Page 14 - INTERNATIONAL SOS PR REPORT JANUARY 2024

Global Travel Soars Amid Evolving Risk Landscape:

A Call for Enhanced Risk Management

UAE, January 9, 2024

International SOS, the world's leading health and security risk services company, underscored
the necessity to implement enhanced risk management strategies for travellers and
organisations, amid the increasing international travel. While global travel regained
momentum despite significant fluctuations throughout 2023, the evolving landscape raises
concerns about the growing complexity of risks that both travellers and organisations need to
navigate.

International SOS data revealed a 59% increase in international travel and 48.4% increase in
domestic travel during October 2023, as compared to the beginning of the year. These
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findings align with a recent report from The International Air Transport Association (IATA),
emphasising the resurgence of global travel. According to IATA, global air traffic reached
97.3% of pre-COVID levels at the end of 2023. With the holiday season quickly approaching,
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IATA anticipates that this trend will continue into the New Year, despite economic and political
uncertainties in parts of the world. For instance, the Middle East region anticipates to witness
a substantial uptick in air passenger traffic, indicating a promising trajectory for 2024.
Additionally, the industry forecasts indicate that the volume will reach 105% of 2019 levels,
facilitating travel of around 429 million passengers.

Michael Rogers, Chief Security Analyst at International SOS said: “The resurgence in global
travel comes at a time in which the travel security landscape is increasingly being complicated
by geopolitical events, natural disasters and other developments. More and more
organisations are finding comprehensive risk mitigation strategies for their mobile workforce
to be of upmost importance.

Today, more than ever, travellers need to remain informed of prevailing risks and attendant
mitigation measures. Beyond geopolitical issues and natural disasters, emerging diseases,
social unrest and evolving crime dynamics require that travellers practice vigilance. Across a
series of concurrent and overlapping crises, International SOS observed a 16% increase in
the volume of security and medical alerts issued to clients throughout January to November
this year compared to same period in 2022. The considerable increase illustrates both the
evolving global security environment as well as value of timely and verified information and
analysis as a key resource to ensure workforce safety.”

The impact of climate change, including extreme weather events, natural disasters and
environmental changes also poses an additional layer of risk to global travel and are proving
to be increasingly disruptive. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that
within the next two decades, temperatures are likely to rise by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
and we are likely to see a multitude of unavoidable climate hazards globally.
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1. Analysis based on International SOS Tracker Data (1 January 2023 - 31 October 2023)
2. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) | September Passenger Demand Provides Solid End to Third Quarter
3. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change | Climate change: a threat to human wellbeing and health of the planet. Taking action
now can secure our future