The Complacency Factor

Your lap-top sir," said a panting lounge executive at the Johannesburg airport just as I exited the South African Airways business lounge. I looked around hurriedly and sheepishly muttered an apology as I accepted my lap-top which I had carelessly left in the lounge. I'm sure this kind of negligence is commonplace among most frequent business travellers as I have been witness to scores of such situations time and again on my travels.

For the frequent traveller, checking-in at an airport, using the lounge, boarding an aircraft, living in a hotel, baggage handling and everything that goes with it, has become nothing more than a habit. Travel itself becomes a ritual, most activities that are travel-related are taken for granted and the Complacency Factor sets in. Business travellers who jet-set the globe at the drop of a hat are in fact far more prone to acts of negligence than first-time or relatively inexperienced travellers. There is an oft-quoted phrase that "repetition leads to perfection", well in this case "repetition also leads to complacency or boredom". The frequent traveller is often a victim of this 'boredom' and tends to gloss over the smaller details that will ensure safe and hassle-free travel, and travel crime is today assuming alarming proportions.

There is certainly a case for being more awake to issues such as airport crime, baggage pilferage, hotel theft, destination safety, etc but the business traveller unfortunately more often than not tends to treat these issues with a certain callousness and casualness that only seems to add fuel to the fire. The example that I quoted earlier about my own negligence is quite frequently brought on by flight delays and overall travel fatigue. The only solution to combat or reduce travel crime is for travellers themselves to be more aware of the circumstances and by paying far more attention to such detail. There really is no room for complacency here, no matter how frequent a traveller you are... therefore a careful reading of the cover story of this issue of feBusiness Traveller, which deals with travel crime, should stand you in good stead on all your travels in future.

Sheldon Santwan
EDITOR, feBusiness Traveller
Sheldon can be reached at editor@businesstravellerindia.com