91Èȱ¬

From hiring jet bikes and mopeds to the problems sometimes encountered when visiting doctors in foreign resorts, there are many things that can turn a relaxing summer holiday into a nightmare. With the help of reporter Carole Machin and 91Èȱ¬ One's new series The Secret Tourist, that needn't be the case, writes Programme Information's Jane Dudley.

The Secret Tourist, presented by Matt Allwright, sets out to have the holiday from hell so that viewers don't have to. Matt sends families to various resorts around the world to investigate the conditions in hotels, while Carole's role is to inform people of the things that can go wrong abroad; after all, being forewarned is forearmed.

Carole and her team go on the road to investigate the safety implications involved in hiring jet bikes and mopeds and advise on how to get the best treatment if you have to visit a doctor on holiday. They also look into swimming pool safety.

"My part of the show has a serious tone and we look at the things that can affect holidaymakers when they go abroad. We've pinpointed four incidents and the idea is that we take a case study from the UK of someone who's had a bad experience – some of them fatal.

"We take these case studies and go to the area where the incident happened and check things out. We're not going there to name and shame people, we're out there to identify whether this is the norm. Was it a one-off situation or is this something that is happening a lot?"

One port of call for the team was Cyprus where, in 2005, a 16-year-old British holidaymaker died in a jet bike accident.

"In Cyprus, the rules and regulations for people hiring jet bikes are there – there's a whole list of things that should happen but we found that, in some places, they're not being enforced."

This was the case for the holiday-maker who died. At 16, she was below the legal age for hiring a jet bike but was still able to do so. Other things that should happen include being given a safety briefing before the jet bikes are hired out, but Carole discovered that this was not always the case. "Before I went, because of the nature of the programme, the 91Èȱ¬ was strict about me doing some training, just to make sure I was going to be safe.

"In a place like Cyprus, water sports are a big thing – it's huge for tourists – so you would hope that safety is taken seriously by all the hire companies."

Carole went undercover and visited various companies that hire jet bikes to tourists and pretended to be a typical holidaymaker who just wanted to have some fun. "We randomly selected about 15 places and some were really good," she says. "Some of them weren't so good, though. The idea of the programme is to say be aware, this is what could happen, and also to give people more information.

"We're not trying to scare people; we're trying to say be careful, be safe, and take responsibility for yourself.

"If you want to hire a jet bike, for instance, there are so many companies that you can hire from. Just take a moment to see whether they look like they're taking their job seriously. If you're out at sea you need to make sure that somebody is watching you in case you get into trouble. Have a look at these companies, see how they're operating. It's pretty obvious – in some of the places we went to there was evidence of people drinking beer and playing chess. My advice is don't hire a jet bike from that place – there's always another company just down the beach you can use that's taking their responsibilities much more seriously.

"So just be careful, be a little bit more savvy and don't always go for the cheapest.

"We went back to Cyprus to meet with the Cypriot authorities who were really shocked by the results of our survey. They said that they are turning things around out there, with the marine police doing a lot more spot checks on the hire companies and having a more regular presence in the water during the summer months to make sure the rules and regulations are being enforced."

Mopeds are another form of transport that are a favourite in resorts the world over, with seemingly dozens of companies operating and hiring them out, wherever you may be. But, for some reason, when some holidaymakers hire them they have their "holiday heads" on and often have little regard for their own safety. "If you don't ride one here in the UK why would you think that you could suddenly get on one in a foreign country and drive safely on the other side of the road?" asks Carole.

The Secret Tourist chose Thailand as the destination to undertake a local survey on moped hire and, says Carole, it was a bit of an eye-opener. "Thailand has a high accident rate. I did my CBT [compulsory basic training] before I went out there and I'm so glad I did. There's people coming at you from all angles on the roads. We saw so many people riding around in bikinis and shorts and you hear about the awful burns people get.

"We interviewed a guy who'd had a serious accident and ended up losing the feeling in half of his face.

"What's so scary out there, again, is that the Thai law is quite strict: you must be over 18, you have to have an international driving permit and you've got to wear a helmet. And these rules just weren't being enforced by some of the operators."

The team looked at various aspects of hiring mopeds, says Carole. "We looked at the state of the bikes and how safe they were to ride and we also did a small survey to find out if people had insurance and, if so, whether they actually had the correct insurance. People were just hiring mopeds willy-nilly; at times riding up to pubs, going back out, and so many weren't wearing a helmet.

"We interviewed people and they said, 'Oh yes, we've got the best insurance'. Well, if you're riding your bike without a helmet, insurance-wise you're not covered."

Some people could have basic cover with their own travel insurance policy but, says Carole, they must check the small print. "Every policy is different. You need to look at the size of the engine you're riding as well because some insurance companies might cover you for up to 50cc whereas in Thailand, the majority of bikes are 100-125cc. So if you're going to hire one and you know you're going to do that you really need to check your insurance policy."

It's not just motor sports that can spoil people's enjoyment on holiday – some become ill and have to use the services of doctors in the resort. While the vast majority of doctors will be absolutely fine, Carole and the team point out that holiday-makers need to have their wits about them and ask pertinent questions about their symptoms.

"We spoke to a guy who'd had an ear infection while on holiday. He went to the doctor, as you would, and he asked him to come in every day for six days, morning and night, to have five injections – 10 a day, so 60 in total – and he ended up with a bill of nearly £5,000.

"We went undercover with symptoms of very mild cases of potential food poisoning and we found some doctors saying things like, 'We want to put you on an intravenous drip, or we want to inject you with antibiotics'. We had our own medical advisor with us who briefed us on the symptoms to go in there with. They were very, very mild so the doctors should have been saying take some oral-rehydration tablets, drink lots of water. When I said I didn't want an injection they then said okay, instead you can get some antibiotics over the counter – so there are always alternatives. If you do get ill on holiday and have a tour rep ask them to recommend a reputable doctor."

The final investigation undertaken by Carole and the team involved safety – especially pertinent for those with children – in resort swimming pools, taking the case of a child who drowned in a pool on holiday as a starting point.

The case in question was an event that took just a split-second, proving the point that you just can't take your eyes off young children, especially while on holiday. "It takes literally minutes for a child to drown," says Carole. "We went to one place where the lifeguard really wasn't paying attention – he was reading his magazine. Obviously most lifeguards do a brilliant job but my advice is to do your own checks on pool safety when you arrive at a resort."

As with all the activities and services investigated in The Secret Tourist, the bottom line, says Carole, is that people should "just take a moment to think. People save up for their holidays, it can be the high point of a family's year and it's such an exciting thing. We're not trying to say don't enjoy yourself, we're saying do everything that you want to do but keep your wits about you."