Regarding Choice of Destinations:

When choosing a travel destination or a cruise itinerary, few individuals consider the issue of personal health, safety, and security… either for themselves or others in their travel party!

This often ignored piece of travel planning can have both immediate and long term consequences for travelers!

However, this concern extends beyond the destination itself.  The health history of each traveler must also be factored against any possible destination health, safety, and security issues!

Commonly ignored, but important traveler and destination issues which need to be considered include:

• pregnancy, now or planned in the near future
• mobility limitations
• disease exposures
• injury exposure related to destination activities
• available quality safe medical care at the destination
• traveler allergies to food, insects, plants, or other
• access to special food requirements
• unsafe and/or unregistered tour buses and vans, or unlicensed/uninsured drivers of tour vehicles
• coach tours that operate on poorly maintained, unsecure, or otherwise unsafe roads
• availability of, and easy access to… safe drinking water and good sanitation
• access to critical medicines in the event of emergency (or lost/damaged prescriptions
• the possibility of witnessing of violent acts, or seeing the outcomes of violent acts, or gang activity
• accepted method of payment required to access emergency responders, medical personnel, and hospitals at destination
• exposure to, and types of crime prevalent at travel destination (frequency of theft, assaults, rape, murder & where crime is most likely encountered)
• exposure to, and types of human and animal transmitted diseases at the destination
• any required vacinations prior to travel to the destination
• child safety issues
• likelyhood of exposure to poisonous snakes, insects, or other dangerous animals
• drugs allowed or not allowed, type of dress, alcohol consumption, and other possible destination social or legal norms which may be problematic
• social or political instability, or threats of terriorist activities at the destination
• + many more!

When planning travel, especially to areas not recently visited, or to international destinations… IF YOU DON’T KNOW… FIND OUT (else ask yourself "Am I certain it is safe to travel to this destination?"  If not, don’t!).

About Child Travel Safety:

The single most often, and most dangerous mistake made by individuals planning their own travel… is not factoring in health, safety, and security issues unique to children (when considering a destination)!

These types of concerns are usually of far greater consequence for children (than adults, who are normally better at being aware of, avoiding, deflecting, or otherwise dealing with personal health, safety, and security threats… before – or after they occur).

Arguably, in some cases, ignoring these travel concerns for children… is best be decribed as child abuse – and/or child neglect!

Child travel safety detail:

Many adults assume older children are safer when traveling than younger children when exposed to the above risks.  However, it is often the older children who are at highest risk!  Why?  Because older children:

• are usually not as well monitored and given more personal freedom than younger children
• knowingly and unknowingly take more personal and physical risks than at home
• are more distracted and less situationally aware than either adults or young children
• are less fearful of the new or unknown than young children (whether places, situations or activities)
• are more frequent kidnapping targets for the sex trade and organ harvesting
• fail to recognize that people and situations considered safe at home, may not be safe when traveling
• are more socially interactive and trusting of local people they encounter (than adults or young children)
• due to lack of common sense, are the most likely to be arrested, detained, or harassed by police
• roam more and get lost more often in crowds, markets, airports, and cities than young children

Few adults are aware that any interaction of any type with local animals (including pets) at international destinations should be considered a high risk activity for any traveler.  This is especially true for children!

The risks are or animal bites or disease transmission are fairly low at home, so most American adults do little to shield children from smaller animals and local pets while traveling (unless an animal is agressive or very dirty).  This is a mistake.

Children are naturally drawn to and more trusting of animals, and they are far more likely to want to touch or hold animals they may encounter.  Hence, a common path to infection of pathegins, parasites, and serious communicable diseases by traveling children… is from animals!

Still fewer adults are aware that, although touch exposure is not as likely to cause infection as bites, rabies and a number of other serious diseases, infections, and parasites can be transmitted from animals to humans through small open skin wounds, infected animals licking faces, or a child kissing an infected animal’s fur or face!

Very few travelers are aware rabies is endemic in dogs and other animals in nearly all of Mexico (and in many other 3rd world destinations).  Rabies disease transmission risk is highest for children – who are often naturally drawn to animals, then bitten!

About Zika:

Zika is the #1 emerging threat to children and adults of either sex.  If infected, younger children and older adults are most likely to have long term severe and/or life threatening symptoms.  Ask your CM TRAVEL 4FUN agent for a guide on how to mimimize insect disease vector exposures while traveling!

Recent research indicates Zika-caused incidences of birth defects may extend years into the future after initial infection… so adults and children in or approaching their child bearing years are at greatest risk from Zika!

Also, be advised, Zika and other serious tropical diseases are spreading into more temperate areas throughout the world… including mutliple areas of the southeastern USA – and Hawaii!

PLEASE BE A RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL PLANNER!  Consider the health, safety, and security of all members of your travel party when choosing a travel destination, and while traveling!

How CM TRAVEL 4FUN handles these issues:

Health, safety, and security of our clients is paramount! 

Every destination-choice decision tree in travel we plan includes review of these issues – for every client, group, and travel plan.

CM TRAVEL 4FUN values being highly informed regarding traveler health, safety, and security at destinations worldwide.  To enhance our ability in these areas, our company holds a low level OSAC security clearance providing access to developing health, safey, and security issues worldwide (information often not available to the general public)

In rapidly changing, or for undefined known possible extreme hazard threats at destinations, CM TRAVEL 4FUN also offers clients a detailed current health, safety, and security research analysis (additional fees required for this service).

For client safety, CM TRAVEL 4FUN will not knowingly arrange travel to any destination which has a high threat probability for children, and rarely for adults.

CM TRAVEL 4FUN offers clients more standard health, safety, and security services… than any other US based retail travel agency found online, or elsewhere!  (Very few other retail travel agencies provide any kind of standard health, safety, or security services to consumers – most agencies provide none at all.)

CM TRAVEL SERVICES are provided by a highly trained and experienced agent who values the personal welfare of each client.

CONTACT CM TRAVEL 4FUN with questions, or for additional detail.

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