RISK MANAGEMENT


Are travel buyers and clients really ready for an emergency?


A


TSUNAMI, EARTHQUAKE, BOMB, kidnapping or hostage scene: any of these relayed in a past-midnight conversation to a dozing travel manager is likely to send pulses racing. Taking responsibility for a traveller in distress and whisking them out of harm’s way is the most nerve-wracking experience


for any buyer. If you personally sent them out there, you feel responsible. That duty-of-care buck stops with you. No amount of traveller tracking, advice, pre-planning or executive support can prepare you for that call or incident and how to deal with it effectively. Each emer- gency is different, each requires painstaking attention and must be dealt with properly. A good dose of nervous energy, at the same time a calm resolve, not to mention collaboration and no end of communication are all part of that adrenaline-fuelled first response. “These incidents rarely occur during UK office hours, and often involve many calls and conver- sations. This could be medical, such as malaria, or po- litical, such as South Sudan’s civil war,” explains Sarah Marshall, travel and security manager at international development company DAI Europe. “Even when a situation is under control, I have made as many as 100 calls to arrange a medical evacuation over a weekend. I changed my ringtone to something soothing after one particular incident!” The percentage of emergencies measured against


the number of trips booked is still exceptionally small, although it is on the rise. For instance, security specialist International SOS and Control Risks have seen demand for advice grow by almost 30 per cent in the past two years and mushroom by 800 per cent in the last decade. When incidents do happen, managers hope they can be resolved quickly and efficiently with either some


WORDS Nick Easen 100 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 buyingbusinesstravel.com


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