Travel Risk Management

Travel Risk Management is the practice of anticipating, preventing and reacting to unplanned risks that travellers may face on their journeys. This can include extreme weather events, social unrest, terrorism, natural disasters, public health events like pandemics, and much more.

Concerns about security risks - including geopolitical threats - and concerns about travel disruptions are pushing organisations to manage more real-time information, more granular risk assessment and enhanced travel scrutiny, to ensure their travellers are safe, secure and productive.

After three years of decline due to the global pandemic, travel is returning in full force. Within this new travel environment, the complexity of risks experienced by travellers is creating uncertainty in how organisations can effectively support their people.

Developing a structured approach to the implementation, evaluation and review of your organisation's Travel Risk Management programme is more important than ever. Most importantly, organisations have a responsibility to uphold their Duty of Care requirements by mitigating foreseeable risks and threats. It is important to not only assess the risks but promote a culture where medical and security travel threats are taken seriously. This increases an employee's confidence and willingness to travel knowing that they will be well taken care of in any situation that may arise. 

A good starting point is to identify the framework of how to manage health and security risks.

There are numerous challenges across all sectors when it comes to Travel Risk Management. Two of the most significant challenges impacting the C-suite and managers are educating employees about risks and motivating them to help prevent those risks. This is where implementing a well thought out and researched programme with an emphasis on crisis prevention and support tools is essential.

Plans are only as good as the weakest link, so it is key that everyone know their roles and responsibilities. Online or in-person training can get everyone on the same page, covering off who to call in an emergency, plans for evacuations and monitoring emerging risks and threats.

Be sure to have detailed itineraries of where your travellers are and know how to contact them if necessary. Make sure everyone is booking through approved channels - and be ready to take corrective action with those who don't follow the procedures. These are some of the many things that can be done in concert with your assistance partner.

Between 2019 and 2022, traveller requests for assistance from International SOS have increased two-fold. It is a sign of the times that even as travel returns, the world remains volatile - from civil unrest to pandemic threats and natural disasters. That means it's critical for organisations to have the right support structure in place. Those controls include itinerary and dynamic tracking, check- in, and knowing how to access the support structure for anything from a lost passport to an automobile accident- all 24/7.

Implementing a plan with the proper backing and tools is vital to overcoming apprehension in return to travel and supporting those who are already comfortable but may be out of practice. Once a plan is in place it is vital to do realistic simulations exercises to exercise roles and responsibilities before a crisis hits. It's also important that any plan be flexible and able to change with the prevailing conditions