International Business Travel after September 11, 2001

The event in New York changed many things including business and leisure travel. The airlinebusiness dropped considerably and many people use the event as an “excuse” not to travel.

What are the risks of travelling?

After crossing the ocean 4 times between North America and Europe since September 11, I have seen some changes.

1. The security is tighter at the airports. Security checks are more thorough especially of hand luggage.

 
2. Passports are checked at more locations before allowing entry on the aircraft.

 
3. The aircrafts that before were fully booked are now showing empty seats. As one airline employee stated: “Although the aircraft shows up as almost fully booked in the computer, the fact is that many people do not show up.”

Is the risk of travelling so high?

No. There are thousands of aircrafts landing and taking off every minute. The security is very high and the risks are minimal Yes, there are risks of terror attacks, but airports and aircrafts are most likely one of the safest places to be right now, with their very thorough security checks. 

The risk of you being on an aircraft that has a bomb or is being hijacked is minor.  The risk of being hit while driving your car or walking is by far much higher.

Having at one time had diplomatic status, I know that you can try to prevent kidnapping, etc. However, if someone really wants to get to you, there is very little you can do unless you are the president of the United States.

Are there any areas I should not visit?

Yes, your Department of Foreign Affairs will most likely have some guidelines. E.g. Afghanistan and Pakistan at this moment are not the best places to visit. 

Other areas would be the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, and Southern Lebanon. Some embassies also state the rest of the Middle East as well as Northern Africa. Some Departments of Foreign Affairs also advise care in travelling to certain Muslim countries.

Check with your Department of Foreign Affairs to get an updated listing.

You should also understand that the terror is aimed at the USA. Most likely with the British involvement, Great Britain is now also on the list. People carrying out terror attacks have a purpose of their terror and that is to get people scared, primarily aimed at those living in USA.

What this would suggest is that flying to France with Air France e.g. is quite low risk. 

Since the air space is so well protected now, the next target could be harbours, buses, trains, bridges, etc. At this time they are not particularly well protected. Should you skip these too? Some chemical terror has already occurred. Mainly in US but there are indications Europe is already a part of it too.

Travel as usual, but be selective of witch countries and transportation.

What are the risks of not travelling?

Business as usual?  Although business has slowed down temporarily, it will bounce back. We will not forget about September 11 but it can not impede our way of doing business. To have active partners overseas demand active communication. Part of that includes visits.

If you do not pay a visit, your competition will. Now is the time to be active.

To do international business is a long-term commitment. Make sure that you do not miss the opportunities because you are sitting at home, afraid of flying. The risk of an accident is much higher on the highway.

Yes, there are areas you should not visit but to stop doing business and not travel is risky. You take a chance of losing the relationships and businesses you built up over many years.

Is that the price you are willing to pay for a one-in-a-trillion risk that you will be on a plane that is being hijacked and crashed?

As an active business traveller, you need some rest too. The prices on vacation packages have never been better.

The show has to go on. How long are you going to wait for a more secure environment? Will you allow the competition to steal your clients?

Time to book visits to your most important clients and distributors.

See you somewhere in the world.

Leif Holmvall
 
 

Questions and  answers.

Feel free to forward questions that can be of interest to you and many of our readers. We will be glad to include both question and answer as part of the newsletter in the up-coming issues. 

E-mail us at info@exportpro.com.