Life as an entrepreneur or a business manager usually incurs a lot of out-of-state travelling. You need to attend business seminars and get acquainted with specialists in your field, exchange ideas, plans and business cards, go to various pieces of training or personally check the site of your future business locations. These are just a few of the reasons why you will eventually find yourself driving thousands of miles or booking dozens of flights throughout the year. To make sure everything will be running smoothly for you during your every travel endeavour, it would help to familiarize yourself with some top business travel precautionary measures.
The 9 Most Important Safety Travel Tips
- Always research the country you are about to travel to next by accessing available government resources in your own country. Find out what is the current criminal status of the country and learn which areas to steer clear from. Get useful embassy information you may need to use in case of problems.
- Avoid getting off the plane first, if you are travelling business class. Disembark along with economy class passengers so you do not attract the wrong type of attention.
- Do not travel with shiny, fancy, eye-catching accessories, travel bags and clothes. Blend in with everyone else around you, especially if the locals, if possible.
- Use portable locks and padlocks for your travel bags and try to always use the hotel safe for storing your most valuable items and papers. Of course, this applies not only to travel, make sure your office is safely protected with alarms and behind sturdy locks for commercial buildings installed by expert locksmiths and security companies.
- Only book hotels with security guards on the main entryway and, if possible, 24/7 personnel on-site. Make sure to book accommodation in a hotel located at a considerable distance from any government of embassy buildings and other buildings that may fall victim to terrorist attacks. Only book hotels that feature access keys and cards for guest rooms and elevators if you plan on staying in a city with high crime rates.
- Keep your hotel room accurately locked and bolted at all times and make sure you store the key someplace that is easily accessible in case of emergency.
- Try to avoid hotel rooms located at ground level or facing streets with a lot of foot traffic. Choose the third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh floor for more safety.
- Use a wooden door wedge near you so use it to prevent any of the hotel personnel or a guest who never returned their key from entering your room without your consent.
- Never meet a potential business partner or client in your hotel room. Use the hotel’s lobby or bar instead.
Stop Being Vulnerable For Opportunist Thieves
The more you understand about travel risks and security, the more chance you have to enjoy a successful business trip and return with all your confidential papers, expensive laptop, credit cards and cash on you. Opportunist pickpockets are everywhere and they won’t hesitate to take advantage of anyone vulnerable crossing their path. Traveling overseas means subjecting yourself to even more criminal risks that you probably had no idea even existed. Going to overly-crowded tourist areas in France, for example, could turn you into a victim of pickpockets who will allure you with all kinds of ad-hoc street shows, while sticking their hands deep into your pockets when you are not watching.
You should also consider the very real and palpable risk of falling victim to a criminal organization, especially if you look like someone important. As a reputable businessperson, you must always extra attention to the way you dress. If you usually wear expensive luxury brands, designer watches and shoes, you are more likely to draw the attention of thieves and other criminals. States like Mexico are dealing with high numbers of kidnapping cases since there are no solid-state security measures implemented by the state. The corruption of police officers also makes gangs keep flourishing. Venezuela, India, Pakistan or Nigeria are also on top of high-risk countries for the travelling businessman. If you cannot steer clear from these places, make sure to follow the advice of this article to lower your chances of becoming a victim of crime!
