Articles On Travel Security

• Flash Mobs & Civil Unrest
• Civil Unrest Part 2
• Security Overseas
• Security Overseas - Part 2
• Improvised Weapons (Security Overseas Part 2.5)
• Travel Security - Airport Pickups
• School And Airport Safety/Security Etc & How We Address Security Issues In Our Personal Lives
• Ride Sharing Services
• Kidnappings And Risk Assessments
• Air Rage
• Travel Security Lessons
• Preparing For Travel
• Civil Unrest

All Personal Safety Articles

Travel Security & Personal Safety

Whenever we travel, we potentially expose ourselves to new threats and risks that we might not experience in our own locales. This can happen when we travel to an unfamiliar city in our own country, and when we cross borders to travel and work or holiday in a foreign country. As “tourists” we are often more at risk of being targeted by criminals who will take advantage of our unfamiliarity with transport systems, road layouts and the general way in which the locale operates e.g., we are unlikely unless we have done prior research to know what parts of a city are safe or unsafe etc. However, travel security covers much more than just how we should act and behave hen having reached a particular destination. It also involves planning for the unexpected such as having to stay longer than planned, and making sure that if we are on certain medications, we have enough to see us through – without potentially breaking local laws around possession of certain drugs e.g., certain countries may have restrictions and limitations on the amount of opioid pain killers we can have with us at any one time etc. Being aware of such things allows us to avoid potentially complicated situations etc. In such instances it may be advantageous to be aware of different routes out of city, or even country, should the locale we are visiting experience a period of civil unrest which would make it dangerous for us to continue to stay there etc. These are all plans and preparations we should potentially make as part of our travel security preparedness.

Travel security also involves looking at hotel safety if we are going to be using these for accommodation. Not all countries and locales have modern fire fighting equipment, such as ladders that can reach the fourth floor etc., and so we might want to think about requesting a room(s) on a lower floor and/or taking a smoke mask/hood with us when we travel to such places. When we consider these threats we may face we should also look at hazards such as fires and other natural disasters, rather than just those that individuals commit and take part in, such as thefts and robberies. Just as e should be aware of threats at our destination, we should be aware of those that exist as/when we are in transit e.g., if we are travelling for work, and use the business lounge at an airport, we should understand that there may be individuals present who are wanting to observe our laptop screens in the hope that we bring up confidential documents they can read, or get an idea if we have valuable information that they may try and gain access to later etc. Whilst, these may not be common threats, they are ones that do exist and being aware of them helps us to avoid exposing any potential vulnerabilities to them that they can exploit.

With a small amount of preparation and planning we are able to reduce risk(s) significantly and improve our personal safety both when travelling and in relatively unfamiliar destinations.