Article Highlights:

  • More than 77% of international travelers now consider security extraction services important when traveling abroad.
  • Women and non-US travelers show significantly higher sensitivity to security and traveler protection risks.
  • Real-time intelligence increasingly influences willingness to visit remote or high-risk destinations.
  • Travelers prioritize physical extraction, extortion response and crisis intervention over traditional advisory services.
  • Demand for professional security services and traveler protection memberships is rapidly increasing worldwide.

 

 

International travel has entered a new era defined not only by exploration and global mobility, but by heightened awareness of security risk, geopolitical instability and the limits of local emergency infrastructure. Travelers today are more informed, more experienced and more conscious that modern travel safety extends beyond health concerns or basic trip insurance. Increasingly, they are evaluating whether they can receive immediate extraction, expert crisis support and actionable intelligence if conditions deteriorate abroad.

New findings from the Global Rescue Spring 2026 Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey reveal that security extraction capabilities and real-time intelligence are no longer viewed as niche services reserved for diplomats or executives. Instead, they are becoming baseline expectations among serious international travelers seeking comprehensive traveler protection.

The survey, conducted among more than 1,200 current and former Global Rescue members, highlights a clear shift in traveler priorities. Security services once associated primarily with hostile environments are now viewed as practical safeguards for ordinary international travel. At the same time, the data exposes meaningful differences in how travelers perceive risk based on gender and geography.

 

International Travelers Reveal Core Security Needs Include Extraction and Intelligence

The strongest finding from the survey is the overwhelming importance travelers place on security extraction services. More than three-quarters of respondents, 77%, say extraction services are either very important or important when traveling internationally. Among them, 44% classify extraction capabilities as very important.

This reflects a broader transformation in traveler mindset. Modern travelers increasingly recognize that emergencies abroad can escalate rapidly and that local authorities or infrastructure may not always provide timely assistance. Political unrest, organized crime, civil instability, targeted violence and environmental disasters have become persistent considerations in travel planning.

“Extraction is no longer viewed as an extreme or niche capability, it’s becoming a baseline expectation for serious international travelers,” said Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies. “What’s particularly important is how clearly the data shows different traveler segments evaluating risk through different lenses.”

Travelers are prioritizing operational response over theoretical preparedness. When respondents ranked the most important security capabilities, physical extraction during bodily threat emerged as the top priority by a wide margin. Sixty-two percent selected it as the single most important service.

Additional priorities included:

  • Comprehensive kidnapping, extortion and violent crime support ranked highly, with 47% identifying these services as most important.
  • Expert-led security incident response and negotiation capabilities followed closely at 41%.
  • Traditional advisory services ranked significantly lower, reinforcing that travelers increasingly value decisive intervention over passive guidance.

This hierarchy signals a major shift in how travelers define security services. Preparedness matters, but the ability to act during a crisis matters more.

 

Women Show Higher Sensitivity to Travel Risk

One of the most striking patterns in the survey is the significant difference between male and female respondents regarding travel risk perception.

A majority of women, 53%, consider extraction services very important compared to 38% of men, representing a nearly 15-point gap. Women also demonstrate stronger responsiveness to real-time intelligence tools that reduce uncertainty and improve situational awareness.

When asked whether access to real-time security intelligence would increase willingness to travel internationally, 25% of women answered “yes, definitely,” compared to 21% of men.

At the same time, women also expressed greater caution overall. Twenty percent reported they were unlikely to be significantly influenced by real-time intelligence alone, compared to 14% of men. This polarization suggests that female travelers often approach risk through a more nuanced lens, balancing opportunity with contingency awareness.

These findings align with broader trends in traveler behavior. Women frequently conduct deeper destination research, pay closer attention to local conditions and prioritize communication tools and support infrastructure more heavily than male travelers. Rather than avoiding travel, many are seeking stronger traveler protection mechanisms that allow them to explore with greater confidence.

 

Non-US Travelers Demonstrate Higher Risk Awareness

The survey also revealed important geographic distinctions between US-based and non-US-based travelers.

Half of non-US travelers, 50%, rate extraction services as very important compared to 43% of US respondents. Non-US travelers also appear more likely to be influenced by access to real-time intelligence. Twenty-six percent say such information would absolutely increase their willingness to travel internationally, compared to 21% of US travelers.

These differences may reflect broader international exposure to political volatility, infrastructure inconsistency and travel disruptions. Travelers based outside the US often navigate more complex border environments, regional instability or less predictable emergency response systems as part of normal international mobility.

This heightened sensitivity also appears in how travelers evaluate destination risk. When asked what factors would most influence the decision to obtain professional security services, the leading trigger was travel to a high-risk destination.

Overall, 31% identified high-risk destinations as the primary reason they would seek traveler protection services. Among non-US travelers, that figure rose to 36%, compared to 30% of US travelers.

Additional triggers included spikes in threats targeting foreigners and destinations with weak emergency response infrastructure.

“These triggers reinforce a key point: demand for security services is highly contextual,” Richards explained. “It’s not just who the traveler is — it’s where they’re going and what’s happening on the ground in real time.”

 

Real-Time Intelligence Is Reshaping Travel Decisions

Real-time intelligence has become one of the most influential tools shaping international travel behavior. More than 81% of survey respondents say access to live security intelligence would increase their willingness to travel to foreign or remote destinations.

This reflects the growing recognition that situational awareness directly affects traveler confidence. Travelers increasingly want immediate updates regarding protests, transportation disruptions, civil unrest, severe weather, terrorism threats and medical infrastructure limitations before problems escalate.

Importantly, travelers are no longer relying solely on government advisories or news headlines. They want curated, destination-specific intelligence that translates rapidly changing events into actionable decisions.

This trend mirrors developments across the broader travel industry. Hidden-season travel, remote destination exploration and adventure tourism continue to expand, placing travelers in environments where traditional support systems may be limited or delayed. Real-time intelligence helps bridge that gap by allowing travelers to adapt proactively instead of reactively.

 

Rising Demand for Security Memberships Reflects Global Anxiety

Growing concern about travel security is already translating into purchasing behavior. Global Rescue reports a 30% increase in security membership purchases during the first part of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.

This increase reflects broader global realities. Travelers are increasingly aware that traditional trip insurance does not provide operational security response. Insurance may reimburse losses after an incident, but it rarely coordinates extraction, field rescue or crisis negotiation in real time.

Professional traveler protection services fill that operational gap by combining intelligence, extraction capabilities, medical advisory services and crisis-response coordination into one support system.

The survey suggests travelers are moving beyond financial protection toward functional resilience. They are asking not whether they will be reimbursed after an emergency, but whether someone can intervene while the emergency is unfolding.

 

The Global Rescue Connection

International travel today rewards curiosity and global mobility, but it also requires more sophisticated preparation than ever before. As travelers increasingly venture into unfamiliar regions, off-peak seasons and destinations with evolving risk profiles, access to professional traveler protection becomes critical.

A Global Rescue membership provides access to field rescue, medical evacuation, medical advisory services and security extraction support during crises ranging from political unrest to natural disasters. Real-time intelligence and destination reports help travelers understand local laws, healthcare quality, transportation reliability and emerging threats before departure and while abroad.

In an environment where extortion risks, infrastructure failures and geopolitical instability increasingly shape travel decisions, professional security services are no longer viewed as optional luxuries. For many travelers, they are becoming essential components of responsible international travel planning.