With the unfortunate increase in international travel risks – terrorist incidents, disease outbreaks, crime, and other growing problems for international business travels, it’s no wonder that the topic of employee travel security is being picked up by conferences across the world. Many human resource managers and others who are in charge of managing employee travel are looking for guidance in this Brave New World of security risks and travel.
List of International Travel Security Conferences
As experts in employee travel security, we field a fair amount of inquiries as to which conferences to go to, and resources out there to educate oneself on how to “think” about the problem of risks and travel. Here are some pointers. First, among the more focused conferences is the “Global Travel Risk Management Summit 2016,” to be held June 9, 2016, in New York City at the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel. In its own words, “Brought to you by The BTN Group (publishers of Business Travel News and Travel Procurement) and HospitalityLawyer.com, this inaugural one-day conference is focused on educating corporate travel buyers, procurement professionals, human resources, legal and risk professionals and IT on meeting legal obligations and executing safe and secure travel.”
Thus, if you are anywhere new New York City and/ or have the ability to travel during early June, that could be an interesting conference to attend. Second, though it has already come and gone, there is the “Global Congress on Travel Risk Management.” This was held last October in Houston, Texas. You obviously can’t attend it, but you can peruse the conference website, especially the speakers and agenda tabs to get an idea of the types of issues one must consider when sending employees abroad. A good tip is to bookmark these travel security conference websites, and/or sign up for their emails. That way, you’ll be alerted when they have a new edition in a new year.
CyberSecurity and More
Security is more than just employees abroad, of course, and there is the whole topic of Cybersecurity. This may be more a matter for your IT department – however, when sending employees abroad you have to realize that their communications to/from the home office whether on a cell phone or computer may be hacked, and thereby represent a security risk. An upcoming example conference on Cybersecurity is the ICS Cybersecurity Conference to be held in October in Atlanta, Georgia. That’s just one example; Google ‘Cybersecurity Conferences’ to find more. Returning to more general security issues, for those in the UK or willing to travel there, there is the enormous “UK Security Expo 2016.” Visit their website, and click on ‘Free Education’ to learn more about the topics to be discussed November 30 – December 1 in London. One of the micro conferences, for example, is entitled “Protecting Crowded Places Conference,” and really speaks to event security. If you have to plan or manage corporate events – large or small – this is yet another topic to consider in terms of securing employee travel security abroad. Feel free to check out our own blog post on conference security for five tips.
Finally, the International Tourism Safety Association just concluded their own International Tourism Safety Conference in April in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bookmark that website as with all the interest in travel security, there will surely be a 2017 edition.
Your Employees Your Travel Your Security Your Problem
Don’t forget if you have specific employee travel security needs, feel free to contact us at (954) 458-5500. As expert consultants in international travel security, we can provide a unique perspective and a tailored evaluation of your organization and potential travel security risks. While there are many great conferences on the issue of travel security, the reality is that you need an organization plan tailored to your unique risk exposures and employee needs.