The U.S. State Department today announced that it is offering resources for students and their parents to prepare for safe, enjoyable trips.
As Spring Break is approaching, many students are preparing to travel abroad for a well-deserved and enjoyable vacation.
The State Department stresses that a smart trip-planning involves more than getting a new travel guide and backpack.
The State Department offers help to the “Spring Breakers” through its websites. The following are the tips and resources to consider for a safe and enjoyable trips this spring break:
Be Smart. According to the State Department, students are not invincible when they go abroad. There are incidents of travelers being arrested, injured, sexually assaulted, and even killed. For Spring Breakers, many incidents have been linked to alcohol and drug use annually. The students will be given awareness through this website studentsabroad.state.gov. The site serves as a one-stop shop with useful safety and travel information. It recommends that it should be the first place students visit when considering a trip abroad.
Be Safe. The State Department also urges students to stay connected while they travel. All U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad may sign up online for Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. STEP enrollment makes it possible for the State Department to contact the student traveler in the case of a family emergency in the United States. The U.S. government can contact families of the students in the event of a crisis in a foreign country.
According to the State Department, safety and security updates are automatically sent to the enrolled citizen so they can make informed trip-planning decisions. The STEM is free and takes less than five minutes to register online.
The U.S. government reiterates that its priority is to ensure that students return home safely. It always stresses that a well-informed traveler is a safer traveler.
Spring break is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
Spring break at the college and university level can occur from February to April, depending on term dates and certain holidays in the United States.
