Travelling in groups

Frequently, Manitobans are travelling together in large groups on business or recreational activities that fall outside of planned excursions led by travel agents.

The group organizers instead have to plan for the needs of their group and coordinate multiple travel plans for their members and the health of the group as well as its individual members has to be kept in mind.

If a group is hoping to complete its planned activities at the destination it may require all or most of its members to arrive and function. Loss of key people can lead to failure of the mission.

Recently Laura Hawkins, a Winnipeg television producer embarked on a worldwide tour with her crew to film a television show “Shea's Rockin' World Tour” about her daughter Shea participating in adventures and meeting people around the world.

The challenge involved more than just immunizing each person and planning for malaria and other hazards. The crew met together and had a discussion about the major health hazards of various destinations and then had individual counselling regarding what would be appropriate for each person.

We discussed Laura's difficulties after being bitten by a possibly rabid dog in Costa Rica. We started a rabies vaccine program however, she was not able to complete the vaccine series before she had to leave for India to shoot the next segment. Together we had talked about reputable Clinics in Jaipur, India that would be able to administer the final vaccine on the appropriate day and made arrangements to follow up there.

This was important since another patient who had travelled to India did receive poor advice on their trip to India so it was important to determine which clinics would be helpful. While Laura arrived in India she became aware that her carefully protected vaccine had gone missing.

Luckily when she arrived in Jaipur she was able to purchase more quality vaccine there. She received the vaccine in a comfortable clinic and felt very well taken care of. Laura has given me permission to speak about her problems as she wanted to share her encounters with other travelers. Many countries have very good high quality clinics and with the proper research group leaders can short list these for ready access to deal with unexpected crises as they occur.

The rest of her group did very well, visited several foreign destinations and were able to produce 13 exciting episodes. Shea's Rockin' World tour can be seen weekly on City TV Saturdays at 3pm beginning Sept 22 nd , has been sold in Italy and is being considered for other European and Asian markets. One of the things I like best about this show is how Shea and the crew meet and interact with many regular people in the countries they travel to which is one of the most rewarding joys of travel.