UK: Independent villa and boutique hotel operator, Simpson Travel, has officially partnered with the Safer Tourism Foundation by signing up to the Safer Tourism Pledge.
The Safer Tourism Foundation, the independent charity dedicated to enhancing traveller safety both domestically and abroad, developed the Safer Tourism Pledge in collaboration with industry leaders. The pledge articulates a stringent approach to traveller risk, health and safety and promotes a proactive approach to risk management.
Since its launch in 2019, the Safer Tourism Pledge helps travellers identify travel companies that not only have excellent safety systems and protocols in place, but also put collaboration ahead of competition when it comes to customer safety.
Mark Speight, operations director at Simpson Travel, said: “We are proud to join forces with the Safer Tourism Foundation in embracing the Safer Tourism Pledge.
“At Simpson Travel, our commitment to delivering exceptional holiday experiences starts with ensuring our guests’ safety and security at all stages of their journey. Our concierge team conducts initial onsite inspections and audits of all our properties, and the overseas team receive health and safety training.
“Before and during the holiday, our concierge is available to resolve any health and safety issues for guests in person and responds promptly to their concerns. This also takes the pressure off agents and gives them peace of mind knowing their clients are well cared for by such a supportive team.
“We are constantly seeking ways to improve our approach to safety, and our adoption of the Safer Tourism Pledge reaffirms our dedication to maintaining the highest standards of safety excellence as a critical part of that service,” he added.
Founded in 2002, Simpson Travel offers a range of holidays from handpicked villas to boutique hotels in Greece, Turkey, Mallorca, Italy and France.
Katherine Atkinson, CEO of the Safer Tourism Foundation, said: “We are delighted to welcome Simpson Travel as a Safer Tourism Pledge partner. During the validation process, we were particularly impressed by the operator’s concierge programme, with experienced in-destination professionals who know the local area inside and out and can respond to any safety concerns in real time.
“The company’s commitment to traveller safety aligns perfectly with our mission to prevent harm and promote safety awareness among UK travellers, wherever they holiday,” she added.
Safer Tourism reviews the safety management systems of travel companies wishing to participate, and Pledge partners in turn agree to adhere to the Pledge’s six commitments:
1. Share Safer Tourism’s mission – Pledge partners fully support the Safer Tourism Foundation’s mission to save lives and reduce preventable injury and harm to travellers while on holiday
2. Safety excellence – Pledge partners will do all they can, within reason, to keep travellers safe and well when travelling and demand the same high standards of those who work with them
3. Advise and inform – Safer Tourism Pledge partners provide travellers with practical advice and information to help them take responsibility for their own safety and wellbeing while travelling
4. Highly responsive – Pledge partners want to hear about genuine concerns travellers have for their safety so that issues can be resolved quickly and problems addressed and fixed
5. Sharing data and best practices – Safer Tourism Pledge partners commit to working collaboratively and sharing travel safety knowledge, for the benefit of everyone who travels
6. Influence for improvement – Pledge partners work with providers around the world and commit to leveraging their influence to improve health and safety standards wherever they operate
To date, more than a dozen leading UK travel providers – from major tour operators to specialist travel providers – have signed up to the Safer Tourism Pledge. Pledge Partners commit to share their travel incident data with the Safer Tourism Foundation, which the charity analyses on an annual basis to uncover major trends and growing areas of concern when it comes to traveller risk.
