When Business Travel is Dangerous

A friend of mine recently returned from an extended business trip through Australia and Southeast Asia, which included stops in Vietnam and Indonesia. He works for a company that develops and markets various proteins and additives for baby foods and the company has extended its reach to include emerging markets  all over the world. The majority of the trip was uneventful, but he noted that his stay in Indonesia was a little unsettling because of the constant reminders that extreme violence can happen there at any time.

He described his hotel as being situated in a kind of compound, complete with large dividing walls and full security checks at each entrance and exit. Guards with mirrors looked at the under side of vehicles and scrutinized identification to be certain that explosives and weapons were not brought onto the property. When attending his meeting, he was careful not to stray from the group that he was with and decided it best to simply return to his hotel afterwards and stay in his room, rather than venture out to explore. Even restaurants within the hotel had security guards with metal detecting wands waiting at every entrance.

Would anything have happened if he decided to venture out on his own? Probably not. But this is not a person to shy away from risk or adventure and his overwhelming sense was that it was simply not a good idea to be walking around outside of his hotel room, let alone off the grounds of the hotel itself. This type of fear is foreign to Americans in our own country, but it is simply a way of life in many parts of the world. It is always best to exercise caution when traveling to unfamiliar places, but it is sobering to realize that a simple business trip could put us in a situation where the danger around us is palpable.

Tags: business in developing countries, business travel, business trip, work travel

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