Brits encouraged to sign up with tracking system

PHUKET CITY: British Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle is encouraging all British subjects who live or travel to Phuket or other parts of Thailand to register their presence here using a new on-line service set up by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Click on this link! campaign encourages British Nationals to use LOCATE, an online system, to register their contact and next of kin details.

“Whether you are visiting Thailand on holiday, flying in for a business trip or simply reside in this beautiful land of smiles, the last thing you want is to be caught up in a situation in which your loved ones cannot locate your whereabouts,” Ambassador Quayle said.

“I’d like to encourage British nationals in Thailand to register with LOCATE so that, if necessary, we will be able to contact your next of kin and locate you.”

LOCATE allows the British Embassy in Bangkok to contact British nationals in an emergency.

Younger Brits with older, less-computer-savvy friends from the UK are encouraged to help them register.

Long term residents who have registered with the British Embassy before, but not using LOCATE, are encouraged to re-register using the new system. Data from the old database will not be automatically migrated.

Personal details entered onto LOCATE are password-protected and access to data will be for the crisis management purposes only and strictly in line with the UK Data Protection Act.

The UK is consistently the leading source of European arrivals to Thailand, with about 860,000 coming to the Kingdom in 2007, the last year for which figures are available on the Tourism Authority of Thailand website.