Organising correct entry documents, health and medical issues and terrorism and security threats are the top three concerns for managers when their staff travel on business trips, according to new ABTA research.
Over half of managers (51%) stated that none of their staff on business trips over the last 12 months had encountered any problems.
However, there are some marked differences between managers’ concerns and the actual problems encountered by staff.
In particular, 60% of managers expressed concerns over terrorism or security related issues, but only 6% stated that their staff had actually encountered problems relating to terrorism or security related issues.
When asked what problems their staff had actually encountered on business trips in the last 12 months the top three issues highlighted by managers were: natural disasters or severe weather conditions (18%), health or medical issues (15%) and issues around organising correct entry documents (13%).
Similarly, 24% of managers stated they were concerned about potential disruption to travel arrangements due to geopolitical volatility such as political demonstrations; although just 7% of managers reported that their staff had encountered problems due to these type of issues.
Accessibility for staff with a disability was a concern for almost a third of managers (30%) and 11% went on to say that their staff had actually encountered problems in this area over the last twelve months.
Harassment or violence against staff was also a concern for almost half (44%) of managers and 7% stated that their staff had actually encountered these kinds of problems on business trips in the last twelve months.
Misunderstanding of local culture was a worry for almost four in 10 (37%) with 9% stating their staff actually encountered problems.
