If you’re unlucky enough to find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, will you know how to handle it? And the wrong place doesn’t have to be Iraq or Somalia. I’ve been poisoned by meat in Cuba, roused from sleep and evacuated to shelter as a hurricane bore down on St. Kitts and Nevis and had to fight off a mugger in broad daylight in Vancouver. On the other side of the ledger, I’ve spent a night drinking with street musicians in a New Orleans alley and the only ill effect was a headache when the sun came up.

Anyone who’s travelled extensively on business has some kind of story to tell on how their travels have been impacted by storms, strikes, civil strife, crime, corruption, traffic accidents, tropical diseases…the list goes on. That’s life – and the best you can do is be informed, be prepared and minimize the risks.

Corporate responsibility in this area is referred to as ‘duty of care.’ Basically, employers are responsible for their employees’ well-being and must take practical steps to mitigate workplace dangers. That’s one thing when employees are at home, but when they are travelling on business duty of care involves risk management beyond the usual health and safety requirements of a work environment.

A study conducted by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives concluded that “business travellers do not get enough travel health and security training.” In a survey of 160 corporate members, two-thirds reported that their companies had contingency plans and security programs in effect, but that left a full third that did not have a strong security policy or any program at all.

The report also found that only 9% of companies surveyed offered personal health and security training to their travellers. Perhaps more startling is that 17% of respondents said their travellers may not be fully insured for mishaps on the road.

If you’re a frequent business traveller it’s a good idea to talk to whoever arranges your corporate travel to ensure that you are well covered by travel and health insurance and aware of what you should do when something goes wrong. If you’re a consultant or small business owner, it might be wise to develop a relationship with a good travel agent. While it’s tempting and sometimes convenient to book your own travels online, it’s prudent to have some back-up when something unexpected occurs, as many learned earlier this year when the Icelandic volcano paralyzed air traffic over Europe.

You can also help protect yourself by staying current about the situation in your destination. Both the Canadian and U.S. governments release travel alerts about safety and security concerns. While helpful, they can be a little broad, in which case you might be interested in a new Canadian website designed to help travellers know before they go, with comprehensive travel alerts.

The founder of the site is Don Churchill, president of eTravel Technologies.  His company has offered travel risk management services to travel management companies and corporate travel departments for years, but says the site marks the first time that fully comprehensive Travel Alerts and personalized advisories have been offered directly to the public.

"Since 9/11, the travel industry has developed and offered comprehensive risk mitigation information services to the business travel community, virtually ignoring the leisure and self booking travel sector,” says Churchill. “For the first time travel risk mitigation is now available across the entire spectrum of the travel industry."

Another innovation is travel technology firm ConTgo partnering up with emergency response specialist Dynamiq to provide tracking and intervention for business travel managers. According to Dynamiq Managing Director Anthony Moorhouse, in the past, corporate travel policies and security procedures were limited by technology, making it difficult for organisations to locate and interact with their travellers in crisis situations. "It is important to do everything possible to mitigate risks and to ensure that staff can be contacted in the event of an emergency," said Moorhouse.

By: Bruce Parkinson
Bruce Parkinson is a travel industry journalist and regular contributor to Takeoffeh.com as well as sister company, OpenJaw.com

Photo Credits: iodrakon, guenterguni

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