Have you made any social faux pas when traveling overseas? Have your say
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Not all business is conducted in safe countries. At some destinations it is common to use escort vehicles, sleep in protected compounds and double bolt your hotel room at night.
Often executives in these situations leave the logistics to someone else, while they get on with the business in hand.
Most of the time this is fine, but sometimes it can have drastic consequences.
"A client I worked for did not lock his hotel door properly, look through the spy hole or use the chain. Before he knew it, he had someone on top of him who had a pistol to his head and a syringe to his neck," Sebastian Willis Fleming from Control Risks Group, told CNN.
Companies like Control Risk Group and others teach business travelers about the possible situations they may encounter in hostile environments, ranging from bringing the correct clothing to being kidnapped.
"Experienced travelers can be complacent. Having done lots of travel to remote places they think something is not going to happen to them because it has not done before," says Mark Hyde from travel consultants, Planet Wise.
"But we are able to show them a few bits and pieces that will open their eyes and make them think about their own vulnerability."
If you are staying at a hotel, experts suggest taking rooms between the second and 10th floor -- second because you are out of reach of people climbing into your room and up to the tenth, so you are not so high that you cannot escape in the event of a fire.
It is also worth checking the access routes into your room, including windows and doors, and whether they are secure. Check the locks and make sure you use them.
"One of the most basic rules is to keep a low profile and not draw attention to yourself. Often this involves dressing down, possibly looking a bit more local. Always walk as if you have intent and that you know the area and you have business there," says Willis Fleming.
"Make sure you have organized your meet and greet people. Some airports are extremely hostile and you have to be very careful when arriving there. Taking taxis can be extremely risky, so find out if it is a city where you can use taxis or not."
Personal safety is not the only factor, accidents and sickness are more likely when traveling overseas and there may not be an adequate medical infrastructure at your destination if you end up in a clinic or hospital.
"You may not know what the qualifications of the physicians are. You may not be familiar with what they are saying, where they are taking you and what is happening with you," says Aaron Hawkins from MedAire, who provide health and security assistance.
In the case of an emergency, companies like MedAire can airlift you out. An airplane will usually be equipped with a couple of pilots and maybe a doctor and a nurse.
It can be worth taking a good medical kit with you, and ensure the key basics are included, such as sterilized needles and syringes -- which have to be in a sealed package for international travel.
Armed with information on safety and health, with luck you will leave those worst-case scenarios back in the classroom.
CNN's Shantelle Stein and Rosalind Chin contributed to this report.
