A group set up to look at how the industry responds to ISO 31030 Travel Risk Management is calling on travel buyers, suppliers and others with a passion for the industry to join the discussions.

This ISO, which has become known as The People’s Standard in the industry, was launched in September 2021 after four years in development.

Vanessa Harrison, an ISO risk management systems consultant and BSI RM/1 Committee member, said: “ I was asked to come on board as one of the senior leads in a group that is looking at how the industry responds to ISO 31030.

“Like many new standards, it has been launched as a guidance standard. This means it can be used by organisations as a benchmark, something to align their programme to, but it is not enforceable or certifiable.

“The next part of the journey is to understand if certification is both plausible and desired by the industry and what structure that should take. We are currently working across industry groups to ask key questions and to design a structure for a certification standard.”

Independent consultant Bex Deadman has been tasked with bringing travel experts together to evolve the conversation.

“As always with these things there is a lot of noise. The standard has been welcomed by corporates and suppliers alike with open arms. However, questions of application as well as ambiguity around what it is and what it means have allowed for the waters to become murky,” she said.

“Our industry has suffered more than most over the last two years and I personally see ISO31030 as our greatest opportunity to align and our clients to regain trust in our services.

“In order for companies to truly align to ISO 31030 they need to seek proof from the travel vendors on a number of requirements associated with risk. We are looking to create a standard that allows travel vendors from hotels to OBTs to align with ISO 31030 and be certified in Travel Risk Management.”

Also on the team is Sara McKenna, Programme Director at the Continuity Forum, who has vast experience rallying teams across industry and government sectors.

She added: “Working with standards is one of those strange things, because more often or not as you delve into things you are left wondering how on earth was there not something about this before?

“Working with the partners so far we can see a real desire and need for standards in this space to evolve. The subject area is diverse as is the travel industry itself, however for the first time there is a line in the sand, a document that allows organisations to think about their approach to managing travel differently, with people’s safety and wellbeing as the primary focus.”

If you have a passion for your sector and want a voice on what a new standard in travel risk could look like, please contact Bex Deadman via LinkedIn.