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Despite SARS, most executives won't change travel plans - Executive Briefing - Brief Article

Steve Bates

The threat of the contagious respiratory disease severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has not caused many executives to hit the panic button and bar travel for their staffs or avoid it themselves, according to a recent poll by NewYork-based global executive search firm Christian & Timbers.

A survey of 192 top executives at Fortune 1,000 companies during April found that 61 percent made no change in travel plans because of SARS or the war in Iraq. Only 13 percent of respondents said they had canceled all travel plans for at least a period of time, and another 15 percent said they and their staffs would leave the country but would not travel to Asia.

For most executives, once the threat is assessed, "it's business as usual," says Christian & Timbers CEO Stephen Mader

The combination of the war and SARS prompted business leaders to reassess travel policies for executives and for their entire staffs. "They huddled up and said: 'What are we going to do?"'

The conclusion, in many cases, Mader says, was that "SARS is a serious thing, and there are certain places you probably should not go." But he adds that many executives have come to realize that the pre-Sept. 11 "normal times" will not return in the foreseeable future.

Executive Travel Plans

(in percents)

no change in travel plans     61
canceled all travel plans     13
will travel, but not to Asia  15

Source: Christian & Timbers

Note: Table made from bar graph

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