Asian corporates with travel programmes focused in the region say their risk policies since the start of the year have not changed based on advice from their security and other related service providers.
They were responding to six areas addressed during the recent Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Asia-Pacific 2025 Global Risk Outlook webinar.
They are Geopolitical Risk; Civil Unrest and Political Violence; Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events; Cybersecurity and Al-driven Misinformation; Changes to Entry Visas and Potential Immigration Bans; and US Political Uncertainty.
A buyer in heavy equipment manufacturing noted changes to entry visas and potential immigration bans can pose a problem if “your workforce has a significant number of employees with passports requiring visas to visit other destinations”.
For this corporate, “international hostility happening around an area” is the main reason for restricted or no-go for certain destinations.
“We have imposed no travel to Russia and Belarus, and restricted travel to Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Ukraine, Iran, Libya, Israel, Syria and Yemen,” he shared.
A corporate travel manager in the pharmaceutical sector said the year started with no major disruptions or concerns, but air crashes, geopolitics in the Middle East and Europe and the Trump effect after the Lunar New Year have been grabbing attention.
He commented softness in travel demand is due to global economics rather than risk and safety concerns, and there have been no travel advisory changes.
“As long as visa, logistics and shipping requirements are not impacted all at the same time, there won’t be trouble and we won’t face the kind of impact caused by the pandemic.”
Similarly, a buyer in financial services said the risk outlook is not a major concern, but noted more countries are now introducing travel authorisation initiatives.
“For us, we look at the 3Cs, cost, care and conservation or travelling with more responsibility.”
He acknowledged the impact of climate change and extreme weather is affecting travel and getting travel insurance to certain countries and regions has become a challenge.
The areas outlined in the GBTA webinar will impact travellers at some point, he observed, so the company works with its service providers “to know what is happening and to guide us”.
“Meanwhile we are stepping up travel safety and awareness training for our employees with roadshows and more can attend online sessions with our service providers.”
With over 10 years at IHG, Bryan has taken on increasing leadership responsibilities. He brings 15 years of deal-making experience across various industries, including hospitality real estate, energy, infrastructure, transport, and industrials.
