UK

While on holiday

  • Buy local goods  in preference to imported goods – this will help the local economy. However, be wary of what you buy. Don’t buy products made from endangered or wild animals and plants – including coral, shells, starfish, horns, teeth and animal skins and fur. Endangered plants and animals need our help to protect them! For more information on wildlife souvenirs and a list of banned products see the Directgov Souvenirs and Endangered Species
  • Local people should get a fair deal out of your visit, by offering goods or services for you to enjoy –authentic food from a local restaurant, real local crafts for you to take home or guiding services so you can get closer to the destination that you’re visiting.
  • Respect local cultures, traditions and holy places – if in doubt ask advice
  • Do not have your photo taken with any ‘wild animals’ – these animals are often taken from the wild when young, and are often mistreated and killed when they get too large or difficult to handle. For more information on animal exploitation and to report a concern, visit Born Free Foundation’s Travellers’ Animal Alert
  • Visiting a coral reef? Do not step on, touch or remove any coral – it is important to protect the coral reefs when snorkelling, they are extremely fragile
  • Book safari trips with a licensed and trained guide – so that you can enjoy your day out and the wild animals are not disturbed or threatened by your presence
  • Resist the temptation to stray from designated walking tracks or boardwalks. These walking tracks and boardwalks have been designed for a purpose and by not using them you run the risk of damaging or destroying plant life and other creatures
  • Respect the natural environment – don’t drop litter
  • Turn off hotel room air conditioning when it is not needed. Turn off hotel lights when you leave the room and turn off the TV rather than leaving it on standby.
  • Use public transport, hire a bike or walk when convenient – it’s a great way to meet local people and reduce pollution and carbon emissions
  • Use water sparingly – Many hot countries suffer from periods of drought and tourists tend to use far more than local people. Take short showers rather than baths. Let hotel staff know if you’re happy for them to change towels/bed linen as needed  and not on a daily basis

When you get back

  • Write to your tour operator or hotel with any comments or feedback about your holiday, and especially include any suggestions on reducing environmental impacts and increasing benefits to local communities
  • If you’ve promised to send pictures or gifts to local people remember to do so, many are promised and not all arrive!
  • Why not donate to a local project in the area you’ve visited? Take a look at TravelPledge for community and environmental projects around the world.

Ok, so this seems like a really long list but they are really not difficult things to do, and think how much more worthwhile your holiday will seem afterwards. We should all try and be responsible travellers, and by following these tips you can make a huge difference to communities in holiday destinations, as well as the environment.

At AllClear, we are also committed to going greener and are proud to be a green company. We are committed to reducing any harmful effects on the environment and creating simple opportunities for our staff to be green. We acknowledge that the office environment has a vital part to play in improving sustainability, and helping our customers be green too. You can find out more here

 Thanks go to ResponsibleTravel.com, 50andnifty.com, DoItEco and Foreign and Commonwealth Office  for some of these tips.

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Malaria cases soar as travellers neglect pills

Thursday, November 24th, 2011
travel insurance malaria

Jetting off to an exotic location? Have you checked if you need to take precautions for Malaria?

Malaria. It’s a word that we cannot escape thinking about it when planning an exotic holiday – maybe a safari in Kenya or sightseeing in India. The good news is that Malaria is almost completely preventable when the right precautions are taken.

However, according to this article, cases of malaria in people living in Britain has risen by almost a third in two years, with many cases blamed on complacent attitudes to anti-malarial tablets. Figures from the Health Protection Agency show that 1,761 cases were reported last year, compared with 1,495 in 2009 and 1,370 in 2008. Of 997 cases where information was available, 850 involved people who had not taken anti-malaria pills in countries where the disease was prevalent.

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes. Four out of 10 cases in 2010 were among UK residents who had travelled to Nigeria or Ghana and 11% were people who had visited India. 500 million new cases of malaria are reported worldwide each year.

57 countries are registered as ‘malaria-endemic’, with the disease posing a threat to human life. So it is always worth checking if you need to take Malaria precautions before you go on holiday. Remember – if you don’t take the proper precautions, you will not be covered under your travel insurance if you do get ill.

Ok so there is one problem here – it’s well known that malaria medication can sometimes cause side effects, including things like pretty nasty nightmares. So in an ideal world, we could stop the mosquitoes spreading the malaria in the first place. Now, a genetic breakthrough may help us do just that.

Scientists have figured out a way to block the spread of malaria using genetically-modified (GM) mosquitoes that carry malaria-blocking genes that stops the blood parasite (which causes Malaria) being passed to humans when they are bitten.

This new study has shown that it is possible for GM mosquitoes to rapidly pass on malaria-blocking genes to wild mosquitoes with the help of a second gene, called the endonuclease gene.

Professor Andrea Crisanti of Imperial College London said that laboratory experiments have now shown that the endonuclease gene is very effective at spreading through a caged population of mosquito. After introducing a few GM males into the laboratory population of mosquitoes, about 50% of the captive mosquitoes had the anti malaria trait within 12 generations of the first introduction – a period of just a few months.

However, there is a lot more research to be done before field trials (releasing these GM mosquitoes into the wild) can be considered. We will keep you posted when we hear more…

(Don’t forget you can also download the AllClear Travel App to find out what vaccinations you might need for your holiday.)

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Fancy an adventurous holiday in New Zealand?

Monday, September 26th, 2011

So New Zealand is the location of the Rugby World Cup 2011, but there are plenty of other reasons that people visit this country – not least to enjoy the many outdoor pursuits that are available. So we thought that we would devote this blog to the landscape of New Zealand and what is on offer there. Thanks to New Zealand Tourism for a lot of this information.

New Zealand is situated in the South Pacific ocean, between latitude 34′S and 47′S, with mountain ranges down much of its length. There are two main islands, the North Island and the South Island, with a third smaller island in the south, Stewart Island.

New Zealand has a unique landscape and a variety of landforms. In a few days drive, you can see everything from snow-topped mountain ranges to sandy beaches, lush rainforests, glaciers and fiords, and active volcanoes. These environments lend themselves to many outdoor pursuits such as skiing, diving, hiking, kayaking, horse riding and sailing. And there is lots of space to enjoy any of these activities because New Zealand is so uncrowded, with a population of just 4 million people.

But this blog is not just here to rave about the stunning scenery of New Zealand, there is a point to it. And the point is, if you plan on doing any of these more adventurous activities, it is important to check what cover you get, because level and type of cover will vary depending on your travel insurance policy.

For example, with an AllClear policy, you are covered for the following activities, to name just a few:  Archery, Abseiling, Hot Air Ballooning, Canoeing (in calm water), Clay Pigeon Shooting, Fell walking, Horse riding and orienteering. Winter Sports is an additional option that may be added to your policy.

However, there are still basic conditions that are ascribed to this cover depending on the activity you are doing. For example, you may need to be accompanied by, or accessible to a qualified instructor, and taking part in an organised activity or event.So, the take home message here is this: Check what activities you are covered for before you go on holiday somewhere like New Zealand, particularly if you are thinking of trying something a little out of the ordinary while you are there. If you are not sure, ask the insurance provider, they should be able to help you…

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AllClear employee, Garry Nelson and his epic charity cycling challenge

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

In this blog, we just wanted to let you know about  the upcoming adventure of one of our very own AllClear staff, Garry Nelson. A former Southend United Player, his challenge is to cycle from Southend in Scotland (Mull of Kintyre) to Southend-on-Sea in Essex, a distance of 650 miles starting on October 1st and culminating on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day on Saturday 8th October. The 650 miles are being attempted in just 8 days which means, on average, 80 miles a day!

AllClear employee charity fundraising

Garry Nelson from AllClear and his cycling challenge for charity

But Garry is not just doing this cycle ride for the fun of it. Garry, and the rest of the team, are aiming to raise £20k for 2 charities:

The Willow Foundation, founded by Arsenal legend Bob Wilson,  provides morale-boosting special days for seriously ill 16 to 40 year olds and gives much needed time out from the stresses of living with a life-threatening condition.

AllClear will also be fundraising for this charity with our annual Golf Day in September (in partnership with our sister company LeisureLinkGolf).

A local Charity called Havens Hospices (which incorporates Fair Havens and Little Havens). It is a Charity which provides end-of-life care for both adults and children. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and no patient is charged for the care they receive.  This could not continue without kind donations as it costs £5.1 million each year to keep the hospices open.

Garry first became aware of the specialist care hospices provide when his mum, Elsie, was cared for by Fair Havens Hospice in Westcliff, Southend.

So Garry’s cycling challenge is all for a very good cause, and all of us at AllClear wish Garry luck, and hope it is not too painful! You can show your support for Garry and the rest of the team here http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CycleSouthend2Southend.

We will keep you updated in October, when the challenge takes place…You can also follow the team’s progress on Facebook by searching for Southend 2 Southend Charity Bike Ride.

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You are what you tweet

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Are you a big fan of Twitter. Or have you never used it? You may have had a look but then been put off by some of the seemingly inane tweets – along the lines of what people have had for breakfast, or their plans for dinner. But, actually, Twitter can be more useful than you think. Seemingly tedious comments about headaches and hangovers can reveal nation-wide health trends and misconceptions, according to this article.

In the US, Tweets about illnesses were analysed to find out who was ill, their location in the country,  what medication they were taking and whether they were treating themselves correctly. John Hopkins University computer scientists analysed 1.5 million tweets sent between May 2009 and October 2010 which all referred to health matters. 

An interesting part of the study was medical misperceptions. For example, some people tweeted that they were taking antibiotics for flu. But antibiotics don’t work on the flu, which is a virus, and this practice could contribute to the growing antibiotic resistance problems.

In about 200,000 of the health-related tweets, the researchers were able to draw on user-provided public information to identify the geographic state from which the message was sent.  That allowed them to track some trends by time and place, such as when the allergy and flu seasons peaked in various parts of the US. 

The scientists have been talking to public health scientists who say that future studies of tweets could uncover even more useful data, both only about medical trends but also about public perceptions concerning illnesses and medications. (However, the researchers did point out that there is a limit to what people will share on Twitter, and all research will be limited by this).

This got me thinking about other ways that Twitter provides useful information, particularly in the world of travel, travel insurance and travelling with medical conditions. It really is a wealth of information with people providing their own personal tips or recommendations. This could be anything from places to visit, good restaurants, and insurers to try, for example. At AllClear Travel, we do our best to provide you with useful information on Twitter too, you can find us at www.twitter.com/allcleartravel. Please do check us out and follow on Twitter. And then we are really interested in finding out how we can provide even more useful information for you on travel, particularly travelling with medical conditions. Do let us know in the comments box below how we can help

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Stay healthy on your hols!

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

We are approaching the summer school holidays, the busiest time of the year for us Brits to go on holiday. Time for lots of sun, sea, and sand.

But today, I wanted to talk to you a little more about travelling to these exotic destinations. How many times have you noticed that you get off the plane at your destination, or return home, with a little case of the sniffles. Well, that’s because, aircraft cabins are a breeding ground for cold viruses and other germs (the Times article)

So given that many of us will be jetting abroad over the next few weeks, I thought now would be a good time to let you know how to keep these germs at bay.

Unfortunately, the cabin of an aircraft is the perfect environment for lots of different bacteria and viruses that cause the common cold. Hundreds of passengers in a relatively confined space, with restricted ventilation, means it is inevitable that you end up breathing in air that has recently been exhaled by your travelling companions. Modern airliners recycle as much as 50% of the cabin air to improve engine efficiency and save fuel.

The half that is recycled passes through microfilters designed to remove airborne particles.  But viruses are tiny and some inevitably slip through even when the filters are working at peak efficiency. Older airliners may circulate fresh air, but these means bigger costs, and more fuel usage, to condition this air. However, research doesn’t seem to back the widely held belief that the cost-cutting behind air recirculation in modern planes is putting passengers at greater risk of infections. One study compared infection rates in people flying on planes that use recycled air compared with those using only fresh air. Researchers from the University of California followed more than 1,500 travellers on the two different types of aircraft and found similar reported rates of colds in the week after the trip — 19% on the planes that recirculated air; 21% on those that didn’t.

So catching a cold on a plane doesn’t seem to be a risk of air conditioning. However, regardless of the mechanism behind catching a cold on a plane, it appears to be an unavoidable complication of sitting in a confined space with hundreds of other people.

So what can you do to try and protect yourself from catching these colds?

There is very little that you can do about picking up airborne viruses. You could try using nasal sprays containing zinc, but trials suggest that, if they do help, the protective effect against colds is likely to be very small.  

However, while you be able to do little about air-borne viruses, good basic hygiene can reduce the risk of picking viruses or bacteria up from contaminated surfaces such as armrests, door handles, taps and flushes. Wash your hands carefully after using the toilet and before eating, and pack alcohol-based hand sanitisers in your hand baggage. You can also carry antibacterial wipes and use these to clean the plastic armrests and tray-table.

So before you go jetting off on your holidays, just remember these few tips that may help (and some more here), and make sure you have travel insurance to cover you, just in case of a more serious illness than a cold.

But the important thing to remember is that, once that plane journey is finished, you then have that lovely holiday to look forward to! So all that remains to say is, if you do have a holiday booked over the summer holidays, I hope you have a fantastic time.

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‘Universal’ cancer jab?

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
A 'Universal' vaccine for Cancer is being trialled

A 'Universal' vaccine for Cancer is being trialled

 

A ‘universal’ vaccine for cancer could be available in just 2 years, according to this article. The TeloVac jab is part of a new generation of drugs that use the body’s own defences to fight the disease. TeloVac has already been given to hundreds of Britons with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease. But it is hoped it will be effective against many other tumours, including those of the skin, lung and liver.

In the case of pancreatic cancer, which killed actor Patrick Swayze, survival rates have barely improved in the past 40 years, and patients typically die within six months of diagnosis. Just 3% survive five years, and it is the fifth biggest cancer killer in the UK. Although vaccines usually prevent disease, the TeloVac jab is designed as a treatment.

Rather than attacking the cancer cells, like many existing drugs, it harnesses the power of the body’s own immune system to fight the tumours (in the same way that vaccines for infectious diseases encourage our immune system to fight off the specific virus).  It works by encouraging the immune system to seek out and destroy an enzyme called telomerase. Found at high levels in many cancer cells, telomerase effectively makes them immortal, allowing them to live on when healthy cells would die – easing the growth and spread of the tumour.

In the largest trial of its kind in the UK, more than 1,000 men and women in the late stages of pancreatic cancer are either being given the vaccine alongside their normal drugs, or treated as usual. The results from the 53 hospitals taking part will not be available until next year but, anecdotally, some patients credit their participation in the trial with giving them an extra year or two of life. In earlier, smaller trials, the vaccine gave those in the late stages of the disease an average of an extra three months.  Pancreatic cancer cells are normally invisible to the immune system but the vaccine ‘spots’ the telomerase spilling out from them and kick-starts the fight back.

Healthy cells escape the attack because their levels of telomerase are too low to bother the immune system. This cuts the risk of side-effects such as nausea and hair loss normally seen with cancer drugs.

The latest study is funded by Cancer Research UK. Obviously, there is still a lot of clinical research to be done, proves the jab’s worth, it could be available to treat advanced pancreatic cancer by the end of 2013. In time, it could be used earlier in the disease – and even to prevent it.

We will keep you posted when we hear any more about this cancer vaccine. In the meantime, if you, or a family member or friend, has cancer and you are planning a holiday, you might find our travelling with cancer blog category useful.

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It’s official. We need a holiday every 62 days!

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
The Weight of the World

Burnt-out workers need more holidays

Have you been on holiday recently? Or do you just feel that you desperately need a break? You would not be alone. According to a study, long hours and heavy workloads mean we now require six holidays a year to avoid burning out. We need to pack our bags and take a break at least every 62 days – with those who wait more than two months between holidays more likely to become anxious, aggressive and ill.

So why do we need all these holidays? Well, basically, with the economic downturn, we are more drained and we are working harder than ever. 25% of workers surveyed said they are under so much pressure that they feel ‘desperate’ for a getaway every few weeks.

And the more important question is – do we actually get this recommended holiday quota? The answer is often no,  with only one in five of those questioned managing a break every couple of months, and 44% going without a holiday for half a year or longer.

But when we are lucky enough to get away,  most people find their stress levels slip away as soon as they do escape, with more than half feeling ‘fully refreshed’ after just a day or two away from the office. Men find it easier to leave it all behind than women, who take longer to relax once they do get away, the survey found

Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, said: ‘Redundancies across the country have led to a fall in numbers of workers in each organisation, but no fall in the workload. As a result, remaining staff are working longer and harder.

‘Workers really should take a break every few months otherwise they will burn out, which is bad for them and their employer. People who fail to go on holiday are more likely to become anxious, aggressive and withdrawn. They may also develop aches and pains and struggle to sleep. Over-working depresses your immune system, making it more likely you will catch a cold or the flu.

‘From the employer’s view, an employee who has not been on holiday will become less productive and more prone to mistakes.’

So what lesson can we learn from this research? Well, it is quite a simple one really! As much as your personal time and budgets allow, make sure that you book a break if you can every 2 months or so. They don’t all have to be weeks away (you would probably run out of annual leave pretty quickly), but often a long weekend can be enough to recharge the batteries. And make sure you don’t forget your annual travel insurance to cover you for all those lovely holidays!

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Worried about strikes?

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

We all know the feeling, you have your holiday booked, you have been looking forward to it for ages, and everything is paid for, and then you hear the awful news – there is a strike that impacts on one of your travel routes.

For example, there has been a lot of talk about potential BA strikes at Easter. So here we give you some hints about what you can do if you get caught up in a strike…

  • Travel Insurance: Make sure that you have travel insurance to protect yourself against any potential strike action from a plane, train, coach or ferry company. This will then cover you against potential losses should your flight or travel plans be disrupted. Make sure you check the small print that your cover includes industrial action. Remember, you will not be covered for strike action if the strike was already announced before you get your insurance – so it is always advisable to book your travel insurance as soon as possible.
  • Before travel: Make sure you have provided up to date contact details for your airline or other travel mode, as they may contact you if strike action takes place.
  • Check the law: If your flights gets cancelled altogether because of a strike, you should be entitled to a full refund or a reroute under EU law.

For further information  on the possible BA strikes check out http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/mar/29/ba-strike-passengers-buy-travel-insurance and  http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/apr/03/ba-easter-strike-ready-take-off?INTCMP=SRCH

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Are you really happy?

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

 

travel insurance for the elderly

Do you know how to be happy?

Are you really happy? Do you know how to make yourself happy? Well, a new organisation called Action for Happiness wants to spread the message of how we can change the world for the better.

Now a lot of the tips are pretty obvious…

  • Exercise is a key factor in health and wellbeing

But some make you think a little more:

  • Thanking people each evening for the good they have done you during the day serves as a protection against mild depression.

For much of the past century the best route to happiness was thought to be economic growth. Yet for all the new technological developments we see every day, innovations in things are not always likely to make us happy. Instead, your happiness is likely to be most affected by a holistic childcare centre for children or a hospice for the very old, a reading group or a bicycle hire scheme or an urban farm.

The problem is, according to this article, there are thousands of brilliant projects to improve happiness, but there is no clear system in place to decide which products get funding or support and can be scaled up enough to make an impact.

However, this idea of increasing happiness through social innovations has interested the government here, and in countries such as France and Canada. Barack Obama now has a small office for social innovation in the White House. Big corporations are also considering these new measures for happiness.

There is rising confidence in these social innovation ideas. For example, the award of the Nobel peace prize to Muhammad Yunus for his Grameen Bank is a classic example of a social innovation, providing small amounts of credit for poor women in rural Bangladesh.

Another factor is the changing shape of the economy. The industries of “wellness” look most likely to dominate the economy in 10 or 20 years time, as opposed to cars or steel or ships. Health is already a dominant sector in most societies and the one most guaranteed to grow.

There are also some good examples of business engagement in social innovation. For example M-Pesa, which uses mobile phones in east Africa to provide an entirely new banking system for poor people. This is a social innovation that promotes happiness, but is being run as a commercial operation.

Now ageing is a really good example of how to we need to think about improving our happiness. Life expectancy is rising by around three months every year and the evidence suggests that many of the most powerful factors determining how you age come from what you do, and what you do with others: whether you work, whether you play music, whether you have regular visitors – basically your level of social support.

So one thing to consider here is holidays, which can be a great chance to experience new cultures and meet new people as we get older. One problem here though – unfortunately, a lot of elderly people often find it difficult to get the comprehensive travel insurance that they need for their holiday. So, if you are looking for travel insurance, make sure you use a specialist provider, so you can get the insurance you need and go on your holiday, so improving your own happiness! All sounds good to me!

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