Travel Risk Map Measures Threats for International Travelers
Businesses have increasingly large numbers of employees working and traveling abroad. Following recent attacks around the world, businesses have realized that they need to be prepared to react for when unfortunate tragedies such as this one occur. People are one of the most valuable assets a company has, and they should feel protected in all the unfamiliar countries they visit on behalf of their employer.
When it comes to business travel, a company is responsible for the health, safety and security of its employees from both a moral and legal perspective. Few businesses have a plan of action in place in relation to Duty of Care, and small and medium sized companies are even less likely to have a strategy in place if something goes wrong.
Travel management companies provide very useful tools to help companies carry out and manage their policies. This gives them the ability to flag potential issues, track travelers, and communicate with them in a timely manner, as well as supply information before and during their trip, helping companies fufill their Duty of Care to their employees.
Our partner, International SOS, has developed a Travel Risk Map comprised of current threats posed to travelers comprised of factors such as: political violence, social unrest, crime, endemic diseases, environmental risk, security conditions, and the quality and availability of healthcare within the country.
They have created an interactive map that rates the prevalent medical and security risks around the world. Travel Security Risks are rated as “Extreme”, “High”, “Medium”, “Low” or “Insignificant” and further defined by regions within each country. Medical Risk Ratings are defined as “Low”, “Medium”, “High”, “Very High”, and “Rapidly Devolving Medical Risk”. The result is a highly valuable tool for organizations to take the appropriate precautions in line with the risks they may encounter when traveling to a particular location.
In a survey published by International SOS, 80% of travelers had concerns about their safety when traveling abroad, but less than half research security issues before they travel. Additionally, nearly 1 in 3 trips abroad are to countries with higher risk ratings than the traveler’s country. This new tool will be very helpful for companies to understand where risks are, and take appropriate measures to mitigate those risks and protect their employees.
