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Our commitment to you

Where Quality and Security matters!

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Safety Guide A5 Version 2 Blow Up to A4_Layout 1 10/08/2012 10:24 Page 3

Company Background 2

2. Our Award Winning Team 3

3. Customer Feedback 4

4. Financial Security 5

5. Safety Management 6/7

6. Emergency Support 7

7. Appendix

a. Trust Account Declaration 8

b. ATOL Certificate 9

c. Insurance Certificate 10

d. Schedule of Insurance 11

e. Business Rating Report 12

8. Requesting a Quotation 13

9. Conclusion 13

Contents


We are a well-established company specialising in educational tours for schools,colleges and universities and leisure breaksfor adult groups, with a difference. Our experience in the travel sector spans generations and we hold a strong reputationof excellence with those that have travelled with us.

Formed in 1993, our objective has been simple - to ensure customers are alwaystreated with personal care, respect and attention, developing close working relationships. Our in-depth knowledge andunderstanding of each individual groups requirements keeps our loyal travellers returning. Every tour is created to be uniqueto each group organisers needs and spans awide range of destinations within the UK, Europe and worldwide.

Company Background

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The founder of the company and Managing Director, Ian Kerr, has worked in the industryfor over 50 years and specifically within theschool and group sector since 1973. MrsJayne Kerr, Sales Director, has a teachingbackground and lectured at colleges andthus the start of the company was based onusing both skill sets to create programmeswhich were both profitable and realistic.

In a world of irritating automated customer contact, we are even more determined toprovide real personal service and through-out every tour we are available 24-hours aday, seven days a week to ensure a success-ful Travel Adventure.


Our team strives to deliver a service that is second to none and this has been consistently recognised by both the travelindustry and by our key partners.

We have been acknowledged by Disney-land Resort Paris, with whom we work veryclosely, and we hold the acclaimed Disney-land Resort Paris Business PartnershipAward and not long after we started oper-ating we were presented with the UKCoach Tour Operator of the Year Award.

Also, our Managing Director was presentedwith the award for the most OutstandingContribution to Group Travel by an Individual by the Group Travel Organisermagazine and Best Group Tour Operatorof The Year award in 2008 and 2010. Wehave also been nominated finalists for theaward in 2011 & 2012.

Our team have over 150 years of combined experience specialising across numerousmarket places, which include educationalgroup tours for schools, colleges and uni-versities and leisure breaks for adult groups.

Our Award Winning Team

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When you speak to The Travel Adventureyou will see that we pride ourselves in getting it right, first time, every time!

Our business model is based on focussingon 3 differing market places and that givesthe company a good spread of year roundbusiness thus ensuring financial security inthe event of downturn in any one sector.Our programmes also complement eachother with travel patterns thus allowingback to back coach operation, resulting inhighly competitive pricing in all markets.

The Travel Adventure was the first company to offer schools conventions onsite at Disney, these have overtime been copiedinto varying formats by other operators, butwe would argue that ours are still the best.The same applies to various other studytours to varying destinations.

We continue to see year on year growth ofthe business but our simple philosophy con-tinues to be our core focus Big enough tooperate small enough to care or in finan-cial terms turnover is vanity, profit is sanity!


Customer Feedback

Our promise is simple:The Travel Adventure is a leading grouptour operator for the UK and abroad. Weguarantee there is no better way to travelthan on a group tour with us.But dont justtake our word for it - see the feedback fromrecently travelled clients:

Mr Ali, Group Leader to Amsterdam, March 2012A great trip, a great city, staying in a greathotel, in a great location, organised by agreat company The Travel Adventure

Ms Lavelle, Group Leader to Disney, March 2012Once again The Travel Adventure metevery requirement our group identified. Really helped with the planning of the tripwhich meant that the visit was hassle-free.Would recommend The Travel Adventure toother group leaders

Mrs Burns, Group Leader to Valkenburg, April 2012The 2nd fantastic trip with the company allinvolved loved the trip and the experience

Mr Buck, Group Leader to Prague, April 2012There is always a natural element of con-cern when taking a group of students to anew destination, but the professional man-ner in which the visit was organised and thewarmth and enthusiasm of the tour guidewhen we got there, ensured that the wholegroup had a most memorable, enjoyableand trouble-free experience.

Ms Moran, Group Leader to London, March 2012Staff and students from City of GlasgowCollege had a fantastic visit to the LondonGalleries and are extremely grateful toClaire and the staff at The Travel Adventurefor their wonderful help and support

Mr Davies, Group Leader to Paris, April 2012The Travel Adventure looks after you fromstart to finish, First Class!

Mr Newth, Group Leader to Disney, Feb 2012I would highly recommend The Travel Ad-venture for their efficiency; communicationand the way they made the whole experi-ence of booking a school trip seem so easy

Mr Lavie, Group Leader to Sorrento, March 2012Discovering the Roman way of life throughtheir food and history broadened every-ones minds. Speaking, eating and immers-ing ourselves in the Italian culture was afantastic experience which we would loveto do again. Bellissimo Ciao!

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Customer feedback is an important partof the service we provide and our teamof Account Managers proactively strive

to gain feedback from every single clientthat travels with us.

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Financial Securityrefer to appendix e. We would recommendbefore you embark on booking with anycompetitor you also check their company in-formation via www.companycheck.co.ukwhich is a free to use service and will high-light the financial standing of any organisa-tion you intend to book with.

A copy of our Fair Trading Agreement is also available upon request.

Liability InsuranceThe Travel Adventure has in place liability insurance cover up to 10 million. This in-cludes public/product liability insurance, pro-fessional indemnity insurance andemployers liability insurance. (This cover isusually required by LEAs and is a prerequisiteof the EEC Directive.)

Our cover is inclusive of repatriation throughMilsom Howard Ltd who act as agents for theunderwriters Union Reiseversicherung AG,details of which are available on request. A copy of our insurance certificate and schedule of insurance can be seen in appendix c & d.

Travel with The Travel Adventure and yourmoney is 100% secure. We comply with allnecessary travel legislation to protect cus-tomers money as required by the ConsumerProtection, the Package Travel, Package Holiday and Package Tour regulations 1992.

All clients travel monies are held in a trust account (overseen by an independent legaltrustee) until the tour is complete and every-one has returned home safely. Given certainrestrictions with other nationally knownschemes, we offer a level of security that istotal, immediate and second to none. The useof a trust account ensures that monies arenot released to The Travel Adventure untilsuccessful completion of each tour. .The onlyexception to this procedure is for Air Travelwhere we use monies paid to us to purchaseyour airline seats and use the ATOL schemeto protect your money.

We believe that no matter what other com-mercial considerations there may be, it iswrong to utilise tour profits or clients fundsuntil the contract has been fully completed.As a further safeguard we also have safetynet insurance with The law Society Indem-nity Insurance that covers any trust accountshortfalls in the event of fraud or negligence.A copy of our trust declaration can be foundin Appendix a.

We also hold our own ATOL (Air Transport Organisers Licence) number 9173 which isissued by the Civil Aviation Authority, so air travellers effectively have double protectionin place! A copy of our ATOL certificate canbe seen in appendix b.

To further demonstrate the professional wayin which we conduct our business affairs, andpride ourselves upon, we also enclose a busi-ness rating report issued by Dunn & Brad-street Inc which highlights our financialperformance and trustworthiness; please

Travel InsuranceShould you decide to take out your own insurance, you will need to provide us with the name of the insurers and policy number. We recommend that your policy should include the provision forrepatriation. Please ensure all members of your group are aware of the details oftheir insurance.

As medical support is sometimes pro-vided by private doctors, clinics or hospitals, it is essential that you also carry travel insurance. An EHIC alone may be insufficient to cover all medicalexpenses. Full details of our Travel Insur-ance Policy are provided on request.

The Travel Adventure cannot accept fi-nancial responsibility for overseas claims,either medical or personal, unless ourown insurance cover has been taken out.

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Safety Management

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By booking with us you will have the reassur-ance of knowing that our programmes areoverseen by a Registered Auditor and Certifi-cate Holder approved by Argent Health &Safety (Part of the Parabis Group). We are alsomembers of the School Travel Forum.

The Travel Adventure has a database of risk assessments for the majority of its accom-modation suppliers. Please contact us forfurther details. We also actively encourageParty Leaders to preview their chosen destination/accommodation where theycan assess the practical and safety issues ofleading a group there. Call us for details offorthcoming inspection tours or to arrangea private inspection visit.

We recommend that you contact the DfES.They produce a document that will helpyou to prepare and launch your tour in ac-cordance with recognised best practice.This will help when you approach yourschool decision-makers or local authority.Health And Safety of Pupils on EducationalVisits (HASPEV) is a document that is impor-tant for all Group Leaders and has been recently updated by the DfES with a veryhelpful three-part supplement.

Safety ManagementWe actively encourage Party Leaders to pre-view their chosen resort to assess the practi-cal and safety issues of leading a group there,we also recommend that the tour partici-pants themselves are briefed well in advance.

Standard precautions taken are:

Programme tailored to suit ability of ageand area of interest

24 hour Emergency mobile phone facility (for both The Travel Adventure and the party leader)

First Aid kit available

We recommend that at least one adult

leader has appropriate first aid certifica-tion. A swimming lifesaver qualification isadvisable for leaders of groups that willbe making use of swimming pool facili-ties or water parks in resort.

Risk assessments available on request

Party leaders have the option of an Inspec-tion Visit to carry out risk assessments

AccommodationNo accommodation will be booked or paidfor prior to health, safety and securitychecks being made. All accommodationwill have been checked either by ourselvesor by our agents.

The Travel Adventure requires that we have confirmation that hotels we use have certifi-cates to cover all the essential features ofhealth and safety such as fire certificates orthe local equivalent, appropriate insurancecover and are checked for potential risks aslaid out in our accommodation risk assess-ment form.

Please note that smoke alarms are not mandatory in every country. Certain accommodation units used may not beequipped with smoke detection systems.

For further safety information about yourtour accommodation please contact us.

Group leaders are invited to partake in inspection visits prior to a tour taking placeif they need to verify the suitability of the destination and venues. Details and costsare provided on request.


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Health & Safety Air TravelWe would remind all tour participants travelling on our programmes that theyshould co-operate with Airline staff at alltimes. Under no circumstances should personal or group safety be deliberately putat risk. Please note that current regulationsregarding baggage can change from timeto time so it is advisable to seek up-to-dateinformation for the relevant airline.

Health & Safety Coach Travel

All coach operators usedby The Travel Adventure havecurrent andvalid Operating Licences and

appropriate Public Liability Insurance cover.

All UK coaches will be provided with seatbelts, though this is not always the case inEurope, especially on airport transfercoaches. Please note that coaches in the USAor China do not have the facility of seat belts.

Drivers hours must be strictly adhered to atall times. All UK drivers are Criminal RecordBureau checked. Non UK companies willapply their national equivalent.

Each coach company has their own emergency procedures in place to deal withsituations and breakdowns both in UK andEurope. Drivers are continually assessed toensure competency, legal requirements anddefensive driving techniques. Routine li-cence checks ensure compliance with the requirements for the driving of PCV vehicles.

When overseas coach companies are required for transfers, we will only hire from reliable and established companieswho have a proven record of excellencewith us.

The Travel Adventure operates a strict NO SMOKING policy for all passengers.

Health & Safety FerriesOur ferry suppliers, P&O have provided uswith a safety statement (a copy of theirstatement is available on request.) It is summarised below:

All Schools and Colleges leaders should be assured that all P&O Ferries Vessels complyfully with all current national and interna-tional safety regulations and we operatecomprehensive and audited quality management systems

In addition we use alternative ferry companies, DFDS, North Sea Ferries, BrittanyFerries plus Le Shuttle, all of whom havesimilar statements.

In the event of an emergency, the PartyLeader should ensure details are left withthe school, college, university of how tocontact The Travel Adventure and the touraccommodation being used.

The Travel Adventure can be contacted directly on 01825 740 676 during officehours. In addition and for emergencies onlyyou can contact us 24 hours a day on thenumbers highlighted on the final tour itinerary. Advice is given prior to departurespecifying who will be on duty during yourtour and the best number to use.

Emergency Support


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Appendix A - Trust Account Declaration


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Appendix B - ATOL Licence


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Appendix C - Insurance Certificate


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Appendix D Insurance Schedule


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Appendix E Dun & Bradstreet Inc. Business Rating Report


We hope that the information containedwithin this guide has been of use and hasdemonstrated our commitment to a qualitytour experience and to provide customerservice that surpasses that of our competi-tors. We want to help you and we want youto come to us to discuss your future tour requirements. We guarantee you will not receive a better, more personalised and efficient level of customer service.

To ensure we give you both a competitiveand prompt quote, please ensure you provide us with the following:

Proposed dates of travel Destination Accommodation preference (e.g. Hostel,

2* /3* Hotel) Groups size estimate Other specific inclusions required within

the itinerary

Whatever your method of contact, e-mail or telephone, we will respond to your requestsand aim to have a quotation with youwithin 24 hours of receiving it.

We offer a no gimmicks approach, free consumer items and other incentives onlyincrease the basic tour cost, our aim is competitive prices, quality service and anexcellent experience time after time.

We hope you have found the informationcontained within this guide useful. We want it to leave a lasting impressionwith you. The following summary is factnot false promise:

A company you can TRUST

A policy of openness, HONESTY and transparency

A Company with strict and dynamic CONTROLS

A Company that puts THE CLIENT first

The FIRST company to make learning akey factor in tour arrangement

The FIRST company to arrange subjectdriven seminars

A Company with STAFF who want toknow you as a friend not a booking reference!

A privately owned company approachinga 20th anniversary working with onlyYOU in mind

As Frank Sinatra once said We do it our wayand we believe thats the right way, firsttime, every time!

For more information visit our websitewww.thetraveladventure.co.uk or contactus directly to see for yourself.

Requesting a Quotation In Conclusion

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For up-to-date details of our current products and offers visit our website

www.thetraveladventure.co.uk

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The Travel Adventure LtdAnnwood House, Chelwood Gate, East Sussex TN22 3HH

Tel: 01825 740676 Fax: 01825 740710www.thetraveladventure.co.uk [email protected]


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