Ministry for Foreign Affairs at the Nordic Travel Fair Matka 2009: Each traveller is responsible for him- or herself

Press release 9/2009
14 January, 2009

In association with the ministry’s theme for the Matka 2009 fair “Responsibility for Our Common World”, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs reminds all travellers of their own personal responsibility when they are travelling abroad. To assist people in making travel decisions and preparations, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides travel safety services that can be found on the ministry website.

The travel information bulletins produced by Finnish missions are an important source of information about travel safety situation in various countries. The travel bulletins are available in full length on the ministry website and the mobile service at wap.formin.fi, and in shorter versions as SMS messages.

The ministry compiles travel information covering 160 countries, in addition to which travellers are advised to read travel information produced by other countries. Furthermore, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs provides more detailed information about the following 15 countries: Russia, Mexico, Poland, Sweden, Luxembourg, Namibia, Chile, Moldova, Romania, Egypt, Brazil, Denmark, Norway, Uruguay and the Netherlands.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs underscores the importance of reporting the journey, especially when people are embarking on self-organised trips. In case of emergency, the foreign mission can assist those Finns who have reported the journey so that the mission has been informed about their existence. The journey can be reported to the ministry or a Finnish foreign mission.

Assistance is given to Finnish citizens and foreign citizens with a permanent residence in Finland who have ended up in an crisis situation abroad. The foreign missions of other Nordic countries and EU states also assist Finns in case Finland does not have a mission in the country in question.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs recommends acquiring comprehensive travel insurance for all travel.

On the video “Do I Dare to Travel Abroad – Would the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Help me”, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs reminds people of the importance of travel insurance, the reporting of journeys, and the need to follow travel information.

You are very welcome to come and acquaint yourself with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ travel safety services at the Helsinki Fair Centre, stand 6m53, on 15-18 January. Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will visit the fair stand on Friday 16 January, in the afternoon.

Additional information: Kirsi Puronpää, Attaché (Administrative Affairs), Unit for Consular Assistance, tel. +358 9 1605 5175, +358 40 510 7416, and Raija Leppäjärvi, Head of Web Communications, Unit for Communications, tel. +358 9 1605 5991, +358 40 721 2918