U.S. Soccer Fans visiting South Africa Will Get Extra Protection via Their Smartphones
June 08, 2010
(WORLD CUP TECHNOLOGY)
The availability of a smartphone-based service designed to help protect Americans traveling to South Africa for World Cup 2010 was announced by Trafficmaster and Teletrac, providers of GPS 'location intelligence' services. Many World Cup visitors will be wary of travelling to and across South Africa to watch the USA play with South Africa reported to have the 10th highest crime rate per capita across 60 developed and developing countries. 24 hour security, helping fans in any emergency will be possible with International Recue, the new smart phone service from Trafficmaster and Teletrac.
Supported by round the clock teams of travel experts in the UK, as well as travel teams located in over 40 countries and staffed 24/7, International Rescue is the first ever smart phone emergency and concierge travel service in the world.
A specialist security and emergency response company used to dealing with crime and emergencies in this part of the world is partnered by the South African service. Immediate emergency response can be provided by a fleet of armed helicopters. Staffed by personal assistants with deep knowledge of South Africa, International Rescue provides concierge service which can direct the fans anytime be it day or night.
Available as part of the Trafficmaster Companion suite of travel services, International Rescue can be uploaded on iPhone, Blackberry, Symbian (News - Alert) and Windows based smartphones.
In a release, Tony Eales, CEO of Trafficmaster, said, 'South Africa has had a lot of bad press regarding its high crime rates. Clearly there will be potential problems, and the stress will be exacerbated because tourists won't know who to turn to or the towns' local policing resources may be stretched. This is where International Rescue comes to the forefront. It is supported by a specialist emergency response team who is used to dealing with anything from assaults, car hijacks through to lost passports and lost people." Eales added, it is simply accessible from the smartphone, without remembering numbers or any additional documentation.
International Rescue collates and securely stores personal information like Passport number, next of kin, blood group, allergies, current medication and insurance details to be used in an emergency.
More information on International Rescue is available at www.trafficmaster.co.uk/internationalrescue.
Calvin Azuri is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Calvin's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Alice Straight
