No longer relegated to film noire roles, real-life bad guy terrorists troll constantly for new and sinister ways to disrupt global trade. Major targets? Transportation, energy, trade, and capital. Reality check for business travel management is that government can no longer provide complete protections for the traveling public.
Results? Business travel management is forced to enter a sobering re-thinking of priorities including keeping track of personnel, evaluating political risks in international travel, refining travel insurance risks and even incorporating corporate security and training programs in order to upgrade skills and responses to threats.
Yes, money matters and corporate travel management policies will constantly focus on discounts and expense control. But what’s changed is now money factors have become dilute against the backdrop of 9/11 attacks in America, London subway bombings, Bali nightclub bombings, train bombings in Spain and even more grisly examples where organized society is confronted by non-state independent terrorist militia and suicidal fanatics.
Corporate Travel Management Specialists For A New World — Travel Safety And Travel Intelligence. Security, employee training, business traveler tracking and more are being conducted through technology-enabled centralized corporate travel management firms. No longer is business travel management merely the hunt for group travel discounts and guides info flyer miles programs. Lives are at risk.
Learning The New Ropes — Business Travel Seminars. Businesses regularly use seminars to teach the latest techniques in travel security. For example, Westerners are taught to avoid placing identifying stickers on luggage, or to wear clothes with logos that might readily identify themselves as Americans or Brits. Low key anonymity equals lower risk business travel.
What Happens When Terrorists Attack — Surviving Captivity. What about being captured by terrorists? Travel management pros now regularly pass along detailed guidelines for surviving captivity, how to cope, what to expect, what to say, understanding political and ideological motivations of terrorists.