This exercise has become a must for every player in the business travel industry: surveying business travellers, assessing their fears in this chaotic climate, and analysing their relationships with their family and friends during their travels. In turn, Carlson Wagonlit Travel has carried out a survey, publishing the CWT Connected Traveler study, conducted among more than 1,900 people. Unsurprisingly, Asian business travellers are the most anxious, with the majority (56%) saying they are concerned about safety and security. The figure falls to 37% on the European market, compared with 47% on the American continent.
It's one thing to know how worried travellers are, but it's even more important to identify the source of their worries. And the study published by CWT has a few surprises in store. While the international news is regularly punctuated by terrorist attacks, this is not the most widespread anxiety: the terrorism ranks fifth (35 %) when it comes to safety. These are far more day-to-day fears, which seem to concern the most professionals on the move today: " Forgetting something necessary for work "(40 %) is considered more worrying, as is " losing something important "(38 %), " be robbed or assaulted "(37 %), but also the " weather conditions "(37 %).
" Despite the recent terrorist attacks, business travellers are expressing other concerns - and this is surprising "Simon Nowroz, Marketing Director at Carlson Wagonlit Travel. New technologies and real-time information could partly explain this trend, as Simon Nowroz confirms: " We found that, while the world now seems to be in a more unstable period, travellers feel they have more tools to keep them informed and protect their safety ". The CWT study also attempted to measure regional differences in this area. Business travellers in the Asia-Pacific region are more likely to subscribe to real-time risk alerts (41 %), compared with 33 % in the Americas and 29 % in EMEA.
And the France in all this? The CWT study focused on the French market. It reveals that almost half (45%) of French travellers are concerned about their personal safety during business trips. 13% say they are "very concerned", and a small third (32%) say they are "somewhat concerned". This time, the main fear is crime, with 40% of those surveyed worried about being attacked or robbed. 37% of professionals said they were concerned about terrorist attacks. These fears would have prompted 16% of French travellers cancel a trip for security reasons.
