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Open any news web site or turn into any cable news broadcast and you are bound to see news and updates about the global unrest facing a myriad of countries. Due to this continuous turbulence, some corporations and their meeting planners are evaluating their global meetings and events strategies and are considering the potential risk to attendees who may be traveling from near and far to attend gatherings across the globe.

According to Stephan Malvoisin, senior vice president of partnerships (U.S.) for Crisis24, a GardaWorld company that provides actionable risk management solutions to companies around the world, the current state of corporate travel on a global level remains below pre-pandemic levels, with September 2023 seeing approximately 81% of the travel levels observed before the COVID-19 outbreak. This percentage is comparable to the figures from September 2022, which also hovered around 79%. This is based on data from Crisis24, which holds comprehensive travel tracking metrics and trends in corporate travel.

“In light of the recent unrest in the Middle East, Crisis24 has worked with many companies to facilitate evacuations from Israel and neighboring countries,” Malvoisin said. “The impact of the conflict has primarily been localized to the region, prompting some companies to prioritize the safety of their personnel and stakeholders by refraining from non-essential travel to these areas.”

Due to heightened safety concerns, individuals of certain backgrounds or ethnicities who may not feel as comfortable travelling are choosing not to undertake non-essential corporate travel to certain regions such as the Middle East.

“Considering the dynamic situation in the Middle East, corporations are also electing in many cases to postpone non-essential travel to the area, opting to assess the evolving circumstances and potential risks before resuming their global travel plans for corporate and incentive meetings and events,” Malvoisin said.

Corporate travel and wellness expert, and founder of Satchell Global Wellness, Edyta Satchell, helps corporate meeting planners and travel managers to boost their traveling employees’ energy, productivity and success by implementing traveler wellness programs focused on health, nutrition, emotional wellness, vitality, physical wellness and much more.

The current state of corporate travel changes based on the political instability in impacted regions. Two years ago, the corporate travel was limited in the eastern Europe by the war in Ukraine. Now, it is impacted by the war in Israel.

“Corporate travelers will not stop, they will avoid impacted countries and will shift their travel to nearby regions to continue running their business and meeting their clients and suppliers,” Satchell said. “Corporate events and conferences may seem to be cancelled in those impacted countries and regions, but they in fact continue to take place in the neighboring countries.”

For example, during the war in Ukraine, the business travelers stopped traveling to Ukraine and Russia but instead they started traveling to neighboring countries such as Poland, Hungary and others, which gives an opportunity to the border neighbors to gain more travel traffic and business.

However, some companies express concerns fearing that the neighboring countries are too close to the war zone and they will prevent their employees from traveling to the neighboring countries as well.

The Biggest Concerns

For meeting planners, c-suite executives, and corporate meeting attendees, health and security remain paramount concerns, especially during times of uncertainty. As Malvoisin explained, companies and individuals must prioritize the health and well-being of their personnel by staying informed about potential health risks, such as disease outbreaks or public health emergencies, and implementing necessary precautions to safeguard against these risks. Similarly, staying informed about potential security threats and adequate preparation for travelers is essential to ensure their safety in unfamiliar or volatile environments.

Not surprising, for corporations, the biggest concern is the duty of care. Taking the right care of their traveling employees is key, and being able to get them home quickly and safely in the event of any type of an emergency not only caused by political instability but also by natural disasters — volcano eruption, earthquake, tsunami or global pandemic, to name a few. In such situations, Satchell said the traveler tracking tools and systems, along with the strong partnership and fast response from the travel suppliers, are a must.

“For travelers, it’s the fear of getting stuck, not receiving support on time and the financial burden,” Satchell said. “Travelers need to understand what their options are, i.e., are they allowed to spend extra money in the event of “getting stuck” somewhere in the world or do they need to cover the extra costs out of their own pocket. They need to understand what are the travel alternatives, the Plan B options and who will cover the extra costs.”

For event planners, Satchell said it may seem that the biggest problem is securing the venues, hotel space and room nights in new locations. However, she believes that for them the most important factor is the human factor. They understand that the events are key to performing their company business, growing revenues, gaining new clients and maintaining relationships with their suppliers.

“It’s the people and relationship building opportunities through every event, which will not continue to be developed if events are cancelled,” Satchell said. “I know event planners will do their best to move their events to new destinations.”

Malvoisin stressed that companies should ensure that they have access to real-time intelligence and pay attention to travel updates from the U.S. State Department. Timely and accurate information can help mitigate risks and ensure the safety and security of travelers. It can also help better categorize travel into critical and non-critical.

“Conduct thorough analysis and stay informed with real-time information,” Malvoisin added. “Having access to comprehensive risk analyses at a granular level is vital for understanding the potential challenges and risks associated with specific global destinations. This enables informed decision-making and risk management throughout the planning process.”

Planners should also have a solid understanding of insurance coverage. It is crucial to assess whether the existing insurance policies adequately cover the scope of the planned meetings and events, particularly in international settings or in locations where there may be some regional conflict. Additionally, Malvoisin said evaluating the suitability of local partners and vendors is essential to ensure that they are well-equipped to handle the scale and requirements of the events being organized.

In his experience, Dr. John Rose, chief risk and security officer at ALTOUR, is not seeing companies pulling back; however, the State Department Global Travel Level 2 caution alert has made most companies revisit their duty of care program and ensure proper processes to assist their travelers. “Having a pre-trip risk professional conduct in-person assessments of the venue and general locations being considered for the event is advised,” Rose said.

Considerations To Make

Given the lingering uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was the first global incident where nobody knew what was coming next, attendees may still carry psychological apprehensions about traveling. This is especially true when faced with the prospect of navigating potentially unstable or unpredictable global travel situations.

“Meeting planners should remain mindful of these concerns and prioritize clear and transparent communication to alleviate any anxieties,” said Malvoisin, who also suggested that meeting planners must thoroughly assess the adequacy of insurance policies to account for various travel-related uncertainties. Understanding the specific coverage provided for different aspects of global travel, including health and security concerns, is crucial for ensuring the safety and well-being of attendees in potentially challenging environments.

“Staying abreast of any changes or updates in insurance policies is essential to guarantee comprehensive coverage for all attendees,” Malvoisin said.

“KC” Campbell, CBCP, CPP, certified protection professional, board certified in security management at Blue Glacier Security & Intelligence, said corporations should have a travel risk management program that includes travel security training, a requirement for travel approval at a specific management level in the organization (e.g., branch or section head), travel briefs tailored to the location, and a reliable means to get alerts to and information from travelers.

“The corporate event program should also ensure that employees know that they have a ‘duty of cooperation,’ which means they have a responsibility to protect themselves,” Campbell said. “Companies can do all of this in house, or they can contract out some of this to one of several companies that specialize in travel security or risk management.”

There’s a misperception among Americans of what the U.S. government can do to assist them during crises overseas, especially after it has issued these warnings and begins to evacuate embassy personnel. Companies and meeting planners should realize that the U.S. is not legally required to evacuate Americans from global hotspots.

Avoiding Problems

As with any fluctuating travel situation, there are bound to be ongoing changes of which planners need to stay abreast. So, failing to conduct comprehensive research and risk assessments of specific regions or locations can lead to unforeseen challenges during global travel. Proactive monitoring and adequate preparation are essential to anticipate potential risks and uncertainties, enabling companies to implement effective contingency plans and streamline their global meetings and events.

One common mistake corporate meeting planners make when it comes to global travel uncertainties is overlooking the importance of local partnerships.

“Establishing strong partnerships with reliable local entities is crucial for ensuring smooth operations and addressing any unforeseen issues that may arise during global meetings and events,” Malvoisin said.

Having the right partners locally can help companies navigate cultural nuances, regulatory requirements and logistical challenges, thereby streamlining their global endeavors. Also, proper risk mitigation can easily reduce an organization’s traveler’s exposure to something terrible happening, and if it does happen, it can provide the appropriate service when needed.

Satchell’s recommendation is that corporations purchase travel insurance for their employees in addition to their regular medical insurance. Whether employees travel frequently on business or on vacation once a year, it’s a service and a tool that will give them peace of mind in the event of travel in the uncertain times and in the event of any type of emergency (i.e., lost luggage, flight cancellations, increased cost of hotel bookings for extra room nights caused by emergencies, etc.)

If the companies have travel insurance in place, Satchell recommends that they check the fine print and ensure natural disasters, political instabilities and similar are covered. If not, they need to add them to the benefits. All of these are crucial to ensure the peace of mind of not only the traveler, but also the corporate travel manager, the company owner, the travel manager, the event planner and many other team members involved and impacted in the travel of their work colleagues.

“Corporations also should train their employees on the so called ‘Plan B,’ ‘what if’ scenarios. What are the country evacuation steps, alternatives in the event of anything unforeseen happening?” Satchell said. “They need to know who to call and when. Most importantly, they need to know how quickly they can receive the support they need.”

Corporations have a legal duty of care, and this extends to international travel. As Campbell pointed out, companies have been sued by employees — and some of these lawsuits were successful — because these employees felt their employers failed in their duty of care responsibilities.

“So, travel risk management is not only the moral and ethical thing for companies and meeting planners to do,” Campbell said, “It can also mitigate against costly lawsuits and reputation risk.” C&IT