10 Interesting (or maybe random) Travel Safety Statistics
When considering any policy or procedure in relation to business travel it is important to put risk into perspective and not let the press misguide decisions. The following are a few statistics (see references at the end) which might be of interest to people who work within the business travel industry.
1. Estimated 74-80% of deaths abroad are from natural causes (mostly heart problems); 18-24% from accidents (mostly road accidents) and only 2% from infectious diseases.
2. Causes of US Non-Natural deaths abroad (2003 – 2014 average): 30% Vehicle Related; 19% Homicide; 14% Suicide; 14% Drowning; 12% Other Accident; Air Accident 3%; Terrorist Action 3%; Drug Related 3% and 2% Natural Disaster. Av total deaths per year 822. In 2015, 66.7m U.S. citizens travelled abroad.
3. Of the people who have travel insurance (business and leisure), only 3% make claims (2012). Of the claims made (cost): 56% Medical Expenses; 34% Cancellations; 5% Baggage & Money and 5% other undefined.
4. “Men are 8% less likely than women to take out insurance (leisure travel).” Does this mean women business travellers are more compliant/ prepared?
5. Top 5 countries where UK passports are stolen: Spain (5,605); USA (1,539); France (1,344); Italy (737) and Australia (640).
6. Travellers’ diarrhoea (TD) is the most predictable travel-related illness. Incident rates range from 30% to 70% of travellers, depending on the destination and season of travel. TD is the most likely reason a business trip will be disrupted but education can help prevent it.
7. The top 5 cities for homicide in 2015 (per 100,000 inhabitants): Caracas, Venezuela (120); San Pedro Sula, Honduras (111); San Salvador, El Salvador (109); Acapulco, Mexico (105) and Maturí, Venezula (87).
8. The top 5 countries for road fatalities (per 100,000 inhabitants): Libya (73); Thailand (36); Malawi (35); Liberia (34) and DRC (33). World average is 17.4; UK is 2.9 and USA is 10.6.
9. Top 5 most visited cities in 2014: Hong Kong (27.8m); London (17.4m); Singapore (17.1m); Bangkok (16.2m) and Paris (14.9m).
10. In a recent survey less than half of major organizations provide any personal travel security training to their employees.
Click here to understand how you can better prepare your employees for safe travel and ensure you are fulfilling your duty of care requirements.
References:
1.CDC
2. U.S. Citizen Deaths Overseas and U.S. Citizen Traffic to Overseas Regions, Canada & Mexico 2015
3. Association of British Insurers
4. FCO Travel Insurance Facts
5. British Behaviour Abroad Report April 2012 – March 2013
6. CDC
7. 50 most violent cities
8. WHO
9. Most visited cities
10. Policy in Practice 2015: Business Travelers
9 March 2016
