Co-Written by: Marilyn Faz
Traveling for business or leisure can be both rewarding and distracting – taking your attention away from potential dangers that come with it. If you often travel for business, the repetition or tediousness of travel can desensitize you to the risks.
For some, however, travel safety is always at the forefront of their minds. This can be particularly true for female travelers; a 2018 online survey conducted by AIG Travel, Inc., and the Global Business Travel Association found 83 percent of women travelers experienced a safety-related event within the prior year.
Whether travel safety never crosses your mind or risk mitigation is all you can think of while packing, the tips and tricks outlined below are simple and easy precautions to ensure your safety while traveling for business or pleasure.
Pre-Trip:
Even though some shared service providers like Airbnb have made strides in assuring safety, for women traveling alone, hotels are still the much better option.
As a general rule, the higher the level of service, the more likely additional layers of security are provided. Check out ratings and review sites, such as TripAdvisor, to glean the wisdom of the crowds – but be mindful that this is only one source of information.
On a business trip, ask if your company has a relationship with a travel advisory service such as World Aware, Global Guardian or ISOS. These organizations can provide pre-trip intelligence and safety/security guidance throughout your trip.
In the cities you’ll be visiting, Google “high crime areas” and avoid any potential trouble spots. Also for international travel, download and utilize the Smart Traveler App provided by the US Secretary of State’s office which will send you travel alerts and provide the location of the US Embassy.
If at all possible, avoid hotels that allow smoking or e-cigarette/vapor use, as the risk of fire is much greater at hotels where this is allowed on the premises.
Once you have narrowed down your hotel selection, find out if the hotel has an electronic locking system, and ask if they have a dedicated security staff, which is always a plus.
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