A joint survey conducted by Control Risks and International SOS finds that business leaders believe Latin America is the riskiest region in the world to send their business travelers while terrorism and civil unrest continue to be the greatest travel concern for businesses.

The survey found that 40 percent of security directors, travel managers, and human resources executives—who primarily hail from the United States—chose Latin America as the riskiest place in the world for travelers. Just over 30 percent considered the Middle East as the most dangerous region to send travelers, followed by Asia, and then Europe.

The escalating drug war that has enveloped Mexico is one of the main reasons businesses fear Latin America.

"Mexico remains high on companies’ lists of security concerns – it was the country researched on International SOS’ member website most often in 2010, second only to India," according to an International SOS press release. "Though crime rates there are lower than in a number of other Central and South American countries, the speed at which the crime has increased coupled with the concentration of violence near the U.S. border keeps Mexico top of mind as a business travel security concern, survey results and member feedback indicate."

For the second straight year, survey respondents expressed that their greatest security concern for travelers is terrorism and civil unrest followed by natural disasters, petty theft and crime, kidnap and ransom, and finally maritime security, which rose to 2 percent from zero last year.

Because business travel comes with inherent risks, companies must prepare in advance. While the risk can't be eliminated, it can be managed, said John Rendeiro, vice president for global security and intelligence at International SOS.

“By putting a travel risk management plan in place, specifically one that prepares, tracks, informs and responds to employees, you are protecting your company’s most important asset – its people," he said in a statement.

(For more on managing the risk of business travelers, see my cover story "Roadmap to a Safe Stay [1]" from the July 2010 issue of Security Management.)

♦  Charts courtesy of International SOS

♦ Photo by Global Jet/Flickr [2]

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