Yesterday morning, British Consul Paul Rodwell was in Benidorm participating in a joint presentation organised by the Spanish National Police and HOSBEC - the Hoteliers Association for hotel staff and representatives of the travel industry based in Benidorm. The aim was to discuss how to keep tourists safe and how to deal with problems when they occur.

Often hotel staff are the first to deal with any issues and in the majority of cases it will be following a bad experience for the holiday maker - they very rarely see them if everything is going well. Unfortunately the Spanish tend to have a reputation of not always being the most helpful and approachable, particularly among the British, and so this session was to provide information on how to deal with various issues which they may come across this holiday season.

Working Together

British Consul Paul Rodwell

The presentation was officially opened by Gema Amor - Deputy Mayor of Benidorm and also the Councillor of Tourism.  She gave a short introductory speech and welcomed the Consul - who is a familiar face in the resort before handing the stage over to him and Sara, one of the Consular officers. The key message was to demonstrate and reinforce that the British Consulate, National Police and HOSBEC are working together. The presentation was all in Spanish - as the majority of those present were local Spanish, who work in the local tourism sector. He gave examples of how things work differently in the UK, such as not having to carry an identity card as they do in Spain - primarily because the UK do not have them.

Brits are key

To underline the importance of the British market he quoted the audience some figures - 41% of those traveling to Alicante airport are British and the resort will see an estimated 3.5 million British tourists this year - many of which they will probably come across. Often is the case that they have no or little contact with them if everything is going well but they are generally the first port of call when things go wrong! This is where it is essential that they are compassionate - a trait sometimes not always associated with the Spanish I find, as they will often be distressed and upset.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office are currently running a huge marketing campaign in the UK national press and on television - "Know before you Go" for those heading abroad. You can go online to read the advice at: www.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo and follow advice and information on the social media site Twitter - @BritsvisitSpain.

Replacement Passports

The Consulate in Alicante are there to help British citizens and the most frequent issue that they deal with are lost passports. Last year they issued over 1000 emergency travel documents to its citizens who had either lost them or had them stolen. He talked through the process of how they can help, often upset holiday makers and what they needed. Firstly he told them all to advise tourists NOT to carry the original with them but a photocopy as a single use emergency travel document costs 121€ - as well as a lot of inconvenience! They need to come to the Consulate in Alicante and bring with them a passport sized photo - they do not have the facility there, something which they can help with. If the passport has been stolen they may need help with reporting it and making a denuncia - tell them about SATE and the telephone number - 902 102 112 as they will most probably be unaware of its existence.

Does your Travel Insurance cover you?

The second key message was travel insurance. Unfortunately there are still many instances when holiday makers come on holiday without any - but sometimes even when they do, there are situations when it will not be valid. These include alcohol or drug related incidents/accidents; Undisclosed pre-existing medical conditions and Extreme Sports. If medical treatment is required and they have no travel insurance they can use their EHIC - European Health Insurance Card in the case of an emergency.  However, despite it being FREE to obtain, many still travel without one! If there is a situation when a British Citizen has forgotten to bring theirs but they are entitled to NHS treatment in the UK, then they can obtain a confirmation entitlement document from the UK. They need to call 0044 191 218 1999 and once personal details are confirmed and cross checked, a certificate will be faxed across to the hospital. Failing that any treatment will have to be paid for by the recipient.

SATE - There to help

The Consulate works very closely with SATE - the Foreign Tourist Assistance Services, which is located on the first floor of the tourist office at the end of Levante beach. It is run by the National Police and they offer assistance to those that have become victims of crime whilst here - they help both tourists and residents. They have English speaking staff on hand to assist often distressed victims. There are facilities which are free for them to use such as a computer and telephone if they need to notify insurance companies and family back in the UK. A representative from SATE was there to talk through and answer any questions.

In all it was an extremely informative presentation, giving those in the tourism sector that deal first hand with the resorts biggest customers - the Brits, an insight into how they can help, particularly when things go wrong!