Unlucky Traveler? Tell Your Story!

Carmia and her friend decided to blow off some steam after a semester abroad in Costa Rica by exploring the rest of Central America. The students missed the last ferry en route to Belize from Guatemala and hitched a ride on a canoe, which was filled with fourteen other passengers all traveling with luggage. While the boat ride started out well enough, the engine failed, leaving the passengers stranded at sea. Carmia noticed a storm approaching in the distance while still aboard the unstable boat. As a torrential downpour hit the passengers, Carmia’s traveling mate came down with a case of food poisoning in the middle of the Gulf of Honduras. The students and other passengers weathered the storm and ultimately ended up safely on the shores of Belize, where Carmia’s friend made a run for it! After the trauma she experienced at sea, Carmia decided to submit her story to the World’s Unluckiest Traveler contest.

And her submission paid off, helping Carmia become the fifth monthly winner in Travel Guard North America’s search for the “World’s Unluckiest Traveler.”  Collecting the most votes in the month of May, for her tumultuous sea-travel story, Carmia, of Davis, California, will receive a Flip MinoHD^TM camcorder and is now eligible to win a grand prize $10,000 dream getaway to be awarded in December, 2010.

Throughout 2010, Travel Guard will continue its search for the “World’s Unluckiest Traveler” – the traveler who has survived an incredible travel travail or outrageous adventure and has the story to prove it. Each month, Travel Guard will award two Flip MinoHD^TM camcorders – one to the entry that receives the most votes, and one to a randomly-selected person who voted for that winning entry. At the end of the year, all of the monthly winners will vie for the grand prize in a final round of voting. The most popular entry and a randomly selected lucky voter who votes for one of the winning entries will each be awarded a $10,000 dream vacation.

Travelers can submit their entries by logging onto travelguard.com and uploading a video or photo and posting their unlucky tale for a shot at the title of World’s Unluckiest Traveler. Voters and entrants can also find out more about winners’ travel snafus by “liking” Travel Guard on Facebook and following Travel Guard on Twitter @TravelGuard.

For more information about travel insurance plans and assistance services offered through Travel Guard, travelers can log onto www.travelguard.com.