ADVERTORIAL FEATURE RISING TO THE CHALLENGE MANAGING RISK AND THE ROLE OF YOUR TMC


To deal with emergency situations quickly, access to on-demand and reliable data is the key to best protect travellers


WHERE RISK WAS ONCE SOMETHING COMPANIES only had to manage in well-defined hot spots, now it can occur anywhere, whether travellers are in London, Luanda or Las Vegas.


But what is the role of your TMC in helping


corporates manage risk? According to Wings Travel Management’s CEO Tony Sofianos travel risk management is delivered by data and that is primarily managed by a TMC, particularly in challenging markets. “If there is an emergency in Italy that


“IN CHALLENGING MARKETS... TRAVEL RISK MANAGEMENT AND DATA ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS YOUR WEAKEST LINK”


affects 17 sales people, you would expect that to be covered by data,” says Sofianos. “In challenging markets like South America, travel risk management and data are only as strong as your weakest link and if your


TMC’s partner agency is still using Excel, then how do you manage travel risk when you need information on demand?” London-headquartered Wings Travel Management is the only independent TMC to own and manage all its operations around the globe. Most other multi- national TMCs use partner agencies in markets like Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. This means every Wings office operates off the same GDS technology platform and centralised global database. “Any organisation that is


operating in countries where travel cannot be undertaken smoothly, should be looking for a TMC with a central database as this allows reporting and tracking in real time,” explains Sofianos. “At


any given time, we know where our clients’ travellers are and because of our access to this on-demand, reliable data, emergency situations can be managed quickly.” Preparation is also crucial to managing risk, but there is not one simple solution as it depends on the size of your organisation, number of travellers, where they travel to. “We recommend clients use our travel risk management checklist to help them review their existing programme and evaluate areas that need enhancing,” says Tony Sofianos.


Tony Sofianos, CEO, Wings Travel Management


■ wings.travel ■ info.uk@wings.travel ■ @WingsTravelMgmt


102 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 buyingbusinesstravel.com WINGS TRAVEL RISK MANAGEMENT CHECK-LIST


1 Make sure traveller profile information held by your company and your TMC is comprehensive and up-to-date.


2 Evaluate a list of destinations that you send travellers to regularly which could be considered “at risk”. Agree what level of risk is applicable to each destination


3 Check pre-trip health, travel alerts, passport and visa requirements, local laws, for each journey.


4 Ensure travellers have as much information as possible and that they are knowledgeable of any potential risks that could arise.


5 Ensure you have reliable traveller tracking processes in place via your TMC.


6 Work closely with your TMC to prepare a formal emergency response plan and communicate this to your employees regularly.


7 Post situation review – once the emergency has been managed and your travellers have safely returned, analyse the response process and ways it could be improved.


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