Transmedi hits the headlines!
Online translation specialists are celebrating a surge in business as more people are hit by the travel bug and tap into the increasing power of their mobile phones.
Simon Bland, of transmedi.com, said a rise in the number of people snapping up cheap flights, increasing international trade and awareness of medical conditions are pushing demand for its medical conditions and allergy translation services.
Travellers are anxious to make sure they will be understood by medical professionals if they are taken ill abroad, he said.
And they want to know that they can, say, communicate easily with restaurant staff in case they are allergic to some of the food being served.
"We have some 60 million trips from this country. During the last decade we have seen unprecedented growth in foreign travel with the majority being via independently arranged trips," said Mr Bland, who lives in South Rauceby.
"The market continues to grow and diversify. In fact, the adventurous backpacking mindset is more likely to be found in the 50-plus age group than in the under-20s.
"But while a sense of adventure extends to locations and experiences, it does not include poor quality service. And these people are highly risk-averse, particularly when it comes to health matters," said Mr Bland.
That has resulted in more people buying services from www.transmedi.com and its subsidiary www.myallergy.info when planning holidays and business trips.
With transmedi, people go online, complete a questionnaire with their medical conditions and other important information which would be useful in an emergency, this is offered in 16 languages covering over 60 countries for only £15 per language.
They choose the language they want it translating into and print it out.
They can also use the potentially lifesaving myallergy.info service and by paying £2.50 per chosen language, have their allergy information sent direct to their phone in the form of a text message, which can be shown at pharmacies, restaurants and medical centres.
Mr Bland said this was proving a boon to single travellers and families alike.
"Our family had a specialist translation service which offers services to technical journals, marketing companies and medical documents. We looked at where the mass appeal might be for translations, such as when people were on holiday and had medical concerns and transmedi was born!" said Mr Bland.
"People using transmedi can not only print off the translation on their personal computer, they can view it over a secure personal Internet page and carry a codeword so that the information can be access when they are abroad," said Mr Bland.
"Our latest service, where allergy information can be downloaded on a mobile phone, reflects the fact that people now travel abroad with their phone. Why limit its storage capacity to ring-tones, when it can become a vital tool to communicate your medical conditions?"
One man who has bought transmedi's mainstream and allergy text service is Clinton Porter, whose nine-year-old son Henry suffers from asthma.
Mr Porter, who lives in Essex, heard about the business when he popped into his travel agent six months ago to book a holiday.
"Basically, I wanted something which would give us peace of mind if a problem arose. That is really important. You don't want to waste time getting help when you're abroad.
"So far I've had transmedi translations done in Spanish and French. It's brilliant."