WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE

minutes when they were all exhausted and carrying bags wasn’t what we had planned for
or wanted. The positive of this was that check out from the hotel was smooth which
enabled the CMST team to prepare for the Units arrival just a few hours later.
This was echoed by an IST member in the survey:
“The bullet train was a very stressful experience, and whilst we were prepared for getting on
the train, the experience itself was very nerve racking and stressful leaving several people in
tears and little support on the train to check everyone was all right once on board”.
Some IST members enjoyed travelling en‐masse:
“The memory of travelling from Shinagawa to Hiroshima will stay with me for a long time,
the tension of queuing for the Shinkansen and the thrill of all making it onto the train!”
“Simple straight forward (a LOT of hurry up and wait...& wait...& wait some more) but some
of this was probably unavoidable such as for the bullet train (which was kind of a fun
challenge really!!!) I liked the feeling of "tribe" travelling together and getting to know more
of the IST on route”
On the return journey to Tokyo after the Jamboree units did not have their cargo bags with them as
these had gone the night before in luggage trucks. This worked really well.
Airport assistance
At the airports in Japan we had CMST and Travel Places staff meeting and greeting. This was a really
good idea – both as it was fun for the CMST and nice for the units but also helped to deal with any
travel issues /connections.
In terms of the survey, the overwhelming response from the qualitative feedback from the IST and
the leaders was positive.
“Travel with UKC went swimmingly”
“Very well organised, received more than enough information. It was fantastic!”
“Bullet Train was amazing”
Finally, overall 98% of the respondents we either satisfied or very satisfied by the travel provided by
UK Contingent.
Reading through the survey results it was clear that Units and IST didn’t know where the
responsibilities lie between the UK Contingent, the Jamboree organisers and the travel company (for
additional tours). This is something that we need to make clearer for the next event so contingent
members are aware of what we do and don’t have influence or responsibility over.
Looking to the next event
Bulk buying doesn’t make travel cheaper – sheer quantity meant we didn’t get a discount.
Additionally, there was only a finite number of direct flights to Japan which did inconvenience some
Units and IST members. This may be easier for America. Requesting information from units or IST
was a challenge. There was always somewhere between 10% ‐30% who always missed the deadline.
This caused difficulty in getting travel booked. Overall, contingent managed travel was well received
and should be considered as another element for future events. The additional tours, whilst not
managed by TSA, were generally well received and should be considered, with parameters, for
future events.
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