NEWS

Lebanon, NH – November 22, 2021 – Travel Weekly, the most influential B2B travel industry news resource, awarded Global Rescue, the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services, two 2021 Gold Magellan Awards for its travel services. 

“The 2021 Magellan Awards received entries from top travel organizations and professionals worldwide and the quality of the work was outstanding. Being selected a Magellan Award Winner is a tremendous achievement and proves you represent a high standard of excellence within the travel industry,” said Kara Cleary, manager of Travel Weekly Magellan Awards.  

Global Rescue won a gold award for the “Beyond The Road: Powered By Global Rescue for AAA” promotional video in the Online Travel Services Marketing category.  

“It’s gratifying to be recognized for a program that rescues travelers from the point of illness or injury anytime they are away from home,” said Michael Holmes, marketing vice president at Global Rescue.  

Watch the video below:

Magellan Award judges honored Global Rescue with a second gold award for its Pandemic Blog series in the Online Travel Services – Overall Blog category.  

When the pandemic started, travelers found themselves trapped. Many travel protection companies limited their services or stopped offering transport services altogether. But the pandemic didn’t stop Global Rescue from providing security and medical evacuation and repatriation services.  

“Whether it was getting an Olympic gold medal skier out of China during a lockdown, evacuating a London businessman from civil unrest in Nigeria, or cutting through international red tape to help an international student get a replacement passport after being robbed in Europe, our blog testimonials showcased the breadth and depth of Global Rescue’s crisis and travel risk management services,” Holmes said.  

The winning blog series entries were:  

• Escape from China During Pandemic Lockdown
• Trapped in Nigeria Due To COVID-19 Civil Unrest 
• Lost Passport Recovery During Pandemic  
• Remote Rescue During The Pandemic

About the Magellan Awards 

From design to marketing to services, the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards honors the best in travel and salutes the outstanding travel professionals behind it all. Travel Weekly is the most influential provider of news, research, opinion and analysis to the North American travel trade marketplace.  

About Global Rescue 

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

Commitment to lifesaving mission is core to Global Rescue’s travel risk and crisis management success

Lebanon, N.H. – November 11, 2021 – In a year when record numbers of Americans were changing jobs, Global Rescue was among a select group of companies named one of the Best Places to Work in 2021 by Outside Magazine.

“Outside Magazine’s designation of Global Rescue as a best place to work is an honor for all of our employees. Outside Magazine’s best place to work distinction affirms the success of Global Rescue’s workplace culture and the tremendous impact of all of our employees who make the company a great place to work,” said CEO Dan Richards.

“To meet the sometimes extreme and diverse demands for success in the travel risk and crisis management industry, Global Rescue recruits and hires clear-minded, mission-focused individuals with specialized backgrounds in customer service, client relations, medical operations, aeromedical evacuation, rescue coordination, security, intelligence and crisis response,” said Stephanie Diamond, vice president of human capital management at Global Rescue.

“That combination of skills is typical among the EMS first responders and military special forces veterans including former Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Army Rangers and Defense Intelligence Agency personnel who work at Global Rescue. It is that same commitment to mission success that permeates the entire company,” she added.

“It is especially poignant that Global Rescue receive this recognition so close to Veterans Day given the number of veterans we employ,” said Scott Hume, Global Rescue’s vice president of operations and a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel.

The travel risk and crisis management industry is a place where many veterans have discovered a career opportunity requiring the total skill set of a special forces veteran that also blends the most desirable attributes of civilian and military work environments.

“Global Rescue’s business relies on established operational skills, significant practical and academic medical training experience, and executional excellence that aren’t readily available among most job-seekers unless the individual acquired those capabilities in the military,” said Harding Bush, a Global Rescue operations manager and retired Navy SEAL.

The travel risk and crisis management industry helps individuals, organizations and governments across a broad range of emergencies worldwide.

For example, Global Rescue evacuated a 62-year-old Montana woman with COVID-19 by air ambulance a few weeks ago from The Bahamas for treatment in Miami. When the pandemic began a year and a half ago, Global Rescue evacuated Olympic gold medal skier Kaitlyn Farrington out of China on the last flight out of the country. When civil unrest erupted in Nigeria, Global Rescue arranged for an armed security team to transport a U.K. businessman to the airport for a security evacuation flight home.

Each example required people trained and experienced in medical, security and intelligence skills. “Working with a great team on things that matter is incredibly rewarding,” Bush said. “It’s been a great fit for me.”

Veterans make up nearly 20% of the company roster, and they consistently make a tremendous contribution to the company’s rescue capabilities. Every day, they are involved in medical, security, crisis response and travel operations all over the globe to ensure Global Rescue’s members are safe and have a lifeline to help when they need it most.

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

COVID-19 fears subside, travelers are significantly less concerned about travel

Lebanon, NH – November 8, 2021 – Traveler confidence is surging, and it’s driving a significant rebound in travel activity. Nearly 86% of travelers have taken domestic trips, and 42% have traveled internationally, since the pandemic started a year a half ago, according to the 2021 Fall Global Rescue Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey. 

“Between April and October, there’s been a 74% jump in people taking domestic trips and an enormous 207% increase in individuals traveling internationally,” said Dan Richards, the CEO of Global Rescue and a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. 

Fear of COVID-19-related quarantine or infection while traveling declined by 37% compared to January 2021, according to the survey of the most experienced travelers in the world. Three out of four survey respondents said they are “less” or “much less” concerned about travel today compared to the beginning of the pandemic, reflecting a 65% improvement in individual concerns about travel compared to traveler attitudes at the beginning of 2021.

“As COVID-19 fears subside, people are significantly less concerned about travel,” Richards said. 

Vaccination prevalence, its efficacy and the declining infection rates are contributing to a return to travel normalcy. According to the survey, 73% of travelers reported being vaccinated, or having recovered from a COVID-19 infection, makes them feel safe enough to travel. 

More than half of respondents (53%) said having medical evacuation protection gives them sufficient peace of mind to travel. “Travel insurance and protection services are taking off at pace with travel as it resumes,” Richards said.

Respondents said rescue service from point of injury or illness, including COVID-19, and transport to a medical facility were more important than Cancel For Any Reason travel insurance protecting against financial loss from last-minute trip cancellation or disruption.

“Since the pandemic, there’s been a 30% increase in travelers designating medical evacuation as the most important travel protection needed. COVID-19 brought to light the limitations of travel insurance and the importance of having a separate medical support and evacuation safety net that includes medical evacuation and transport for COVID-19,” Richards said. 

A third of survey takers (36%) said choosing uncrowded or remote destinations was an important factor to feel safe enough to travel. Respondents listed China, the Middle East, Africa, India and Russia as the regions they were least likely to tour. Canada, Mexico, France, Italy and Spain were recognized as the countries travelers were most likely to visit.

Conversely, respondents said masking and physical distancing — common requirements endorsed by officials — were the least effective behaviors that would make them feel safe enough to travel.  

“COVID-19 vaccines and treatments are successfully saving lives. People are keeping their fingers crossed in the hopes the end of the pandemic is near. Unfortunately, government officials haven’t found and applied a standardized system that will encourage a return to international business and leisure travel,” Richards said.

Some countries, like the U.S., still call for illogical rules like requiring fully vaccinated returning resident travelers to obtain and present a negative test result for COVID-19 infection. Vaccinated travelers to Bermuda who arrive without a negative pretest must quarantine until they get a negative result. In South Korea, a 14-day quarantine is required regardless of vaccination status.

“More pandemic procedural discernment will encourage people to book travel and help deliver the travel industry out of an economic crisis,” Richards said.

About the Global Rescue Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey 

Global Rescue, the leading travel risk and crisis response provider, conducted a survey of more than 1,500 of its current and former members between October 26-30, 2021. The respondents exposed a significant rebound in travel activity and confidence as well as critical preferences for international destinations and COVID-19 protocols.  

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

Contest Celebrates Resilient Spirit and Enduring Strength Through Travel Images Since the Pandemic.

Lebanon, N.H. – October 1, 2021 – After more than a year of extraordinary travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Global Rescue’s 2021 Photo Contest celebrates the resilient spirit and enduring strength of travelers who have ventured near and far through images of their travels. 

“Everyone was impacted by the pandemic, some more severely than others. Travelers were, and are, eager to fight back to regain their family vacations, adventure travels and business trips. The flexibility and toughness demonstrated by travelers and the travel and tourism industry can only be defined as resilient. That’s why we selected ‘resilience’ — a word meaning strength, spirit, courage, character, flexibility, hutzpah or determination – as the theme for the 2021 Global Rescue Photo Contest,” said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services.  

Complete information is available here. 

The Global Rescue 2021 Photo Contest begins October 1 and is open to all. There are four photo categories:   

• Togetherness (socializing with family and friends once again)    
• Landscape (tropical, metro, nature, architectural, seasonal, etc.)   
• Outdoor activity (in-action shot of a high-altitude climb, road trip, hike, etc.)   
• Animal travel companion (furry, feathered or reptilian)   

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 PM (EST) October 31, 2021. Winners will be announced in November. The grand prize winner will receive a fishing rod from Orvis (value $1,400), a Bivy two-way satellite communication device (value $360), and an annual Global Rescue membership (value $329).  

Category winners and runners-up will also be selected and will receive a 7-day or 14-day Global Rescue travel protection membership and an Osprey backpack filled with Global Rescue Safe Travel partner travel gear from our contest sponsors: The Fly Shop, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, Wilderness Medical Society, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, Luggage Forward and PolarExplorers.  

Global Rescue 2021 Photo Contest Judges include:  

• Mark Edward Harris, a photographer who has visited and photographed in more than 100 countries. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, LIFE, Time, Newsweek, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Forbes, AFAR, Vogue Brazil, Elle Canada, Esquire Japan, Harper’s Bazaar, Italian GQ, Marie Claire, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The London Times Travel Magazine and The Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine. 
    
• Lydia Schrandt, the senior photo editor and Readers’ Choice production manager for USA TODAY 10Best and serves as the first chair of the Editors Council of the Society of American Travel Writers. Her work has appeared in Travel+, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post and others.   
• Paul Shoul, photographer for GoNomad.com. His work has been published in hundreds of newspapers and magazines around the globe, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, USA Today, The Washington Post, Popular Science and National Geographic Traveler, to name just a few.   
• Chelsea Bakos-Kallgren, Global Rescue’s graphic designer. Previous to her work at Global Rescue, her design talents shaped the brands of Simon Pearce, CBRE Group, National Park Service, Shire Digital and Cloudbank Inc. She’s won numerous awards for design: print, digital and best in show.    

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation, and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments, and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor, and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments, and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

61% of business travelers have taken multi-day domestic trips; video conferencing won’t replace in-person meetings 

Lebanon, NH – August 16, 2021 – More than half of business travelers (61%) have already taken their first multi-day domestic business trip of the year, according to a Global Rescue survey of the most experienced travelers in the world. “Business travel is returning due to climbing COVID-19 vaccination levels and the gradual reduction in government quarantine and testing requirements. Nevertheless, post-pandemic travel trepidations linger,” said Dan Richards, the CEO of Global Rescue.

International business travel is growing but at a much slower pace. According to the survey, 17% of business travelers have already taken their first multi-day international business trip of the year. A little more than a quarter (27%) expect to do so between now and March 2022. Forty-five percent have no plans for international business travel.

“Never have business leaders been more aware and more concerned about the duty of care they have to their traveling employees,” Richards said. “Today, the risk profile for business travel is different, and business traveler awareness is at its highest levels,” he added.

More than half of survey respondents (54%) who travel for business reported that their company is using, or going to use, a hybrid model of work on- and off-site.

“If the pandemic demonstrated anything about remote working, it is that productive work can be done from almost anywhere – and people are going to take advantage of that,” Richards said.

Most of the business travelers (61%) said that a hybrid work model will not reduce their business travel despite the availability of online conferencing apps like Zoom, Webex by Cisco, and Microsoft Teams.

According to the survey, video conferencing will have a mixed impact on business travelers. Thirty-five percent of business travelers said they expect video conferencing to replace about half of routine business travel in the future. Another 27% said they expect to use video conferencing sparingly and return to routine business travel for in-person business and sales meetings as the pandemic health threat abates.

Sixteen percent said they believe video conferencing will replace most of the business travel for in-person business meetings and sales meetings. More than a fifth (21%) said they don’t use video conferencing in their business. “While video conferencing will likely reduce total business travel volume in the near term there is no substitute for being in the same room with others,” Richards said.

“While the days of traveling long distances for one meeting with one person could be gone forever, people will travel for business at scale into perpetuity.”

Ninety percent of business travelers surveyed said in-person business and sales meetings are “without a doubt” or “generally” more successful than video conferencing. Nine percent said video conferencing was more successful than in-person business and sales meetings.

The biggest concerns about future work-related travel among business travelers are being quarantined (29%), being infected with coronavirus (30%), border closing (23%), poor medical infrastructure at their destinations (10%), and insufficient emergency response by their company to help during a medical or security emergency (6%).

“Mitigating those risks falls to an organization’s chief security officer, travel manager and human resources director, who are accountable for the development and oversight of policies, programs and logistics that protect traveling staff,” Richards said. “Employees turn to them to do everything possible to keep them as safe as possible. CEOs rely on them, too, because they carry a duty of care responsibility to their people, to take care of them and avoid exposing them to any unnecessary or undue risk,” he added.

About the Global Rescue Traveler Survey 

Global Rescue, a leading travel risk and crisis response provider, conducted a survey of more than 1,700 of its current and former members between July 27-31, 2021. The respondents revealed a range of support for travel expectations, behaviors, and safety concerns in anticipation of a return to leisure and business trips domestically and internationally. 

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation, and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments, and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor, and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments, and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

72% of travelers have already traveled domestically; 26% have traveled internationally 

Lebanon, NH – August 5, 2021 – Nearly three-quarters of travelers (72%) have already taken their first multi-day domestic trip of the year and 26% have already taken their first international multi-day trip of the year, according to a Global Rescue survey of the most experienced travelers in the world.

“Economic recovery and the return of travel and tourism is underway due to climbing COVID-19 vaccination levels and the gradual reduction in government quarantine and testing requirements,” said Dan Richards, the CEO of Global Rescue and a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

7-out-of-10 survey-takers (76%) are “much less” or “less” concerned about travel health and safety for the last half of 2021 compared to 2020. When border closings are not an issue, more than half of respondents (52%) said popular or crowded destinations would prevent them from traveling. Nearly a quarter of survey-takers (24%) reported that a location having insufficient medical facilities would cause them to stop them from making a trip.

“There needs to be predictability when it comes to pandemic protocols related to entering and departing countries,” Richards said. “The regulations change quickly and often, with little advance public notice, and those practices prompt people to delay booking travel. These micro-economic impacts are emblematic of a larger challenge,” he added.

Forty-three percent of respondents said they would pay a “Pandemic Recovery Fee” to travel to poorer countries suffering from dramatically negative economic impacts caused by COVID-19. Of those willing to pay such a fee, 17% would pay between $51-$100, 14% up to $50, 12% between $101-$250, and 5% more than $250.

“In the U.S. and Europe, where a substantial portion of the world’s wealth and GDP is generated, we can start traveling again and exporting the economic benefits of tourism to other countries dependent on our travelers. Collaboration among international health and government officials to get vaccines to those locations is smart, but we can also restart our travel with those countries to help them get out of their economic crises,” said Richards.

Half of respondents said they would travel internationally where possible and more than a quarter (28%) said they would only travel domestically. Nineteen percent said they would take longer trips and 21% said they would take advantage of discounts, deals and specials. Sixteen percent said they would only travel to places with modern health care facilities while 10% would take extra trips, and 8% said they would take less expensive trips.

About the Global Rescue Traveler Survey 

Global Rescue, a leading travel risk and crisis response provider, conducted a survey of more than 1,400 of its current and former members between July 27-31, 2021. The respondents revealed a range of support for travel expectations, behaviors, and safety concerns in anticipation of a return to leisure and business trips domestically and internationally. 

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

Cancun, Mexico – April 28, 2021 – One of AAA’s largest clubs, The Auto Club Group (ACG), and Global Rescue, the pioneer of travel risk, crisis response, field rescue and medical evacuation, are introducing Beyond The Road^SM, a service providing travelers the peace of mind to explore. While Global Rescue services are available to the general public, special rates are now available for ACG’s 14 million AAA Members throughout 14 states, the province of Quebec and two U.S. territories.

Domestic travel is rebounding strongly, with outdoor activity in the U.S. and Canada reaching new levels of popularity. The AAA membership follows you when you’re on the road. Beyond the Road complements the AAA – The Auto Club Group Membership by offering world-class emergency protection with field rescue, medical consultations and access to virtual doctor appointments, so you can roam with confidence anywhere in the contiguous United States and Canada, knowing that help will come to you.

“Beyond The Road supports you in the continental U.S. and Canada from the point of illness or injury to your choice of care facility anytime you’re away from home,” said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue who also serves on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce and is a Global Member of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). “If you need advice while traveling, get sick or injured and are unable to get to medical treatment on your own, Global Rescue is there for you, near home or far away.”

Beyond The Road services include:  

• Emergency field rescue from the point of illness or injury to the nearest care facility and then home. 
• If you’re hospitalized 100+ miles from home and further hospital care is required, we provide medical evacuation to your home hospital of choice. 
• 24/7/365 access to medical advisory services from nurses and paramedics trained to respond to any medical situation. 
• Direct traveler assistance to help with local health care systems, visa and passport issues, translation, legal locators and real-time event alerts. 
• Telehealth access 24/7/365 for real-time consultations and treatment (additional fees apply). 
•  

“When COVID-19 grounded us at home, people turned to outside activities and travel in North America for a change of scenery and to refresh themselves in the great outdoors – and this trend continues,” said Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA – The Auto Club Group, which is a member of the World Travel and Tourism Council.

“People are continuing to take road trips to the trails, the waterways, the mountains and elsewhere to hike, camp or ride bikes in the wilderness,” Haas continued. “The Beyond The Road pilot program is there for you if you are sick or injured and need advice or assistance. We are excited about this partnership with Global Rescue and plan to expand the program as the year progresses.” 

Participation is available to all U.S. and Canadian residents. Members of AAA – The Auto Club Group are eligible to receive a $50 discount on Individual one-year memberships for $159 and family memberships (up to six dependents age 26 or younger) for $289. 

The above offer only applies to AAA-The Auto Club Group members in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin; portions of Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota; Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Quebec, Canada.

To learn more, visit GlobalRescue.com/BeyondTheRoad, call 617-210-8171, or email beyondtheroad@globalrescue.com.

About AAA – The Auto Club Group 

The Auto Club Group (ACG) is the second largest AAA club in North America with more than 14 million members across 14 U.S. states, the province of Quebec and two U.S. territories. ACG and its affiliates provide members with roadside assistance, insurance products, banking and financial services, travel offerings and more. ACG belongs to the national AAA federation with more than 62 million members in the United States and Canada. AAA’s mission is to protect and advance freedom of mobility and improve traffic safety. For more information, get the AAA Mobile app, visit AAA.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

©2021 Global Rescue LLC. All rights reserved. GLOBAL RESCUE, TOTALCARE, BEYOND THE ROAD and related logos and indicia are service marks of Global Rescue LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Conditions, limitations and exclusions may apply. See Global Rescue’s Beyond The Road Member Services Agreement for full details.

†Global Rescue LLC provides technical and administrative services to Elite Medical Group, P.C. (“Elite Medical”), a professional corporation owned by licensed physicians that employs or contracts with physicians licensed to practice medicine where medical services are provided. Elite Medical physicians provide all medical care accessed via the Totalcare telehealth service and all associated fees are established and collected by Elite Medical. Elite Medical reserves the right to deny care for potential or actual misuse of their services.

Travelers embrace fast, on-site testing; oppose centralized vaccine data collection

Lebanon, NH – April 26, 2021 – Fear of COVID-19 infection or quarantine as a primary concern among travelers plunged 37% while their confidence to travel has grown significantly since the pandemic was declared more than a year ago, according to the results of Global Rescue’s Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey. 78% of respondents are “much less” or “less” concerned about travel safety in 2021 compared to 2020, with 22% answering they are “more” or “much more” concerned.

“Travelers are twice as likely to plan international trips within the next six months as they were in September 2020,” said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, the leading travel risk, crisis management and response company. “Nearly three-quarters of surveyed travelers have already taken a domestic trip or are planning to take one before July,” he added.

As traveler confidence grows, Richards is encouraging government health officials to develop capabilities to identify, detect and respond to COVID-19 and emerging pathogenic threats. “By leveraging improvements in technology, including tools that detect active infection of COVID-19 and emerging diseases on exhaled breath, we can effectively recover from, and prevent, disease spread while boosting and protecting the travel and hospitality industry,” said Richards, who also serves on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The overwhelming majority of respondents (91%) would submit to fast, on-site COVID-19 testing to check for coronavirus before travel, and 80% said they would pay for the test depending on cost.

Surveyed travelers are closely split in their support for (46%) or against (42%) using vaccine certifications for domestic travel. Approval shifts decisively regarding international trips with 70% of respondents favoring the use of vaccine certificates.

Travelers revealed strong preferences to control their own vaccination and testing data rather than entrusting centralized organizations. 45% of respondents want their proof-of-vaccination and COVID-19 testing results to be maintained by the individual, and presented as necessary. Another 16% do not want the data collected at all.

“Government officials must take a leadership role in recommending secure technology standards where users, rather than centralized organizations, store and control data used for vaccine, previous infection and testing verification for COVID-19 and future disease outbreaks,” Richards said.

The pandemic is leading travelers to modify their trip plans in a number of ways. A majority of travelers (54%) indicated they would avoid crowded destination and places with insufficient medical facilities (22%) as the leading reasons preventing them from visiting an area.

Respondents said the most important travel protection service today is medical evacuation from the point of illness or injury (49%) followed by Cancel For Any Reason trip insurance to protect against financial loss from last minute trip cancellation or disruption (21%).

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

About the Global Rescue Traveler Survey 

Global Rescue, a leading travel risk and crisis response provider, conducted a survey of more than 1,700 of its current and former members between Apr. 21-26, 2021. The respondents revealed a range of preferences for travel expectations, behaviors and safety concern in anticipation of a return to leisure and business trips domestically and internationally. 

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

Lebanon, NH – April 6, 2021 – LUX Life Magazine, a U.K.-based premium lifestyle publication, named Global Rescue winner of the “Best Travel Risk Management Solutions Organization – USA” in the magazine’s 5th annual Travel & Tourism Awards. 

“Global Rescue is the only vertically integrated travel risk management solution, taking up a duty of care for all, from private members such as individuals and their families, government employees and enterprise corporate clients,” said Michael Pusey, Editor at LUX Life Magazine.  

The annual LUX Life Travel & Tourism Awards are conferred to nominees who demonstrate expertise within their field, dedication to customer service and a commitment to promoting excellence.  

“Global Rescue provides its consumer, enterprise, and government clients with unparalleled resources to address the increasingly challenging and complex world we live in,” said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce and a Global Member of the World Travel and Tourism Council.  

Global Rescue’s pioneering methods and model have secured its reputation as the most forward-thinking services of its kind.  

“The company provides the most up to date services available both in terms of the technology it uses and the training of its personnel, delivered by teams of critical care medical experts and military special operations veterans,” Pusey said. 

Global Rescue has been offering medical evacuation throughout the pandemic in response to the COVID-19 crisis.  

“It recognized the outbreak early, immediately sending out worldwide alerts to its members, repatriating hundreds of individuals and providing updates to the public, the press and to business leaders. Global Rescue responded to the pandemic by eliminating the more-than-100-mile rule that it previously held, providing support for its members venturing out around their private abodes,” Pusey said. 

“Global Rescue handles high intensity and complex situations as well as the smaller tasks during travel such as advice on a destination or what to do if a passport is stolen,” he said. 

About the LUX Life Magazine Travel & Tourism Awards 

The LUX Life Magazine (circ. 238,000/2,000,000 annual page views) Travel & Tourism Awards cover all travel and tourism markets including: travel agencies and services, food and beverages providers, lodging and accommodations management, transportation, entertainment and tours. The 2021 Travel & Tourism Awards are judged purely on a merit following in-house research and analysis of online and public domain information as well as any materials supplied by nominees.  

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccination and open borders are the most important conditions travelers need

Lebanon, NH – February 3, 2021 – Traveler safety concerns plunge considerably after spring 2021, according to a Global Rescue survey of the most experienced travelers in the world.

The survey found three out of four respondents (77%) are less or much less concerned about travel safety for the last half of 2021 (July to December) compared to 2020. But traveler concerns remain high for the first half of the year with more than half of the respondents (54%) saying they are more – or much more – concerned about travel safety between now and June compared to 2020.

“Traveler confidence is growing stronger, and that’s good news for the travel industry,” said Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards, referring to the international survey of more than 2,100 of Global Rescue’s current and former members.

Seventy percent of travelers responding to the survey expect to go on their next overnight/multi-day domestic trip greater than 100 miles from home by June 2021. One out of four are holding off until the last half of the year while 5% will wait until 2022 or later.

Nearly 6 out of 10 respondents (57%) expect to travel internationally sometime between spring and winter 2021, while nearly a third (29%) do not expect to go on an international trip until 2022 or after. Ten percent expect to travel abroad before the end of March this year.

According to the survey results, getting a COVID-19 vaccination (47%) and open borders (34%) are the two most important conditions travelers need in place to feel safe enough to travel internationally. Less than 4% of respondents said obtaining negative PCR COVID-19 test results, having access to coronavirus treatments, or acquiring a digital health passport were conditions needed in place to feel safe enough to travel abroad.

Survey respondents revealed potential quarantines (41%) and COVID-19 infection (29%) are, by far, the biggest concerns for travelers planning an international trip. Twelve percent of survey-takers listed trip cancellation as the third major concern. Last year, respondents cited “crime” as the leading travel safety concern but the pandemic pushed that fear to the bottom of the list along with getting sick (from something other than COVID-19), accidents, civil unrest/terrorism, lost luggage, robbery, nuclear disaster and cybercrime, each netting 7% of responses or less.

“Travelers will feel safe enough to plan trips and vacations when they are vaccinated, when borders are open and managed in a predictable way, and when they know they’ll be able to get home if the worst happens,” Richards said.

By 2-to-1 margins, negative COVID-19 tests do not make travelers feel safer compared to getting a coronavirus vaccine. Seventy three percent of respondents would feel safer during a trip if they had a COVID-19 vaccine compared to only 36% who would feel safer if they had a negative PCR COVID-19 test result before reaching their destination.

“Traveler trust in the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccination understandably surpasses that of a negative coronavirus test since the former prevents against an occurrence and the latter only detects if an individual has been infected by the virus,” Richards said.

Government and health officials from several countries, including the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, have implemented requirements for residents and non-residents to have a negative viral tests before entering their countries. Travelers are closely split over how they would find a testing facility to meet a similar requirement with 21% relying on tour operators, travel agents (21%), destination resources (18%), personal investigation (16%), or their insurance provider (9%). Fifteen percent of respondents admitted they don’t know what they would do.

About the Global Rescue Traveler Survey 

Global Rescue, a leading travel risk and crisis response provider, conducted a survey of more than 2,000 of its current and former members between Jan. 26-31, 2021. The respondents revealed a range of support for travel expectations, behaviors and safety concern in anticipation of a return to leisure and business trips domestically and internationally. 

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

About Global Rescue

Global Rescue is the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last decade. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.