Keeping Business Travelers Safe in an Uncertain Time

Today, GBTA released a new poll showing continued resiliency in business travel following the Paris attacks. More than 90 percent of U.S. and European business travel buyers now report that their company’s travel to and within Europe has remained largely unaffected by the Paris terrorist attacks. This shows increased levels of resiliency since the immediate aftermath of the attacks, when GBTA surveys indicated that nearly three-quarters of travel buyers believed that their company’s travel would not change or would only be slightly reduced.

The poll also shows that European travel buyers have become more certain as time has passed that travel should continue without interruption. Today, 90 percent of European travel buyers say that they believe that it is important that travel continue as usual despite the recent terrorist activity, compared with 79 percent in the days following the attacks.

Business travel will go on though as it is a driving force of our global economy, but knowing how to keep your business travelers safe in emergencies is paramount for travel buyers. GBTA worked with DocuSign, Inc. to develop a case study showing how they implemented their duty of care plan in the wake of the Paris attacks.

An e-signature and digital transaction management company based in San Francisco, DocuSign had four travelers in Paris and a dozen more scheduled to travel to Paris as the November 13 attacks unfolded. The case study details how they took action almost immediately to ensure the safety of their travelers by using traveler reports to determine the number and location of employees in and on the way to Paris, by contacting employees to confirm their safety and by engaging a third-party security firm to evacuate employees in France, among other steps.

The case study also identifies important steps companies can take to ensure the safety of your travelers in uncertain times:

• Have an Actionable Plan in Place
• Know your company culture and traveling population
• Evaluate and mitigate your risk
• Identify your resources
• Develop an actionable plan
• Monitor and benchmark your plan

View the full case study here. Also, check the GBTA calendar for updates on new webinars throughout the year from the GBTA Risk Committee highlighting hot topics in risk management.