TRAVEL RISK MAP 2017 shows potential risks
Companies are focusing on safety despite the fact that the number of health incidents is significantly higher, emphasize the specialists from International SOS and Control Risks. The latest TRAVEL RISK MAP 2017 provides a comprehensive overview of the risks in individual countries and supports companies of different sizes and their mobile employees in their risk mitigation measures.
In the past year, nearly one-third (32%) of decision makers have made changes to business travel plans based on individual country risk assessments. "It is very important for corporate decision makers to have a reliable objective source to implement travel policies and travel plans," says Aurora Chatard, Regional Security Manager Europe at International SOS and Control Risks.
"What has happened this year has meant that travel to places previously considered safe is increasingly perceived as a challenge. Measures taken to mitigate these risks must be appropriate and based on the actual risk, not the general perception. Health care and road safety determined more than 70 percent of our assistance services last year."
More often, these issues would also be overshadowed by more prominent but significantly less likely incidents such as terrorist attacks. Information and a comprehensive assessment of all risk factors are the basis for successful business travel, protecting employees and maintaining business operations.
Current travel and safety checks
Accompanying the Travel Risk Map 2017, a broad survey was conducted by the Ipsos MORI Institute with more than 1000 decision makers. The participants come from 75 countries, represent around 500,000 mobile employees worldwide, and are responsible for travel risk mitigation in their companies.
Despite an increased perception of travel risk (72% of respondents), 44% said their travel activity increased last year. More than half expect travel to continue to increase in the coming year of 2017. Below are two travel trends:
- 80% of the organizations have changed itineraries in the past year due to health and safety concerns.
- Nearly half of respondents (48%) say their companies have increased investment in travel risk mitigation in the past year.
Similarly, around 47% of all companies surveyed expect their investments in safety measures to continue to increase. Under these perspectives, however, potential health risks should not be disregarded. - An overview of the regions that are more likely to pose a risk to health and safety is revealed by the Outlook (found at International SOS) in the interactive
