The calendar indicates that autumn is just around the corner. This means that emergency centres are taking stock of the high season. How many reports have there been this summer? More or less than a year earlier? And what stood out this time?
Nyree van der Laan of emergency centre Eurocross emphasises that 2024 has been "fairly normal". "We had expected many more breakdowns on the road this summer of sports, with the European Championships in Germany and the Olympic Games in Paris, but those crowds have virtually non-existent."
Not insured or insufficiently insured
She mentions the high number of reports of holidaymakers who are not insured or insufficiently insured. "A year ago, we had to deal with that once or a few times a week. Now it was daily. Intense, because the damage can be sky-high if you are not insured or insufficiently insured."
She gives an example of a young woman who travelled to Mexico. She went on a retreat, had drunk too much salt water, which ruptured her oesophagus and perforated her lungs. She was then hospitalised. "An extreme example," says Van der Laan, "but if you are not (additionally) insured, you may have to deal with a sky-high bill. In this particular case, it was a hefty amount, of at least around 100,000 euros."
Dengue fever research
Earlier this year, Eurocross sounded the alarm about the high number of cases of dengue fever, a viral infectious disease caused by a bite from the tiger mosquito. "The number of reports is increasing every year. With 132 reports, we already have more than in the whole of 2023. Most reports come from Indonesia, Thailand and Curaçao, but the tiger mosquito can now also be found in Europe and the Netherlands."
According to Van der Laan, the mosquito not only travels to Europe with travellers in their suitcases, but also thrives in our country due to the changing climate. "The consequences of a bite can be severe. That is why we have started a study with the LUMC, so that we can get a better picture of the disease and its course."
Deaths
Van der Laan also calls it remarkable that the number of deaths is increasing every year. In 2021, 177 people died while travelling. A year later there were 216, last year 239 and this year 145 travellers have already died. "We expect this upward trend to continue and to exceed the 239 of 2023 for the whole of 2024."
The cause is anyone's guess, says Van der Laan. "Maybe people are taking more risks when travelling. Or more elderly people will hibernate. We simply don't know."
What she does know is that the top three countries where most Dutch travellers die have been the same for years. Spain is number 1, France shares second place with Suriname and Germany is number 3.
Missing persons
Last high season there were also many missing persons in the news. Unfortunately, often with a sad outcome. Over the years, Eurocross has also assisted in missing persons and that has a lot of impact, Van der Laan emphasises. "Violent things happen more often, but a missing person does something to our care. It happens almost once or more every year and that is a very intensive process. Our first responders are well trained, but they can always take a break after such an experience or talk to someone if they need to."
Forces of nature
Finally, she says it is striking that the summer of 2024 has seen exceptionally little natural violence. "We have had a number of reports from Mallorca, but they were very limited. We have received few reports of forest fires or floods this summer. This is in contrast to last year when we had our hands full with the heavy hail at Lake Garda."
As a result, the number of 'technical' reports received by Eurocross this year has fallen by thirteen percent. "When you think of technical reports, you should mainly think of phone calls from stranded travellers," concludes Van der Laan, who adds at the last minute that the number of medical requests for help has actually increased by more than fourteen percent.
More figures about the summer of 2024 and a news article about dengue fever can be found on the Eurocross website.
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