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London terror attacks

Precautions can improve, but not guarantee, safety for travelers

By ROBERT N. JENKINS
Published July 9, 2005

Just a few months ago I wrote that each traveler needs to be his or her own security manager, taking care before a trip and keeping on top of relevant news during the venture. Now, the bombings in London on July 7 remind us that no amount of precaution can guarantee safety, anywhere.

To help travelers prepare, here are some Web sites to check before going abroad. They are followed by a reminder about the nature of travel.

On these Web sites, relatively current information is posted by onsite employees of various democratic, English-speaking governments, to alert their own citizens about conditions in other nations:

U.S.: The Department of State reports potential threats or recent events in its Consular Information Program, at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html This site has brief, data-filled and historical profiles on each nation, the sort of background that fills in the blanks on the big picture about a nation, beyond its tourist attractions.

The State Department also staffs a 24-hour, toll-free number, 1-888-407-4747 that includes any potential security problems.

CANADA: This site also includes links to basic reports on individual nations: www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=307259#2

AUSTRALIA: The country's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade updated this site within hours of the London bombings: www.smartraveller.gov.au/zwcgi/view/Advice/

UNITED KINGDOM: This site is relatively slow to load but has a long index of related travel matters. Of note, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's home page did report the London explosions soon after they occurred: www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590

A good cross-reference, sometimes more current than what government bureaucracies can post, is the site operated by publisher Lonely Planet, www.lonelyplanet.com It's Thorn Tree chat room is filled with comments from travelers.

HEALTH MATTERS: The federal Centers for Disease Control publishes an extensive reference for health care professionals on the general and specific threats that travelers might encounter. You can research it by topic or by destination.

The centers' site also advises on such general topics as traveling with children, what to do if someone traveling with you outside this country should die, current or recent communicable disease outbreaks, and the reports of the sanitary conditions in the galleys of cruise ships. The site is www2.ncid.cdc.gov/travel/yb/utils/ybBrowseC.asp

If special immunizations or preventive medications are recommended, contact your county health department to see if staff there can provide them.

WEATHER: The quickest way to get a forecast, up to 10 days in advance, is to go to the Weather Channel's site, www.weather.com Before you log on, know major cities close to your actual destination, in case that place does not report weather conditions.

For tropical weather concerns, go to the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center: www.nhc.noaa.gov/ The site provides latest updates as well as color maps showing three- and five-day predicted paths.

DAILY INFORMATION: Look for Web sites operated by foreign newspapers, such as Le Monde in France. Often these media will have an English-language version of their sites.

The attacks in London surely have caused many Americans to again consider the larger question: Why should I travel outside this country? After all, it has a wealth of attractions, natural and artificial, great museums and restaurants.

Why go away? The obvious answers: the chance to see unfamiliar places, eat new food and practice a different language.

But there is much more than that to be gained from foreign travel. Ask anyone who has visited London: Did they not have an added thought beyond shock when they heard about the bombings - a concern that perhaps they had met one of the victims, if only to ask directions, make a purchase, share a reaction to a play or a museum exhibit?

This is the greatest benefit of travel, interacting with other peoples, exchanging ideas, talking first-hand about our differences, enjoying our similarities.

So, as divided as we Americans see our own nation, as dispirited as we get when "our" side doesn't win an election, or when we don't get "our" bills passed into laws, this country still represents a goal that others can only hope to match.

Travel editor Robert N. Jenkins can be reached at 727 893-8496 or jenkins@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 9, 2005, 01:26:03]