Experts To Discuss Business Travel Risks At ViajesCorp Americas 2017 Conference in Panamá

According to industry experts who will speak at an upcoming regional conference, the corporate travel industry needs to provide more efficient security and risk management solutions for the professionals who must head overseas for business.

In particular, business travelers are worried about “being a target of insecurity in some countries,” said Octavio Bonilla, travel manager at Nissan Mexico, in an interview with Acan-EFE. For this reason, he stresses the need for more firms to provide the tools — both knowledge-based and technology-based — to ensure their safety during all business trips.

The auto executive, who will be a featured speaker at the upcoming ViajesCorp Americas 2017 conference in Panama City from April 26-27, stated that traveler safety issues could result “if there is a lack of control, if each traveler is not monitored through electronic systems, and due to deficiencies in corporate travel plans.”

Juan Restrepo, founding manager of Ito Corp. and also a speaker at ViajesCorp Americas 2017, believes that now is the time to increase the vigilance paid to these risks given the transformation the industry is undergoing. Restrepo told Acan-EFE that the Latin American travel industry is constantly undergoing changes, and this is allowing suppliers — such as hotels, airlines, and transport companies — to discover alternative ways to interact with the final consumer.

Modern industry companies must “completely rethink their strategy, which must be based on the behavior of the new consumer,” said Restrepo. He added that corporate travel managers and agencies must begin to incorporate the most valuable asset of the process — the traveler — into their services and strategic plans.

Ongoing discussion of these issues and potential solutions will take place when experts meet later this month in Panama. ViajesCorp Americas 2017, which has an academic approach, will also focus on innovation in mature markets, evolution in connectivity, trading services developments, and changes in the direct channel and in the new consumer.

Finance Colombia is a media sponsor of ViajesCorp Americas 2017