Book Review: Travel Risk

Reviewed by Dan Popowich, CPP

01 June 2017

Print Issue: June 2017

Butterworth-Heinemann; Elsevier.com; 222 pages, $49.95.

The term “travel risk management” or TRM may not be familiar to all security professionals. Many of us have implemented travel security plans without using that name. But the concepts explained in Building a Travel Risk Management Program: Traveler Safety and Duty of Care for Any Organization should be second nature to those who are responsible for the security of travelers.

Author Charles Brossman does a fine job of defining the objectives of a TRM plan. He also explains “duty of care,” as well as worker’s compensation issues. The book considers all facets of travel risk, including health risks, security risks for both female and male travelers, cultural stigmas, and natural disasters. Graphs, maps, and flow charts accentuate the narratives.

The second chapter identifies the building blocks for a successful travel risk management program and later sections follow up with excellent ideas for implementing them. Brossman touches on newer travel options, such as Uber and Lyft ground transportation. Discussions of kidnapping and ransom, extraction and evacuation, and hotel safety are informative, as is the chapter on attendance at conferences and meetings. I recommend this book highly to corporate security managers, and especially to executives who travel internationally.

Reviewer: Dan Popowich, CPP, is a member of the CSO Center and the ASIS Security Services Council, and he serves as assistant regional vice president of Region 6A (Canada). Popowich is the CEO of Commissionaires BC.