At Cornerstone Safety Group, we support members as their participants navigate common travelers’ illnesses. Without the proper preparation and care, these illnesses can feel especially disastrous, especially for participants who are new to travel.

Below is some guidance we give members on how to identify common traveler’s illnesses, address them with your participants, and support when they inevitably appear during your trip or program.

You know that being “on-call” is necessary for your travel business.

During peak season, your staff is in the field 24/7. They are constantly working to support participants’ wellbeing, perhaps operating in an unfamiliar environment, handling crises on the ground, and ensuring all the hard work you’ve spent planning your programs is delivered as designed. They’re likely stressed, looking to you for guidance on a variety of issues, and don’t “get away” from the group for personal time nearly enough.

When you’re looking for more staff, it’s prudent to consider where these individuals might be looking for YOU. Below, we’ve compiled a shortlist of some of the most popular training platforms where tour guides/directors/program leaders look to educate themselves and connect to operators like you.

Some of these organizations even offer the option to list last-minute staffing vacancies on their site or be included in an “emergency” mailing list to all their members - an ideal place to find floater staff in a pinch.

How do you consistently deliver safety briefings to your travel operator or tour operator staff? How do your program leaders embody your values through delivering safety information? Staff need tools and support to realistically deliver the required information in a memorable, clear, and value-rich manner. After all, there’s little point in delivering information to cover your liability if no one is paying attention.

Let’s address the challenge first - when and how the safety briefing can be delivered.

Cornerstone is founded on the belief that protecting human lives is not intellectual property, but a shared responsibility. We believe that knowing where human safety fits within your organization and having actionable processes to navigate complex situations is paramount to operational success.

At Cornerstone, our members have the unique opportunity to bring relevant challenges to the table and work together with peer organizations to create solutions. As we adapt to the next evolution of the pandemic and what that means for our member organizations, one such topic was brought to the table early in 2022: reintroducing homestay experiences.

To make Cornerstone meetings and trainings beneficial for all participants, we ask that attendees abide by the following etiquette. When we follow these norms, the value of each session increases and attendees are more likely to make peer connections. In return, we at Cornerstone will abide by the best practices and expectations set forth below, as event organizers.

I recently had a conversation with one of the Cornerstone community members discussing "gut feelings" about Omicron and how this might impact the progress and optimism for international programming in 2022. While there's no true answer to this question, it got me thinking about what we could and should be doing given our experiences over the past two years.