Plan a Safe Business Trip Abroad. Bon Voyage!

As global boundaries shrink, overseas business trips are becoming a more frequent feature of a corporate professional’s life. “Getting the basics right can go a long way in ensuring that you safely conduct business in any corner of the world without losing your peace of mind, ” says a UNIGLOBE expert while also throwing light on some essentials you must not forget to pack for your next trip abroad.

1.Have all the necessary documentation including your passport in place.
You need a valid passport. If your passport isn’t current, you should account for substantial time for its processing. Also, carry a few color photocopies of your passport as a proof of your identity to present at the consulate or police station, in the untoward event of your passport being stolen.

2.Know your embassy
Keep the contact information of your embassy in the area where you’ll be traveling handy in addition to saving the necessary information locally on your devices or printing it to avoid being stranded without it.

3.Write down local emergency numbers
Make sure you know where to call for help when in your destination city.

4.Know the landscape
Stay educated on international hot-spots as well as safe-zones.

5.Make sure you know your health insurance coverage overseas
In case of a medical exigency abroad, the last thing you want to hear is that your insurance company doesn't cover events that happen abroad. Call them before your trip, and consider getting travel insurance if required.

6.Remember connectivity issues
Gather all the information you may need during your trip and either save it locally in a file on your laptop or smartphone or print it out to take with you in case you don’t have connectivity once you arrive at your destination.

7. Let your credit card company know you’ll be out of the country
It’s better to be safe than sorry. You don't want your credit card to be frozen because your credit card company thinks some of your spends on foreign land are a fraudulent charge.

8.Buy or borrow plug converters
​Different countries have different plug shapes, so check ahead to find out which converter you'll need. Pay attention, too, to voltage. You can fry your devices if you plug them into a high-voltage outlet without a converter.

So before you take-off for your next international business trip, make sure you take care of these essentials. Have a great trip!