Here is a safety tip for business travelers: Those planning to do business in Greece in November are well-advised to be somewhere else on the 17th. A group called the 17th of November Revolutionary Organization has targeted and killed Americans in Athens on that date in retaliation for alleged CIA actions in Greece.
"I wouldn't go there if Plato was debating Aristotle on the 17th of November," said Eugene K. Mastrangelo, manager in Washington of the risk assessment information service department of Business Risks International Inc., a Nashville company that offers information to businesses on limiting risk while traveling abroad.Those scheduling meetings in Islamic territories might want to hold off a day or two until after the holy month of Ramadan, Mastrangelo recommended. Violence has been associated with the annual pilgrimages to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, usually undertaken during that month of prayer and fasting, which ended Thursday this year.
Keeping a careful eye on the calendar is one of the tenets of safe traveling that Business Risks International preaches to its clients, which include many of the Fortune 500 companies.
Corporate travel officers and private consultants stressed that the chances of being involved in terrorist or military actions is remote in all but a few notorious places, such as Lebanon or Peru.
But some predictable circumstances can make even seemingly safer places, such as West Germany and France, places to avoid at certain times. During a 1986 trial of Palestinian militants, for instance, there were 14 bombings in downtown Paris, targeted to hit random victims, Mastrangelo said.
Information about foreign countries can be obtained from various sources, including the news media, consultants such as BRI, the State Department and from other travelers to the country. It's important for a company that sends its employees abroad regularly to develop country portfolios listing not only convenience-type information (the electrical standards, tipping etiquette, etc.) but security factors as well.
Mastrangelo suggested listening to a country's shortwave radio broadcasts to get a feel for the political climate. If that is not possible, or you do not speak the language, listen to the BBC, he said.
Aside from information about specific nations, there is a wealth of common-sense wisdom about traveling safely that consultants and travel managers have developed over the years.
For instance, travel inconspicuously, said Judy Steinberg-Podgorny, travel manager of Del Monte Corp. in San Francisco. That can mean everything from avoiding obvious displays of wealth to removing corporate logos from briefcases and luggage. Do not discuss business on airplanes, she added, and do not use the company name when making hotel reservations.
Patti Fishel, travel services manager for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in Winston-Salem, N.C., recalled the example of an employee who left his key at the front desk of a hotel and went jogging wearing only shorts and shoes. It was obvious he had left all his money in the room, she said, and when he came back, he found he had been robbed, apparently by someone from the hotel.
"You have to think smart when you're not on your home turf," Ms. Fishel said.
Thinking smart includes checking all fire safety procedures at your hotel. Consultants advise counting the doors between your room and the fire exit. Mastrangelo recommended reserving a room between the third and sixth floors: The second floor is too low to assure safety from intruders, and most countries do not have fire rescue ladders that extend higher than the sixth floor, he said.
Air travel abroad is not as dangerous as many believe, according to Mastrangelo. The high-profile terrorist attacks on airplanes are just that - high-profile - and mask the fact that travel on U.S. commercial airlines is still safer than driving on freeways, he said.
But there are steps a traveler can take to minimize risk when traveling to questionable areas. For instance, never fly first class, said Mastrangelo. If there is a hijacking, the terrorists inevitably will be situated at the front of the plane, and they tend to assume that first-class travelers are important and thus valuable hostages.
Sit by the window if possible - those on the aisles are more likely to be the victims of random violence by hijackers.
Above all, Mastrangelo said, the traveler should be aware of the customs and taboos of his or her destination, and of the little things that might expose one to extraordinary risk: In some areas, do not wear a cross or a Star of David, he said. Leave your West Point insignia at home.
And if you are going to the Middle East, Mastrangelo said, "I would not recommend carrying your copy of `The Satanic Verses.' "
The State Department's Consular Affairs Bureau publishes brochures providing travel advice for specific countries and areas, including the Caribbean, Cuba, Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, Mexico, the Middle East, China, Saudi Arabia, South Asia and the Soviet Union. Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope requesting one of the Tips for Travelers series to:
Bureau of Consular Affairs, Public Affairs Staff, Room 5807, Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520.