How to prepare for Business Travels in Times of Coronavirus

"When I talk to people about why they’re not going [on trips] it’s not that they are worried about the virus - but that they might get stuck there in quarantine"

Liam Brown, CEO Marriott Europe, Financial Times "Coronavirus prompts a crisis for the travel industry"

Feb., 28th 2020

The decline in face-to-face business meetings

The mobile communication world was struck by this news a short while ago. The world’s biggest phone show, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is no longer taking place this year. And this is not the only major event that was cancelled in Europe.

All large events are aware of the dangers, and are keeping a close eye on the current health situation and are preparing special measures in order to protect their staff, exhibitors as well as visitors from the Coronavirus. But even then, stipulating behavioural recommendations and providing disinfection procedures like INTERTRAFFIC Amsterdam 2020 won't guarantee that the event will take place as planned. With 160,000 participants in 2019, the world's largest travel and tourism fair ITB Berlin was cancelled on Friday evening at 18:48 just the week before it should take place. For many visitors and exhibitors this was already far too late, as they were already packed and on their way to Germany. The only spark of hope - the General Terms & Conditions state that if the event is canceled due to a higher force (or authority) and neither Messe Berlin or the exhibitor has caused it, exhibitors will not have to pay their stand fees - the Force Majeure clause saves at least some of the expenses. Nevertheless, it’s still a big financial loss situation for the companies.

It inevitably leads to the question; Was it justifiable to close one of the leading tourism events?

But what would be the alternative? If more than 160.000 attendees could then spread the Coronavirus globally? A virus that is not yet fully understood and already causing a deadlock on the world's economies.

So more and more businesses are putting their business travels on hold - replacing in-person communication with video calls. Nevertheless a personal interaction can still be required - or indeed favorable, especially when it comes to professional connections on a personal level. Smaller networking activities with a select group of people will always take place - even in the future. But even here, one will encounter the topic of hygiene, bacteria and airborne transmission, as one can not avoid human contact completely. 

Staying in clean and tidy luxury resorts with higher hygiene standards may help - but even when living in a world close to artificial instagram stories and virtual reality installments, immersing locally always requires accepting factual health risks - not to mention, taking an airplane or even local transport. 

The key is to find a sound balance between the extremes of being influenced by media-fuelled panic, and of not being prepared at all. 

So how to prepare for a business trip in times of Coronavirus? 

Doing some reading on the "Prepper" topic helps apply the appropriate measures while at the same time keeping one's own life "liveable". Many recommendations impose either higher restrictions on oneself - or are complete nonsense from a scientific point of view. (By the way - garlic does not help against the Coronavirus. Nor do aluminum hats. A healthy lifestyle and good nutrition that boosts the general immune system does, though).

When looking at the recommended measures, one realizes that most of the measures you can and should start applying before you travel, while still at home. You need training in order to internalize good practices that will come in handy when traveling abroad. You will see that most of the suggested measures are location-independent - and do not apply to business travel only. 

Below, we will discuss this series of practical measures. 

It all starts with a change in your own behaviour - before traveling anywhere.

How many times are you touching your face during a meeting? According to scientists, we touch our faces up to 23 times every hour. It is therefore highly recommended to get used to touching your face ONLY with recently washed fingers. The respiratory organs are the main entry points for the Coronavirus to gain access to your body. But also the mouth or eyes facilitate entry. Therefore, the best approach is to abstain from touching your entire FACE with your hands. This is easier said than done, but highly recommended.

The French Health Minister recommends abstaining from hand shaking altogether in order not to spread any viruses. Time will tell, if making a bow or a hand-to-the-heart gesture will become a socially accepted greeting gesture, as in Asia. It makes a lot of sense.

Another typical recommendation is to stay 2-3 meters away when someone's sneezes or coughs - and at least 1 meter from people in a normal social setup like in restaurants. (When you can smell coffee on the breath of another person, you are already too close). Gravity draws down the infected droplets and particles towards the ground, so even when standing, breathing at head level, you are actually safer than when sitting.

Also keep in mind that areas of physical training, such as public gyms, may impose special risks as air inhalation and exhalation rates in such locations are significantly higher.

If possible, open doors and press buttons in public areas with your elbows or items that you carry. Don't get overly paranoid about that though - you will get in touch with germs anyway, so hand washing is necessary in any case.

Gloves made out of Leather or textile won't provide any protection per se - viruses can easily pass through the fabric. Having said this - they do serve a purpose: they do keep you from touching your own face as the fabric gently reminds you that there is a reason not to touch it. (You can see it as a training aid for not touching your own face too often).

The importance of washing your hands frequently has already been mentioned. It is a good habit taking off your watch when washing hands - this allows you to include your wrists in the washing procedure, which is essential to keep the recommended and thorough 20-second routine of the WHO. Especially, when you’re new to the art of conscious hand washing, this simple action helps to remind you of the importance of being mindful and therefore thoroughly cleaning your hands.

Also reconsider your diet when traveling. Many frequent travellers stick to vegetarian food (cooked or steamed, as temperatures above 60C kill germs). (As a side note - many influenza viral stems re-combine from viruses coming from aviary populations. Also - as we have learned in recent weeks from the search of the origin of the Coronavirus, it’s considered a bad idea to eat wild animals - especially, but not only, in under-developed countries. Another side note: keep in mind that the effect of medicines may vary in cases of diarrhea and also when drinking alcohol. For example, birth control medication is well-known for becoming ineffective when diarrhea sets in, as the stomach is not able to absorb the active components in time before it leaves the digestive system.)

The importance of self-responsible behaviour can’t be overemphasized. Apps that show threat level of virus outbreaks or social uproar do exist - but they can only be an intelligent supplement to common sense and instinctual self-preservation. Reach out to the SILKROAD 4.0 team to learn more about the technical assistance you can get when traveling.

Normal masks provide no protection to incoming illnesses. But they reduce the spreading area of infectious particles when exhaling. Additionally, it needs to be mentioned - many health officials ask the general population NOT to buy face masks, as this leads to a shortage for the medical staff, whose needs are different.

If you really want to protect yourself professionally then so-called N95 respirators are necessary. Keep in mind though - if you go this route, you should also invest in corresponding face masks. If worn as designed, a facemask together with the N95 respirators can help block large-particle droplets, splashes or sprays that may contain germs or viruses. Both together impose no practical or significant additional protection in daily life - but come with the added costs of severe discomfort, so the odds are very high that you will take it off during normal daily use again, anyway. 

Think of others - if everybody does, this will save you.

In extraordinary times, large challenges can never be encountered alone. There is an African proverb, saying "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together". This becomes especially true in times of threats like the Coronavirus.

A more theoretical reason to stay healthy, in return brings some hope: the longer you keep any illness away from you (and therefore your loved ones), the more time doctors have time to find countermeasures. Just recently - two months after the outbreak, Chinese scientists have invented a speed test, that allows to test for the Coronavirus within minutes. So there is progress on the research side. 

The fewer people around you are infected, the better the odds are that the world can defeat the illness. Therefore it makes sense to protect others - from yourself, also.

A very simple measure is, when coughing, try to do so into your left elbow - or if not possible then your left hand. Shaking hands with the right hand will then not spread any virus further.

Also, once you feel unwell, strongly consider staying at home - even when it means missing out on something. The temptation might be high, but the consequences can be severe. For example, scientific reports state that one person during the SARS outbreak, the index patient, has directly infected 225 people in Toronto between February and June 2002, creating 2132 suspected infections - and 23.105 people had to be put in quarantine. You won't like the idea of being responsible for that. Take your own health and wellness seriously.

Be prepared - in time

Washing your hands frequently is a good and vital first step. Another level of prevention of spreading (or becoming infected) is to use hand-sanitizers. If you do so, remember to buy hand-sanitizers in travel sizes well ahead of time. While traveling, they are typically very expensive (airport shops) or out of stock, or simply not easily available in the countries you are going to. 

Another side note: Some health experts also recommend repeated use of salt water nose sprays in order to keep a healthy and moisturized mucous membrane which, in return, will be better able to fight off infections. This recommendation is especially true when traveling to arid or desert areas. Nose sprays are nearly impossible to find in these parts of the world. Also, this environment will not only dry up your mucosa but also your skin as a whole - breaking it up and opening cracks for infections and germs. This said, you will usually be able to find hand crème (or substitutes such as olive oil) in larger cities, but once you leave the urban areas, this might not always be the case.

In the unfortunate event that you need special medication for critical health issues, keep it in mind to carry more than needed - and remember to be fully self-sufficient in case of a hotel-locked quarantine, which may last up to 2 weeks.

Upon returning to your home country, keep in mind that 2 weeks of quarantine may be imposed on you there also. Therefore, remember to schedule important appointments accordingly, and don't try to squeeze too many personal appointments into your calendar too quickly, putting emotional pressure on yourself then to follow up on all of them - even if you don't feel well.

Having said all this - life always goes on. Even if you do catch the virus, the odds are high that you will survive. People all over the world have lived in precarious conditions for ages - and we simply were not aware of it as (social) media didn’t cover topics like influenza or other infectious diseases back then. 

A side-effect of the Coronavirus is the recent emergence of the term "infodemic" otherwise known as ”...an overabundance of information - some accurate and some not - that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.” As personal meetings will continuously decline and meetings will move into the digital space, the challenge to find trustworthy information will persist.

One easy countermeasure to this is - don't trust a single information source, and always double-check the information you read on the internet.

Another option is by far a more generic preparational measure, as this allows creating resilience not only for personal health topics, but for all other dimensions of your life as well: Build a sustainable network of people you can rely on in times of turbulence or crisis. Only people that you are close with personally, will quickly help you out of any challenge you encounter. There are many international networks and member organizations out there - for example the global SILKROAD 4.0 network. Choose the ones that leave you with a good feeling, and any efforts invested in this, will pay off manyfold, in the long run.

Preparations for business travel don't start when you leave home. 

There are a million reasons not to take action. The challenge is to find exactly the one reason, you do. Take action now. Get prepared.

Please share this article, if you agree. Feel free to add additional comments below.

Also the author is currently working on an ebook about preparing destinations and touristic regions in times of the corona virus. Please leave a comment if you have insights on this topic.

About the author.

Dr. Philipe Reinisch, CEO of SILKROAD 4.0 - Nomadic Incubator Network, is a keynote speaker and expert on the Digital Silk Road and digital topics such as IoT & AI. He is also highly skilled in nomadic New Work & global collaboration models and has broad experience in dealing with unforeseen situations while traveling - or even when at home.

He has overcome a Hepatitis C infected blood transfusion in Austria, a Dengue virus infection in Indonesia and an emergency surgery due to acute appendicitis in a small remote village in Argentina, as well as hundreds of business meetings in different cultures all over the world. In total, he has spent around 4 years of his life traveling somewhere.

So far, he has survived 100% of the situations that have arisen.

#geoarbitrage #businesstravel #networking #networkingopportunities #barcamp #coronavirus #eventbusiness #travelhygiene #infodemic #hygiene @LiamBrown