What’s the most common illness overseas travelers suffer from?
11. Most travel illnesses are short-lived and mild. The most common travel-related sickness for overseas travelers is a gastrointestinal infection. (Victoria Department of Health)
12. When traveling to developing countries, up to 80% of travelers suffer from a mild case of stomach upset. (John Hopkins Medicine)
13. The threat of illness can be mitigated with appropriate medication. A GeoSentinel study found that over 90% of international business travelers who contracted malaria didn’t take their prescribed preventive medication. (CDC)
This highlights the importance of health and safety training for all business travelers prior to departure. Team members are more likely to follow best practices for water sanitation, food safety, vaccinations, and preventive medications when they’re equipped with destination-specific information.
While it’s important for travelers to stay informed about required vaccinations and outbreaks at their destination, travel safety statistics show that employees are highly unlikely to catch an exotic illness.
In fact, most illness-related travel disruptions are caused by preexisting conditions. As a result, things like heart disease, diabetes, and mental health conditions should be considered as part of a business travel risk management strategy.
14. However, just 43% of risk and security managers require medical disclosure for trip approval, leaving companies vulnerable to disruption. (HR Director)
Women’s travel safety statistics
15. According to a World Travel Protection survey of business travelers, 71% of women felt less safe traveling for work than their male colleagues, and 31% wouldn’t want to go out alone at night. (Raconteur)
16. Fortunately, crime is still rare. The survey also found that only 12% of women had experienced a safety-related incident—most commonly minor theft or pickpocketing—on a business trip. (Raconteur)
For traveler peace of mind, companies should consider the safety needs of female employees when creating travel policies. Examples could include offering private driver services and booking hotels with door security, key cards, and 24-hour reception concierges.
A clear policy should outline safety measures, best practices in each region, and emergency contacts. Provide practical, country-specific details about areas to avoid at night.
Travel safety statistics show the risks of a changing world
Climate change, political instability, and cyber security top the list of concerns for business travelers in 2025.
17. Driven by climate change, severe weather events like typhoons and hurricanes are contributing to the growth of waterborne diseases. Cholera cases grew by 13% between 2022 and 2023, with up to four million cases each year. (Safeture)
18. To mitigate this threat, countries including Egypt, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Reunion have implemented cholera screening measures at borders as of 2024 – something to be aware of when traveling to these regions. (Safeture)
Business travel safety tips shouldn’t discount the energy-sapping impact of extreme heat, particularly for those with preexisting health conditions.
19. 2024 was the hottest year on record, with an estimated global warming level of 2.32°F. (Met Office)
Online attacks and software glitches can also cause serious disruptions for business travelers.
20. In 2024, the CrowdStrike IT outage caused significant issues across multiple sectors. Out of 411,009 passenger flights, 16,896 were canceled. (Cirium)
21. This outage impacted over 1.4 million passengers in a 72-hour period. (Cirium)
22. There were three times as many cyberattacks in the first quarter of 2024 in comparison to the previous year. (World Travel Protection)
23. Business travelers are especially at risk of phishing attacks while carrying company data. However, less than half (45%) of mobile users have basic security measures in place. (World Travel Protection)
24. To counter this threat, many businesses are embracing AI security tools. 66% of business travelers plan to use AI-powered tools to plan trips, including finding alternative itineraries in case of disruptions. (Safeture)
25. Due to unpredictable factors like weather events, comprehensive business travel insurance is more important than ever. World Travel Protection reported a 17% increase in evacuations for business travelers in 2024, along with an 18% increase in assistance calls. (World Travel Protection)
Risk assessment adoption statistics
Even where risk assessments are performed, there’s a gap between travel safety guidelines and compliance.
26. Traveler safety is the number one priority for companies when evaluating a travel program, according to GBTA research. (GBTA)
27. While 70% of business travelers surveyed reported that their company recommends a travel assistance app, only 30% have downloaded one. (World Travel Protection)
28. Only 26% of domestic travelers report taking extra safety precautions during work trips, while 42% of international travelers exercise caution. (Booking.com for Business)
29. Nearly half (45%) of business travelers want their employers to check in more regularly on work trips to support their wellbeing. (World Travel Protection)
30. While 85% of corporate travel programs include risk management policies, only 55% “always” or “often” address ground transportation. (GBTA)
31. This lack of consideration for ground transportation like taxis also extends to traveler tracking. The majority (89%) of travel programs include a system for tracking travelers, but just 24% track ground transportation data. To fill the gap, companies need to work with ground transportation technology companies to process real-time traveler data. (GBTA)
Integrating business travel safety and risk assessment management
Companies have a legal duty of care obligation to traveling employees, which starts with a thorough risk assessment to identify and mitigate potential threats. Before each trip, consider location-specific security and health concerns, as well as the potential for travel disruptions, as part of routine risk assessment.
Along with regional risk assessments, the corporate travel policy should include general business travel safety tips and recommended tools. Travel safety guidelines for employees include things like preferred business flight routes, evacuation procedures, emergency contact details, and travel insurance policies. Business travel management solutions like Booking.com for Business give managers and employees full visibility over traveler itineraries through a central dashboard. That way, businesses know where each traveler is at any given point to provide better safety, along with real-time updates and assistance when needed.
Finally, following the most recent safety-related business travel statistics keeps your team up-to-date on any emerging threats. Perform regular risk assessments and update company policies accordingly as part of any travel management process.
