Dramatic Political Risk: An Unavoidable Reality

On Monday, international counter-terrorism and security expert Hagai M. Segal delivered the opening keynote at Centre Stage during GBTA Conference 2016 Frankfurt in Partnership with VDR. He called dramatic political risk an unavoidable reality in today’s world.

Hagai talked risk and security to the packed audience of travel professionals from across the globe covering everything from the impact of ISIS and Boka Haram to the current situations in Africa and the Ukraine, and more.

He discussed terror threats to business travellers and focused on the different type of threat felt from numerous small, and seemingly random, attacks saying it has a major psychological impact.

When asked if business travel is safer or more dangerous now than it was 20 years ago, Hagai said in many ways it is dramatically safer, but that is because we have had no choice but to respond to repeated incidents.

What is a travel professional to do in a world where risk management is becoming an increasingly important part of their job? Hagai brought it back to the conference theme, balance. While terrorism attacks remain rare, we do live in a more risky operational environment than ever, but planning and preparing accordingly will help you achieve balance. He stressed making the case for literacy and ownership of risk management within a company, having adaptable and flexible procedures and constantly re-evaluating policy and strategy.

Hagai Segal’s keynote was not the only highlight from Day 1 of the Europe Conference. The day kicked off with GBTA Committee Meetings where industry hot topics and challenges were addressed. The First Time Attendees session gave newbies the opportunity to hear from the GBTA team and their industry peers about how to maximize their time during the Conference.

The expanded Expo was bustling allowing attendees to experience the latest products and services on showcase by top suppliers and industry insiders stopped by the GBTA Broadcast Studio to share their insight on challenges and opportunities in today’s business travel world.

Stay tuned to the GBTA Blog for more from this year’s Europe Conference.