By Randall Gordon-Duff, Head of Product, Corporate Travel, Collinson Group
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Research(1) commissioned by Collinson Group last year found that affluent business travellers in the UK increasingly need sophisticated travel assistance solutions when they travel abroad to help manage their concerns around an increase in global social unrest, terrorism, natural disasters and other risks.
While more than half (54%) said they now view international travel assistance as 'vital' or 'important', nevertheless, over a third (36%) said they would think twice before travelling anywhere in the face of a perceived increase in global instability.
Just a quarter (26%) of respondents said they believed global travel risks were 'minimal' — suggesting a large number of those heading overseas are increasingly concerned about their safety and security.
The fear factor could be due to the lack of information available to these travellers: just 29% of mass affluent British business travellers said they receive trip-specific guidance from their company when travelling abroad; only a fifth (21%) said they had access to a health and security advice hotline.
According to Randall Gordon-Duff, Head of Product, Corporate Travel, Collinson Group, all business travellers should seek to understand the risks they face but they can only make informed decisions if they have access to the right information. "Too often Britons believe travel insurance alone is sufficient to protect their safety and security abroad.
"Wealthier travellers are inevitably a more attractive target for criminal elements and it is important that people take appropriate precautions. Having access to global assistance solutions, both advisory services on risk and practical logistical support if required, is an important tool in ensuring mass affluent travellers remain protected. Even experienced travellers will benefit from pre-trip advice and assistance when things do go wrong."
Interestingly, the results of the Collinson Group survey come at a time when UK mass affluent consumers seem to be taking fewer trips. Analysing international flight patterns, UK mass affluent travellers reported taking 1.9 business trips and 2.9 leisure trips over 2015 compared to 2.5 business trips and 3.5 leisure trips in 2014. "It'll be very interesting to see how the figures for 2016 compare — and whether the statistics show a continued decline or they bounce back up again," adds Randall Gordon-Duff.
To help companies manage the business travel needs of their staff, Collinson Group offers 360 Assistance, a unique assistance solution to help corporate clients proactively manage their Duty of Care towards employees.
360 Assistance is a fully integrated medical and security advice and emergency response service aimed at corporates employing frequent business travellers, short-term assignees or expatriate workers. It has been designed to help users in any situation, in any time zone around the world through Collinson Group's extensive global network.
1 Independent research was conducted by SSI Research during January 2016 on behalf of Collinson Group.