Safety on tour is a top priority for Lingo Tours
We are committed to providing safe environments for all those who embark on a Lingo Tours adventure. Our dedication to safety on tour ensures that it is a key driver of any decisions that are made throughout the tour planning phase as well as during your tour.
Traveling to new places, seeing new countries, and exploring different cultures is often a big leap outside your comfort zone. While there will always be situations outside of our control, we want you to relax and enjoy your travels as much as possible. Knowing that your health and safety at all times has been duly considered is just one way that we can ensure you have the best possible experience while on tour.
For more information, download a copy of the Lingo Tours Safety and Emergency Policy.
General Group Safety
While on tour, it is each individual travelers’ responsibility to always act responsibly and follow any given instructions from your Group Leader, Tour Manager, and Guides throughout the tour.
Group Safety 
Fire Safety 
Supplier Safety
As a pedestrian, avoid jay-walking, wait for the green light, and always pay attention to traffic coming from both directions. Be aware that there may be vehicles and bikes on a different side of the road to what you are used to in your home country. Make sure you look both ways carefully before crossing roads. Always use pedestrian crossings and traffic light crossings.
If there are swimming opportunities or swimming pools at your hotel, never go swimming without having informed your Group Leader first. Never go alone and always follow restrictions and regulations. Stay as a group and avoid diving.
Locate fire and emergency exits closest to your room. Discuss with your roommates which route you will take in case of fire. Read the fire safety instructions in your room. At night, always keep your door locked from the inside.
In case you are taking medicine (prescription or otherwise), please make sure your Group Leader and another adult on tour is aware of your procedures and what to do in an emergency situation. All medicines you bring on tour should be kept in their original packaging with prescription instructions labelled. For severe allergies, please make sure you have informed both your Group Leader and Lingo Tours in advance so we can help you you avoid any meals that can put you in danger.
Unless agreed and signed for from a parent, guardian, or Group Leader, any form of substance such as alcohol or other intoxicating substances are completely forbidden on tour. If an alcohol waiver is signed by parents for students that fall within the legal drinking age, it is then permissible to have small amounts (a glass of wine or beer) to accompany meals, but any excessive drinking is strictly forbidden.
Safety and Emergency Procedures
Lingo Tours continually considers current travel safety recommendations which are advised by federal, state and local government bodies, and by organizations such as the European Tourism Association (ETOA). These help us understand and define what are considered safe areas for group travel so they can be followed and adhered to. In the case of heightened threats (such as terror, weather, civil unrest, or any other safety threat that could compromise group safety), Lingo Tours and all Lingo Tours employees and groups will avoid the compromised areas that are deemed unsafe. In the event of an emergency situation while on tour, the group must follow all of the instructions given by the Tour Manager. If the group is not all together, separated group members should immediately rejoin the main group or follow instructions given previously regarding the group congregation point. In the case of an armed attack, all travelers must adopt the “Run, hide, tell routine”:
- Run – don’t hide under a table or play dead. Run out of the building. Don’t try to negotiate.
- Hide – if you can’t get out of the building, barricade yourself behind a steel door, stay quiet, and turn your phone on silent.
- Tell – phone the police as soon as you can, give exact locations, what kind of weapon the terrorist might have had, and if there are any casualties.
For more information on this routine or to watch a short video on the topic, please visit the UK government’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stay-safe-film.
Contingency Planning and rerouting
Contingency planning ensures that proper and immediate follow-up steps are set out by Lingo Tours in response to the rise of an emergency or unforeseen circumstance.
Although each emergency or unanticipated situation that may arise is different, should a serious incident occur in the immediate area or near the area of the tour route, Lingo Tours adopts the following procedure:
- Assemble group all together – If an emergency situation arises during a structured free time period, all travelers are to congregate in the designated safe point/safe area to which they have been previously communicated.
- Remove the group from the affected area – All travelers will be removed from the affected areas and the tour rerouted to a safe destination.
- Reconnect with original itinerary – As soon as deemed safe, the original tour itinerary will be linked back into and the tour will continue as originally scheduled.
Any extra costs inflicted by the emergency situation or disturbance event will be covered by Lingo Tours – this includes accommodation, transportation, as well any meals that would have otherwise been included in the itinerary.
Supplier Safety
Lingo Tours conducts audits with all our suppliers to ensure they are meeting appropriate health and safety standards. All our suppliers are safety certified, meeting European standards, and following all European safety regulations. Fire safety checks are also carried out at each hotel that is included on the tour.
Our safety audit is comprised of the following:
- Hotel fire safety
- Hotel and restaurant food safety and hygiene
- Hotel and facility swimming safety
- Transportation traffic safety
