Ebola Not Yet Affecting Business Travel, GBTA Foundation Poll Finds

Update (February 10, 2015):  In the aftermath of the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, the World Health Organization plans to implement reforms to “improve its ability to respond more quickly to the next outbreak of a lethal infectious disease,” The New York Times reports.

Ebola has been top of mind in the news lately, but it seems to be ‘business as usual’ for most US businesses. The GBTA Foundation polled travel managers earlier this week to better understand how Ebola was affecting business travel.

Nearly 80 percent of the 421 managers who responded said international business travel has either not been impacted at all or has not been impacted much during the past month. Likewise, more than 90 percent of managers said that domestic business travel has either not been impacted at all or has not been impacted much during the past month.

Although business travel behavior has remained largely unchanged, caution appears to be the name of the game. More than three-quarters of travel managers said they either have or plan to provide their road warriors with tips on staying safe.

It is also imperative that the government and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide accurate and timely information to the public.

GBTA will continue to be vigilant and monitor Ebola for our members. In additional to following the fluid situation, we will be holding a webinar for our members, Risk Radar: Managing the Medical and Security Implications of the Ebola Epidemic – How will you protect your travelers?, next Wednesday, October 22, at 12 p.m. ET. The webinar is the first installment of a special Risk Radar webinar series brought to you by the GBTA Risk Committee, and it will examine the Ebola outbreak from both a medical and security perspective to help participants develop a comprehensive understanding of its implications to travelers.

For more information on Ebola and Business Travel, check out my recent post, Ebola & Business Travel: What You Need to Know.