The world is a changing place and business travellers have a whole different set of concerns than those in their position a decade ago.
Employees and executives who travel for work, have a limited say in where they go, how they get there or how long they stay. However, with political unrest and terrorist acts on the rise business travellers are becoming more concerned for their safety as they traverse the globe.
Business Travellers’ Main Concerns
The Global Business Travel Association recently surveyed more than 500 corporate travellers and found that the main concerns during a business trip included:
1. Location of hotel (50%)
2. Airline safety record (36%)
3. Safety of ground transportation (35%)
4. Knowing who to call if issues arise (34%)
A more recent study found that travellers view terrorism and terrorist acts (such as the hideous attacks in Manchester, Nice and New York) as the greatest safety risk. 45% name it as their largest concern while on the road for work, much higher than those who mention street crime (15%), sickness/disease outbreaks/sanitation (13%), property crime / theft (12%), kidnapping (8%) or natural disasters (6%).
How Travel Management Companies Respond To Safety Concerns
With all this worry in place, Travel Management Companies have had to respond and offer products and services, which help keep travellers safe and make them feel supported.
Beyond Business Travel offer traveller tracking, so that employers know where their team are at all times. We have a safety check-in feature, so those facing disruptions or disaster can mark themselves safe.
It is also common for TMC’s to provide an instant alert service. We can communicate with all our travelling clients, instantly notifying them of delays, issues or emerging situations.
It’s not all reactive assistance either. Most agencies will work with their travellers before the trip even begins. We educate clients, ensuring travellers are prepared for the environment they are travelling to and are aware of emergency procedures and risk policies.
We also keep up to date with events in all Foreign and Commonwealth Office risk destinations and provide the latest information, as it’s needed.
“Security concerns and safety worries have become more of an issue in recent years,” said Edel Doherty, Managing Director of Beyond Business Travel.
“In Western Europe there has been a major event, in a major city almost every month for the last two years. This has taken its toll.”
“Our clients need to feel supported when they’re on the road and their managers need us to assist them in fulfilling all duty of care obligations.”
“We place great importance on keeping employees safe and work proactively to address possible risks and to minimise disruption, using our team of experts and the latest travel technology. We also ensure that all travellers are well versed in emergency procedures, before their trip begins, should problems arise.”