"Pleasant" secular travel is a fairly recent concept. For most of human history, people traveled for religious reasons or financial necessity, so business travel may be the oldest form of travel. This article addresses this concept.
Jobs with many trips
I realized that selling was the best career a man could want. Because what could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, to twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? -Arthur Miller, The Death of a Salesman
Sales they are the classic occupation that involves many trips, to the point that the term "traveling salesman" has become a cliché. Consulting can also involve a lot of travel, but on a somewhat less intensive scale, as individual consulting jobs can sometimes last weeks or months and can easily turn into long-distance commutes. In general, any highly specialized job, where clients are few but can afford (or have no choice but) to fly with experts, will tend to mean a lot of travel.
Workers in the transport sectorLike truck drivers, bus drivers, locomotive drivers, and ship crews, they see many places through work. The airline industry also offers good travel opportunities. Aside from the obvious pilots and cabin crew, the maintenance crew and the sales and marketing staff can fly a lot too, and even clerks in office jobs can often fly for free or very cheap using available seats. The quality of accommodation varies widely, and free time in a destination can be short.
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The academic world, including research, studies and teaching, it also offers international travel. Language experts often find work as interpreters, translators and teachers abroad.
- Some academic subjects that naturally include field research trips are aerospace engineering, anthropology, astronomy, archeology, biology (including ornithology), civil engineering, geology, geography, linguistics, and meteorology. Scientists are often the only ones going to almost impossible destinations, such as exclusion zones. In addition, researchers also occasionally travel to attend lectures.
Military personnel You can work abroad, although this depends on the country and your position. "Join the Navy, see the world" is a classic slogan. Going abroad in uniform does not necessarily mean going to war; most missions are training, observation, logistics or peacekeeping.
Diplomacy and the consular service they often require travel; see diplomatic missions. This career requires a high knowledge of the foreign language and etiquette. In many countries there are very strict requirements on career paths and on who can be a diplomat.
Religious personnelAs chaplains and missionaries, they often travel to exotic places. The mission is often combined with humanitarian and proselytizing work.
The journalism, writing and photojournalism may include travel. However, it is a very competitive activity with little job security.
The health personnel, As doctors and nurses, they can work aboard ships or in isolated communities. In some countries, a mandatory stay in some remote region is, in fact, a mandatory part of your job training.
Domestic work it is a common immigration job; Although no formal knowledge is required, it is often poorly paid. Some domestic workers are hired locally, others are hired internationally, and still others follow their employer. The au pair service is an interesting way for young people to get to know a foreign country; usually without an adequate salary.
Some people work like digital nomads, usually with a laptop somewhere interesting or inexpensive.
The artists They also travel frequently for work, such as actors traveling to film sets or to attend film festivals, as well as musicians on tour.
Disadvantages
Traveling to exotic locations, staying in quality hotels, and even flying business class can feel like an all-expenses-paid vacation. But it's not: in the end, business travel is often reduced to the stress of work combined with the hassle of travel, only now you will often work in unfamiliar surroundings without the possibility of approaching your colleague's cubicle and asking for advice. . Only rarely are you in control of your own schedule. You may not have time to explore the destination, limiting yourself to seeing the chain's hotels and the airport corridors.
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Being on the road constantly can have an adverse impact on:
- The relationships. You may not be able to see your family or partner while traveling.
- Health. Playing sports and eating well is more difficult when traveling, and the risk of contracting diseases for which the immune system is not prepared is greater.
- Stress levels. After a bad day at work, imagine going to the airport and discovering that your flight has been canceled.
Advantage
Of course, business trips have their positives:
See the world for free or at low cost: airline tickets, taxis, hotels and meals are a significant sum. Your business often pays for all of this for you, allowing you to visit a new location for free or at a very low cost. If the visit lasts for several weeks, you will have a paid weekend getaway to do whatever you want in your new city. It is also possible to spend a (short) holiday in the destination before returning, paying for food and accommodation for the extra days, but not for the return ticket.
- Frequent flyer miles. Your company pays for the tickets, but you are the one who accumulates the miles. Some companies restrict the airlines you can fly on.
- New challenges, new experiences. Business trips are still trips, and you will meet new people, new things and new situations that will guarantee you a learning experience and change the way you think.
Travel
Business travelers can in many cases afford high-cost options for a fast and comfortable trip.
Typical business class seats offer more space and comfort than economy class.
- Fly: Businessmen create the market for first and second class flights. If the budget is tight, consider the economy class; the difference in comfort and service is not that great, in most airlines. For a VIP in a hurry, general aviation, such as a business jet or helicopter, can save some time.
- Train travel they offer fast and comfortable travel over medium distances, if available. The first class (or in some cases even a class specially called "above first") is usually aimed at business travelers. The first class level varies according to the operators, but usually allows better dining and procedures on board than the airlines. In addition, the Wifi service on trains is increasingly common among the main long-distance operators. This means that more work can be done in the same travel time as on an airplane. Many rail operators offer quiet compartments, which is good if you want to work concentrated and quiet. However, keep in mind that talking on the phone is prohibited in the silent compartments. High-speed trains tend to outperform airplanes in market share if their travel time is 3:30 hours or less. DB (among others) has recognized this and offers an "ICE Sprinter" - aimed at business travelers - on certain routes that makes limited or no intermediate stops to reach or exceed this time.
- Public transport It rarely guarantees good comfort, but it is usually the fastest way to get around a big city.
- Driving makes the traveler independent, but also tired. It is usually the only practical option in the field, and if you don't bring your own, renting a car may be an option. However, driving and parking in an unfamiliar city can be difficult. Also, things like messy traffic or the inability to read street signs in local writing can make renting a car with a driver the best alternative.
Taxis can be a very useful means of transport on your trips.
- Taxis and Rideshares They offer door-to-door service, at best with a helpful and knowledgeable driver. They can be anything from a tuk-tuk to a limousine, depending on the budget.
- Bus travel They are not always the fastest road transport; however, some long-haul buses are fast and comfortable enough to appeal to those on a budget as well. They can be a good option in some countries like Japan, Mexico and Sweden, where good quality buses leaving from airports stop directly at the main hotels, or to continue the trip to another city or town from the airport. If your business is running within the proverbial resource limit (or if you are subjected to the sadistic expense account manager of many times quoted), you may find yourself on a bus more often than desired.
Problems to face
Business travelers can find themselves in difficulties.
Data security
If your laptop, smartphone or usb drive is stolen, or your phone calls or data connections are being monitored, you can leak business secrets or confidential information (human rights activists can be the target). As the risks can be greater when traveling, and are certainly more difficult to control abroad, you should consult the procedures to follow with the corresponding department of your company. If you don't have those resources, make sure you know the most important risks for yourself.
The worst problems may not come from the criminals, but from the authorities (unless you trust that they are not involved in industrial espionage and that they do not use the confidential information they recover). To reduce the problem of border authorities wanting to access your devices, you may want to travel with a "clean" laptop, later downloading any secret documents you need, through a secure connection (VPN, SSH or similar). You may still need your keys (for example, to verify that there is no man-in-the-middle when making secure connections), but at least some of them are public, and they're smaller anyway, easier to hide in innocent-looking places. You may need to verify that the computer has not been tampered with (a read-only boot media can confirm integrity, unless the BIOS is also "updated"). If your destination country does not allow secure connections across the border, you have a problem. Before returning, please upload and delete sensitive information. Make sure the files are actually deleted, not just removed from your view.
A cheap folding phone it's a great travel phone. SIM cards are easily swapped out, battery life is usually good, and losing a cheap phone hurts less than an expensive one. Some cheap phones may include smart features, such as navigation.
If your devices can be stolen by people interested in your secrets, any information of this type must be encrypted, so that it cannot be recovered without your passwords or keys (the encrypted keys can be saved elsewhere so as not to lose the information by forgetting the password). Also check the risk of unencrypted temporary files and paging areas. Encryption works best when the laptop or smartphone is completely turned off (the content used will be in clear text in memory, and can be copied as such to disk when hibernating).
If you travel with sensitive informationPlease consider keeping your computers and any sensitive documents with you at all times. Locking them in a hotel safe only provides protection against theft of opportunity. Hotel staff have master keys or master codes to open all hotel safes in all rooms. This is necessary for normal operation, in case a guest accidentally forgets the code or leaves without remembering to empty the safe, but it means that their computers and other documents could be removed from the safe, copied and returned there without that you know.
Few people know what information a smartphone stores, so cleaning it for travel and restoring it across the border or when returning home might not be feasible. Instead, carry a clean, purpose-bought phone, and copy only the information you need and are willing to filter from your ordinary phone.
Before your trip
- Find a good travel agency. Booking online can be cheap and easy, but making changes afterward can be difficult and expensive. A good travel agent or your company's travel provider can be worth their weight in gold when you have to react to changes.
- If you are a frequent business visitor from an APEC participating country, consider applying for an APEC Business Travel Card, in which cardholders can travel visa-free to the countries specified on their card and enjoy expedited border crossing.
- Have a baggage routine. Invest in a good carry-on bag and learn how to pack enough to survive a week with it. Find out what is the optimal way to pack, because when everything has its place, it's quick and easy to pack. If you tend to travel on short notice, consider having your suitcase packed and ready to go.
- Mileage, mileage, mileage. You probably know that you can earn miles by flying, but you can also earn them by staying in hotels and renting cars, and if you pay by credit card, you can earn even more miles. Familiarize yourself with the programs at the places you visit regularly and find out how to maximize your benefits. Specialty sites like FlyerTalk are helpful in spotting loopholes and finding the latest promotions.
Packing for business
The needs of a business traveler differ from those of a typical tourist. In general, it's a good idea to pack basic business tools like business cards, stationery, and a small / easy-to-pack gift from your hometown while traveling. These items, along with normal essentials like hygiene items, can easily be packed in a bag for short trips.
In the path
- Learn the language. Even a few words will pave the way and you can learn the survival basics of most languages in a few weeks if you take the time to study.
- Do exercise. Most business-level hotels have a gym and any hotel reception will be happy to advise you on a good jogging route nearby. In some places, Wikivoyage has mentions about different parks that may be near your hotel, which can be a good place to go jogging. It appears in the "Do" or "See" section of the destination article. If you are a member of a gym in your country, it may be part of a chain with multiple locations (24 Hour / California Fitness, Planet Fitness, LA Fitness, Orange Theory, YMCA, YWCA, etc.) or have affiliations (Gold's , etc.) with other gyms in different locations that may allow you access with your current membership status for free or for a low cost. Ask before you leave home.
- Exit the hotel. It's too easy to sit in your hotel room, order overpriced room service, and grumble about how miserable the dump you're in is. Ask a local (or consult Wikivoyage) for a recommendation and go somewhere else for dinner or a drink (which may be cheaper than the hotel dining room, bar or room service) and go sightseeing.
- Find a local friend. The Internet is full of online dating and friend-finding services, and many people will be happy to take a visitor to see the sights, even if you're only in town for a day or two; you just have to offer to return the favor when they approach you.
stay safe
Business travelers are more likely to visit places like Lagos, Bogotá or Jakarta, where few tourists would go for fun. The general tips for Safety and Arrival in a new city still apply, only they are much more important for business trips: a scruffy backpacker may attract interest because he probably has a wad of bills hidden somewhere, but a guy with A suit carrying a laptop briefcase and talking on his latest-model cell phone while signing bills with his platinum credit card is a much more tempting target. Consider the following precautions:
- Arrange your transportation in advance. From the airport, hotel pick-up services are safe and can often be expensive. Follow the recommendations of the hotel or its partners for local transport.
- Matchmaking services can be worth it when traveling to dubious places, especially for the first time, so inquire discreetly at your hotel. For a price starting at approximately $ 50, you will be greeted at the door of the plane and taken through immigration and customs with a minimum of hassle.
- Make a backup of all your data. Before leaving, and frequently during the trip. Applies to both laptop and mobile / iPads / other gadgets with user data. Buying a hardware replacement is usually much easier than dealing with data loss.
- Be careful with sensitive data. It is an old cliché, but no less true: The weakest link in any security is the human being. If you are traveling with some type of storage device or paper with sensitive information, it is most likely worth more than all your other possessions. Please protect accordingly. An arrogant attitude towards data security can get you fired or worse.
stay healthy
Check your travel and medical insurance before you leave. It can cover travel-related illnesses, including treatment in other countries and medical evacuation. Many companies offer it to their employees out of the box, but check it out anyway.
Visiting a new region or country can provoke food reactionsEither because of the different levels of health or simply because your body is adapting to a new diet. Try to get used to the new food little by little and avoid tap water and washed salads, especially in low-income countries.
The jet lag It is a common side effect of business travel in different time zones. Allow a few days to get used to the new time zone if possible (for example, arrive on Saturday morning to work Monday). Avoid activities like driving until you are well and fit.
Each country has different regulations regarding pharmacy drugs. For example in China It is very difficult to buy paracetamol (acetaminophen) or other high-strength pain relievers at a pharmacy, requiring a long and expensive visit to a medical facility. German pharmacies reject an over-the-counter asthma inhaler, even if you're gasping for air. You can usually take the basics with you. In places where cannabis is legal for recreational or medicinal use, it is almost always prohibited for foreigners to consume it, at least in theory.