About Us

Who we are

The Safer Tourism Foundation is an independent charity working to save lives and prevent serious harm and injury to UK travellers, at home and abroad.

Our aim is to help ensure everyone who travels on holiday, at home in the UK or abroad, stays safe and well. We are an independent foundation, led by a Board of Trustees and we do not represent a specific constituency or interest group.

The Foundation was established in 2016, ten years after the deaths of two children, Bobby and Christi Shepherd, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning whilst on holiday in Corfu in 2006. Bobby and Christi’s mother, Sharon Wood, worked with the travel industry to develop the Safer Tourism Foundation, as a positive legacy from this tragedy. Thomas Cook provided the initial funding for the charity.

We want to reduce the health and safety risks affecting people travelling abroad. Whilst carbon monoxide poisoning is one of those risks, our remit is much broader and encompasses all of the potential risks to health and wellbeing that travellers face while on holiday. This includes risks related to transport, water based activities, allergic reactions, slips, trips and falls and personal safety.

We are practical in our approach, driven by evidence, and determined to find pragmatic solutions that work. We welcome collaboration with all others who share our aim.

What we do

Evidence driven: We’re focused on building an evidence base over time, collecting safety incident data in collaboration with the travel industry, to understand the root causes of preventable harm, injuries, illnesses and deaths. We use this information to create awareness and encourage actions to minimise risks when travelling.
Industry collaboration: We work in partnership with travel companies, tourism destinations and others, sharing learnings and influencing where relevant to effect practical changes which improve the health and safety of travellers, without negatively impacting local communities or residents.
Beyond awareness raising: We want travellers to be aware of potential risks, while also enhancing their ability to make decisions that will help keep them safe and healthy when travelling. We know raising awareness alone doesn’t change behaviour. We use behavioural science techniques to influence meaningful behavioural change.
Connecting the dots: We build on our broad understanding of safety data, systems and traveller concerns to create practical content and facilitate meaningful collaboration across all parts of the travel ecosystem.

We developed the Safer Tourism Pledge to identify and recognise those travel operators who adhere to excellent standards of safety management. The Pledge is a set of commitments which articulate support for the charity’s aims and an intent to work with us to improve the health and safety of tourists.

The Pledge is designed to offer travellers additional confidence about their chosen travel company’s approach to customer health, safety and wellbeing. It also acts as a prompt to remind travellers of their own responsibilities when it comes to their health and safety while travelling.

We are delighted that a number of leading UK travel companies have committed their support through the Pledge.

Sharon’s story

October 2006 and my life was about to change forever. I kissed my children goodbye as they left with their father for a holiday in Corfu. That was the last time I saw Christi and Bobby alive, a day that will haunt me until we are once again together.

They died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas boiler that had not been correctly installed, serviced or maintained. My children died needlessly, due to systemic failings within the travel industry.

Their tragic story is well documented, as is the ‘David v Goliath’ decade long legal battle that ensued. I fought for justice for my children with a passion and determination like only a grieving mother could. Robbed of my children and the following ten years of my life, perseverance came at a personal price, but it has also done so much to raise the profile of the dangers of carbon monoxide and encouraged holiday makers to think more carefully about their safety when travelling abroad.

The Safer Tourism Foundation was born of some very open and frank conversations between myself and the then CEO of Thomas Cook, Peter Fankhauser. We couldn’t change what had happened but together we could be influential in making tourism safer for the future, a lasting legacy for Christi and Bobby.

So I am very proud to be among the founding trustees of the charity and pledge my commitment to ensuring that it will help in educating travellers about the dangers they may face, promoting safer tourism and ensuring that the travel industry is transparent, honest and respectful.