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Posted at 18:35 01 September 2009 by e-Media Global  |  Comments[0]

British Behaviour Abroad Report

The FCO has just released the British Behaviour Abroad report which details the top 20 countries where British Nationals required the most consular assistance.Whilst Spain remains at the top of the list due to its volume of arrivals and British residents, Greece also has a high number of consular cases; we have the fourth highest in the world. As you can imagine, the majority of cases take place in the summer when we have a huge influx of British tourists and if we break this number down even further, a high proportion of these involve tourists staying in youth resorts.

Statistics can of course be read and interpreted in different ways. The British Behaviour Abroad isn’t intended to be some kind of league table. But it does highlight to us what sort  of problems we deal with in our various countries, and where we need to concentrate our efforts in helping people to have a fun, but safe time on holiday.

These figures, I believe show the need for  continuation of all our proactive work. Whatever we can do to make people more aware of some of the situations which can occur on holiday is hopefully a step in the right direction. Chris Bryant, Under-secretary of State for Foreign Affairs said that "many of the problems we deal with can be avoided with a little bit of preparation....The message is clear – have a great time while you’re away, but make the necessary preparations before you go." And as I know all too well from two busy summers in the Vice Consulate, things can go wrong on holiday too, so don’t take any risks that you wouldn’t take at home. Know your own limits, particularly with alcohol. Don’t get separated from your friends. This is all sensible stuff and just because it’s warm and sunny and you’re on holiday, doesn’t mean you’re invincible.

The aim of the ‘Know Before you Go campaign’ and our Greece ‘Other Side of Paradise’ campaign continues to be helping to promote a trouble-free stay abroad, however long your stay. Whilst the ideal situation would be absolutely no requirement for consular services across the world, if we are being realistic this is not achievable.  There will always be unforeseen incidents occurring,  but any way of reducing these figures and making sure people have problem free holiday would certainly be a welcome improvement. We will certainly strive to get the right messages across both before people travel as well as whilst they are in Greece.

Posted at 06:53 26 August 2009 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[0]

Chris Bryant in Greece

June and July were VIP months in Corfu.  First the Foreign Secretary attending the OSCE Ministerial and, more recently, the new FCO Minister responsible for Consular matters, Chris Bryant MP.
The Minister asked to come and see on the ground how we look after young British tourists. This was a great opportunity  to officially launch the Greece consular publicity campaign, ‘Another side to Paradise’, which got lots of media coverage. Plus a chance to get an insight into the other campaigns being run in conjunction with the youth tour operators, 2wentys and Club 18-30s, called ‘Don’t be a Dick’ and ‘Don’t Miss out’.  See the Embassy website for some pics.
With his busy schedule in the UK, we had to squeeze in as much as possible in a short time to give a good overview of what we are doing.  It was non-stop visits and meetings for two days, including a visit to Kavos resort, so that the Minister could meet with tour operators and local figures, like the Mayor and police, as well as British tourists.
The meeting with the tour operators involved all the main companies working with young British holidaymakers, both managers and reps, and there was a lively discussion about how the campaigns are running, customer reaction and how we can continue our partnership. Additionally the tour operators talked about some of the problems they have on the ground on a daily basis and how they are dealing with these.
The Minister then went on a walkabout along the main street in Kavos, which has over 80 bars and restaurants. He wanted to speak to visiting Brits about their holiday experiences, give them some of the publicity material and explain the aims of our campaign. This wasn’t a lecture though.  He wasn’t saying to the tourists “don’t do this or that “– his message was to have fun within limits and stay safe, to “stay aware and take care”.
I must admit I was curious to see the reaction of the tourists during the walkabout. I have to say that they were really open and welcoming. They showed an interest in what the Minister was saying and were only too happy to talk about the problems that can happen whilst on holiday. They also got the opportunity to appear on GMTV, which they thought was great!
Then it was off to Athens for the Minister, for talks with the Minister of Public Order and other key Greek officials who work closely with us to ensure that British holidaymakers have enjoyable and trouble-free visits.  Within the space of less than 48 hours he managed to speak to a huge range of people and definitely helped promote some important safety messages across Greece.

Posted at 09:56 30 July 2009 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[0]

It's not just Kavos....

Recently the new British Ambassador to Greece, David Landsman, paid his first official visit to Corfu. Although much of the visit was of course devoted to official calls, I felt it was important that he see as much of this lovely island as he could. It was a very busy few days, which also took in an evening visit to the youth tourism resort of Kavos. We were the oldest people there! There was also a chance to learn about the historical past of the island such as The Reading Society founded in 1836 and housed in a lovely Venetian mansion overlooking the sea, and the Achilleion Palace built in 1890.

During the visit we had talks with our key local partners such as the Nomarch, Mayor of Corfu and Chief of Police; a chance to discuss a range of issues including tourism and of course the incidents that occur in Kavos. We had a friendly meeting with Tour Operators and got some vital insights into how things are going from their point of view this year. It’s clear that there is big competition out there now from the ‘ new destinations’ such as Turkey and Egypt, and other factors such as the strong Euro will all have an impact on tourism in Corfu and Greece as a whole. This comes as no surprise, and the Greek authorities have already acknowledged that this is no time for resting on laurels when it comes to tourism.

One of the recurring messages that came across was the effort to promote Corfu beyond Kavos. There is so much more to the island, but this is sometimes overshadowed by the incidents in Kavos. As a Consulate, our time is often taken up by the demands of this resort, the same goes for youth areas on other Greek islands. In my next blog I’ll be talking about the Embassy’s summer publicity campaign ‘There’s another side to Paradise’ which aims to prevent the problems we often deal with from happening in the first place.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. There is a joint effort between Mayors, the Nomarch, locals and some Brits resident here in Corfu to try to promote a different kind of tourism. Whilst still welcoming youth tourists, they want to promote some of the cultural events the island offers. This includes a three month music festival and a cricket tournament between a British team and a Corfiot one. The tradition of cricket in Corfu dates back to 1823 and, so I have been told, the pitch on the Esplanade is the only one inside a UNESCO World Heritage site. The latest match happily co-incided with the Ambassador’s visit - the Corfiots were victorious and the Ambassador presented the winning trophies in temperatures not usually experienced on cricket pitches in the UK!

Posted at 12:47 22 June 2009 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[0]

Summer Campaign

Now that summer is (what seems rather suddenly) upon us we are looking forward to launching our new publicity campaign in the youth resorts around the Greek islands -  Kavos, Kardamena, Malia, Laganas and Faliraki.

This is the third year that we have run what is known as an ‘ in resort’ campaign aimed at tourists in the 16-20 age bracket. We don’t want to spoil the fun, but to make people aware that things can go wrong on holiday too and what people can do themselves to reduce that risk.

The materials are new with funky designs and include things such as beer mats and Y-cards. The messages however remain the same: raising awareness of possible incidents that can occur whilst on holiday such as arrests, sexual assault and hospitalizations. The FCO’s Know before You Go campaign continues to target holiday makers before they travel, and we are carrying on their messages in Greece once they get here.

With the continued help of the Tour Operators, local authorities and some local businesses we will again be targeting as many of the youth tourists as possible. We try to get the messages across in a variety of ways  - some of the reps will give the materials out at their welcome events or even on their bar crawls and we’ll be distributing beer mats to bars and clubs where people are most likely to see them.  We also have people in all the resorts handing out the material to young British tourists.

What we found last year was not only did the campaign raise awareness for the thousands of tourists who holiday in these resorts but also the hundreds of young Brits who come over to live and work in Greece for the summer season.

The great thing is that the police and mayors continue to be positive about the whole campaign. They see it as a good way of getting important messages across and are so supportive in this effort to reduce incidents. An example of this here in Corfu, in Kavos, is that the Mayor is setting up a tourist information kiosk in the resort and has agreed to give out our leaflets. The more distribution points we can get the better!

Whilst it will always be difficult to give specific statistics on the effectiveness of the campaign, I do feel that the messages have an impact. When I visited Kavos last year in the height of the campaign, I was really pleased with the positive comments from the tourists who were only too happy to give their opinion. I feel sure that this year’s campaign will be just as effective and I am sure a few trips to Kavos will provide the feedback to confirm this.

Posted at 07:06 09 June 2009 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[0]

Meeting British locals

A vital part of our role at the Consulate is providing a service to the British who have settled here in Corfu. The British Embassy website provides information on living in Greece but this list is not exhaustive and we receive a wide range of enquiries on a daily basis. Some of these enquiries which come under the general heading of ‘ lifestyle’ are not things we can help with, but there are a whole range of other consular  services such as the paperwork for marriages or legalisation of documents which we do offer that a lot of folk are not aware of.

During the summer we are so busy dealing with the many consular cases involving people on holiday,  we don’t really have the chance to meet a lot of the British locals. I felt it was important to invite people into the Consulate on an informal occasion in order to meet more people but also to provide info on what we do. I’ve found since starting this job in May that there are also a lot of preconceptions around about what the role of Vice Consul involves. There is actually a day job in addition to turning up to represent HMG at ceremonial or social events! So with this in mind, we arranged a Christmas open day. Posters were put up in various locations on the hope that, if people were in Corfu Town, they would pop in for a few minutes for some mulled wine, a mince pie and a chat.

We had an excellent turnout and it proved to be an ideal opportunity to have a chat with a large number of the local Brits. It was nice getting to know people but also introduce a lot of the services we provide. There was curiosity about how I was appointed to this role which gave me a good opportunity to explain the Embassy and the FCO’s recruitment policy generally – nothing more complicated than appointing the best person for the job!  We were also pleased to discuss the changing face of consular work which I was only too happy to discuss. I think there was surprise at how pro-active Consular work has become- our funky Greece wide publicity campaign and close co-operation with British Tour Operators is not what people expect we do.

I enjoyed being able to take part in a social event; spending time chatting with local Brits to get their take on life in Corfu and offering support and advice in any way we can.

Posted at 15:44 19 December 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[2]

Remembrance Day: Corfu

I have to admit that I have never had the opportunity to attend a Remembrance Sunday Service here in Corfu. Previous work commitments have meant that I was often out of the country on this date. As a result, even though the British Consulate organised this year's Service as usual, I was not sure what I could expect. With unseasonably hot weather, I arrived at the Cemetery to be greeted by the 82-year-old caretaker, George Psialas. George was actually born in the house on site (his father was caretaker before him) so he has spent his whole life as one of the ‘fixtures’. He had carefully prepared the wreaths to be laid on the war graves and was suited out in his finest attire. His knowledge and love for the Cemetery is amazing – anyone in Corfu should definitely try to visit as he personally takes you around the site. George knows the details of all the servicemen who are buried in the Cemetery dating back to the First World War. We greeted the attendees as they arrived with an order of service, which was to be performed by the local Anglican vicar. There was a good turnout with many ex-service gentlemen wearing their military decorations. The Service itself was extremely moving and it made me realise that I rarely take time to remember those who fought for our country and some whom are still fighting as I write. Afterwards at the church, it was interesting to hear some of the stories from those who have served in the forces. I was in two minds as to whether I should take my daughter with me. She is almost ten, and I was concerned about whether she would understand the service and what it represents and to be honest, whether she was too young to attend. But she was so pleased to be there and was as solemn and polite as a ten-year-old can be. Afterwards during lunch I asked how she felt about the Service. She replied that she liked the music (bugler) and singing but didn’t understand the words. Not quite the reaction I had hoped for but it’s a start…

Posted at 18:49 10 November 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[1]

Best Practice

I am just back from Athens following a successful Best Practice Management Board meeting at the Embassy. Great management speak – but what’s that you might ask? Well it’s all to do with the Consular Change Strategy 2007-10, where we are aiming provide a high level of service globally. Part of the vision is to maintain a worldwide “consular operation focussed on our customers, delivering support to British Nationals abroad to the highest possible standards of quality professionalism, consistency and efficiency”

How does this translate on the ground? Basically, we need to ensure we are all working to the same standard across Greece. Someone going into the Consulate in Corfu, for example, should get exactly the same response from the Consulate in Rhodes. So, how do we make this a reality? Well the Embassy regularly brings together consular colleagues from the 9 posts in the network to discuss how we work and make sure we’re giving the same level of service to all our customers. We look at the main areas of our roles and share ideas and thoughts. Personally I have found it interesting to discover the variety of issues each area face and how these can vary depending on location, differences in local politics, infrastructure, island geography or even just personalities in a particular resort. The board split up into small groups and look at a specific topic using research methods and come suggestions of how to improve things. For example, how we to help the family of someone who has passed away overseas. What is key though is how we follow-up on suggestions and ensure they are being implemented as agreed. Sounds like something for a future blog….

Posted at 07:15 07 November 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[0]

2nd Youth Tourism Conference..

As the busy Summer season drew to a close and whilst things were still fresh in everyone’s minds, it was decided that now was an excellent time to reflect on key issues that have come to light over the Summer. With this in mind the 2nd UK Youth Tourism in Greece conference took place in Athens in October. Not only did we want to gain input from as many people as possible but we wanted to look at the results of the publicity campaign which had targeted over 400,000 youth tourists across Greece.

Conference participants were all those who have a part to play in the safety and organisation of youth tourists in Greece. This included the Mayors of the main youth resorts, representatives from the Greek Ministry of Tourism, the Greek Tourist Board, police and British tour Operators. For some it was the first time they had ever met together. We got a first-hand briefing on how everybody felt the season had been, an update on progress and action taken following the last conference and some brain-storming about what the next steps should be. The publicity campaign was deemed a great success - a useful step in the right direction and something that should carry on for Summer 2009. It was heartening to see that all participants have such excellent co-operation and are keen to work together to achieve short and long-term goals. The Ambassador chaired a lively discussion and we’re now looking at more activiities to further reduce the amount of incidents occurring. I genuinely believe with the continued commitment of all that next summer will be even better.

Posted at 07:11 16 October 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[1]

Job role...

Now that I have been doing this job for four months, and the end of the summer season is finally in sight, a lot of my friends and family have asked whether I have enjoyed it and whether it has lived up to my expectations. My daughter regularly asks what exactly it is that I do as she obviously isn’t happy with my previous explanations!

I am not sure what my own expectations were when I began. I always saw what goes on in the Consulates from a tour operators perspective but I don’t think I really understood the kind of issues that the staff come across on a daily basis though. The majority of British tourists we deal with are in very upsetting situations – whether they are bereaved, have been assaulted, are in hospital – and they can display a whole range of emotions. The training I was given has helped me to develop the skills I need to offer support and assistance. It can be emotionally draining but there is a great sense of reward when you are able to help people through these difficult times

Another part of the role that I had not considered is the representational work we do. We are lucky enough to be invited to various events and ceremonies throughout the season but we unable to attend all of them due to the high volume of consular cases we deal with. I did manage to attend a recent unveiling ceremony of two statues of the brothers Lawrence and Gerald Durrell. Lawrence, the famous writer and Gerald, writer and British wildlife conservationist, lived for some years in Corfu and they were honoured for their work by the Greek authorities. It was a great opportunity for me to hear more about their work and I even met David Bellamy – a childhood hero of mine! There is still so much that I would like to achieve within this job and I can honestly say that I learn something new every day. But with the support and advice I receive from my colleagues across the Greek network I do feel that I am on the right track.

Posted at 06:35 24 September 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[0]

Training

When I started it was agreed that the best way to get a taste for the job would be to spend time shadowing in various Consulates. So my first week was spent in Athens, Crete and Rhodes with the vice-consuls and their teams. The benchmark was set and it was clear that I would have to work hard to reach their level. I also visited Majorca for a week and that gave an interesting insight into how many ways the Spanish and Greek networks are similar, but also how each area has its own quirks.

Then lots of on-the-job training and managing a busy post in Corfu gave me a solid foundation. But I knew it would still be necessary for me to attend a formal consular assistance-training course. The FCO place a huge amount of emphasis on ensuring that all staff have access to training and support in order to be able to do their job to the best of their ability. Not only do they train new recruits but they ensure that on-going training is available for all regardless of how long you have worked for them.

I have to admit that I was somewhat apprehensive about attending a course. My previous training courses in the travel industry had been somewhat varied in delivery style and content, and having actually trained staff before, I was wondering whether there would be any similarities. In addition, my pre-conceived ideas of the FCO did make me wonder whether the course would involve lots of being ‘talked to’ and little room for active participation.

Once the course dates were agreed, I was given an info pack that explained the overall course objectives and then the objective per session. As with most companies these days, we have a type of best practice, which gives us guidance on how to do our job. The majority of the course was ensuring that we had a full understanding of this guidance but I was also interested to see that there was a lot of the course dedicated to customer service skills. Dealing with the public, in often difficult and distressing situations, is a major part of the consular role and I was keen to see how they would address this.

So with bags packed, I set off for a 5-day intensive course in Warsaw.

Posted at 08:34 10 September 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[1]

Publicity Campaign

One outcome from the Youth Tourism Conference, which the Embassy hosted in Athens in February, was an in-resort publicity campaign launched across Greece during this summer season.
This specifically targeted the youth resorts of Kavos (Corfu), Malia (Crete), Faliraki (Rhodes), Laganas (Zakynthos), Kardamena (Kos) and where some of our most serious consular problems and accidents take place.

There were several parts to the campaign. The first and most crucial part was what sort of products to distribute. No point in handing out anything too stuffy that would just get ditched immediately.  We needed something that would catch the eye – either in a fun way, or in the case of postcards warning about the dangers of rape on holiday, in a shocking way. So working with the Press and Public Affairs team in Athens and Consular Directorate we came up with a range of posters, beer mats, spikeys (to be put in bottles to avoid drink spiking) and rape postcards to get the message across to the target audience.

It was important to ensure maximum impact so as many of the youth tourists came across these materials as possible. The co-operation of the local authorities was vital; we would be giving out information on how to stay safe on holiday and it was important that the local mayors and police were aware of what we were doing and also that they were fully supportive. Having attended the YTC, they were on board with the idea and keen to pass the message on for full co-operation from the local bar and accommodation owners.

Distribution was another key area – again, there was no point if we didn’t get our stuff to the people who needed to see it.  We hired local distributors around the same age as our target audience and they have been hitting the strips throughout the week. We have ensured they are fully aware of the reasoning behind the campaign and are able to answer any further queries from the tourists. Tour operators were also on-board and gave out spikeys to their customers. They also distributed the beer mats and posters around their accommodation and any bars they co-operate with.
In Crete, even the taxi drivers were involved and gave out beer mats to British customers.

The reaction has been positive. The locals are pleased we are proactively trying to reduce the number of incidents in conjunction with the tour operators. The tourists are being targeted from different directions and the seed of thought that they need to take more care on holiday has definitely been planted.

Posted at 10:09 29 August 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[2]

Managing expectations..

Since starting work I have noticed that the expectations of a lot of travellers are often quite high and we can deal with some very angry responses when we are unable to help as much as they would like. As mentioned in my previous Blog when I was unable to assist in improving the food quality in a hotel I was given the reply ‘ well what can you do then?’  A more serious example though is when someone is arrested. Some of the arrests we deal with are often alcohol related and whilst those involved are repentant the next day, they still need to deal with the consequences of their actions. I have been surprised by the amount of people who expect us to be able to get them out of the police cells. They can become quite furious when we have to explain that we cannot influence the Greek judicial system. We can offer considerable assistance though, for example providing a list of English-speaking lawyers and translators or contacting their next of kin back in the UK.  We also can’t pay any legal fees but we can suggest ways of getting money transferred over here. We will always do everything we can to help during a distressing time but we have no more influence over here as we would if someone was arrested back in the UK.

The FCO is doing its best to manage people’s expectations and the Know Before you Go campaign which was launched back in 2001 now has 250 travel industry partners. On a ‘ground’ level, we work closely with the Tour Operators. We hold a meeting at the start of the season just to clarify the kind of support we can give. We then continue this relationship by regular contact throughout the season. Once a month I attend the Federation of British Tour Operators meetings which is a great opportunity to get everyone together to discuss how the season is going, what issues we have had and how we can work even more effectively. The support and assistance of the tour operators in invaluable. They have direct contact with most of the British travellers here so can help get the important messages across. And in the end we are all working towards the same goal – happy, healthy, incident free holidays.

Posted at 08:06 26 August 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[2]

Youth Tourism....

One of the first things that struck me when I started was the amount of proactive work involved in this role. It wasn’t a case of just waiting for incidents to occur and then dealing with everything that comes with them; the Embassy and the vice-consuls from around the Greek network are actively working to reduce the amount of incidents before they happen. An example of this is the focus on Youth Tourism. Of the 3 million travellers to Greece last year, 30% were Youth. And 53% of all consular incidents happened to youth tourists.

The Youth Tourism Conference that was held at the British Embassy in Athens back in February brought together Mayors from the youth resorts, police, tour operators and key people from the Ministry of Tourism. It was a chance to get together to discuss the main issues and come up with tangible action points that could be worked on during the summer. These included issues such as drink quality, policing, and infrastructure – anything that would make the holidays ‘safer’ for the youth tourists.

On an island level this involves establishing close relationships with the local authorities and tour operators. Bringing everyone together to discuss resort-specific issues and agreeing actions can sometimes prove difficult. We are now at the busiest time of the year and everyone is juggling a hundred balls! But once points have been agreed and then seeing things take shape does make me feel we are contributing to making someone’s holiday that little bit more trouble-free.

Posted at 09:04 20 August 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[0]

Starting out....

When I first started this role, I didn’t know what to expect. I certainly had an idea of what I thought was the role of the British Vice-consulates. Even some of my family and friends joked about working for the Consulate as being all cocktail parties and G&T’s.The reality is somewhat different.

The Corfu BVC is part of a larger Greek network and one of the largest consular networks the FCO has. The British Embassy is based in Athens and there are Vice-Consulates in Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Zakynthos and Thessaloniki, with Honorary Consuls in Patras and Syros. Even though we are isolated on our islands, there is a great support system amongst all the vice-consuls across the network. There is a system of sharing best practice which is a real comfort, especially to a new recruit like me. It’s great to know that at the end of the phone at anytime of day there is someone to talk things over with. This sense of being one team has proved invaluable.

I couldn’t have imagined the amount of different consular cases we come across on a daily basis. From accidents on quad bikes to binge drinking and assaults I can safely say that no two incidents are ever the same. Obviously our incident workload increases dramatically during the summer period of May to October, with Corfu alone playing host to nearly half a million visitors. There is a wide-range of people holidaying here and like a lot of the other Greek islands, we have a very lively youth resort in Kavos. Because we are small teams in each network post we are kept extremely busy every day – both during and out of office hours. We do offer the facility of 24-hour emergency cover, which means we are always available to help British nationals in distress. There are some things I have been asked by holidaymakers so far that I haven’t been able to help with, such as improving the quality of food at a hotel (they didn’t like the courgettes!) but where there is a genuine emergency we are always ready to offer support.

The number of people who get into difficult situations on holiday was also a surprise - one of the posts recently had 18 arrests in a day. The back office work that comes with this which includes liaising with the police, the courts, lawyers and family members can be overwhelming - its difficult enough when its just one case. But I think starting at the busiest time of the year has actually proved to be more of a help than a hindrance. On the job training is often the best way to learn, and I can safely say that I am getting bucket loads of it.

Posted at 13:07 14 August 2008 by Sarah Ticherou  |  Comments[5]