Survey: Latin America and Middle East Pose Most Risk For Business Travelers

International business travel is now a routine part of corporate life. But, unfortunately, it comes with risks and some countries pose more of a threat than others.

While planning your next trip, you may want to consider these new survey results from International SOS. After polling nearly 600 US-based corporate security professionals, travel managers, human resources executives, medical professionals and others, International SOS found that:


40 percent of respondents believe Latin America is the region that poses the greatest risk to their business travelers in 2011, followed by the Middle East (31 percent) and Asia (20 percent).


When asked about their most pressing concerns about their mobile workforce, respondents cited: the effect of terrorism and civil unrest (44 percent), natural disasters (21 percent), petty theft and crime (17 percent) and kidnap and ransom (16 percent).


The Americas and Asia Pacific regions were those most frequently reported as the site of travel security incidents in 2010, according to International SOS data. India and Mexico followed.


Mexico remains high on companies' lists of security concerns it was the country researched on International SOS' member website most often in 2010, second only to India. Though crime rates there are lower than in a number of other Central and South American countries, the speed at which the crime has increased coupled with the concentration of violence near the US border keeps Mexico top of mind as a business travel security concern.


Implementing a risk management plan for your mobile workforce can help mitigate threats, while protecting your company's reputation and decreasing its liability.

"Though risk is inherent to travel, security incidents can be avoided with the right information and guidance," said International SOS Vice President for Global Security and Intelligence John Rendeiro. "By putting a travel risk management plan in place, specifically one that prepares, tracks, informs and responds to employees, you are protecting your company's most important asset its people. And by including a duty of care strategy, this also protects a company's reputation and decreases liability across the board."