More than half of business travellers have experienced “negative behaviours” while they have been travelling abroad for work.

A survey by security specialist World Travel Protection found that 57 per cent of UK-based travellers had experienced or witnessed this type of situation on international business trips.

Around 20 per cent said they had noticed or received unwanted attention or been side-lined because of their race or gender, with women (31 per cent) twice as likely to have endured this experience than men (16 per cent).

The study also revealed that 14 per cent of travellers had felt the need to hide their own sexuality or seen a colleague hide their sexuality on a business trip. One in 10 travellers said they had even refused or seen a colleague refuse to travel to countries with anti LGBTQ+ laws.

Kate Fitzpatrick, regional security director, EMEA, at World Travel Protection, said: “Witnessing incidences of prejudice and abuse are still too prevalent for business travellers, and when you’re in a different country with a different culture it can be difficult to know how to respond in order not to put yourself or your travelling party at risk.

“This research shows the importance of not only educating your teams about the potential geopolitical situation of the destination they’re visiting, but also the local social norms and cultural sensitivities to ensure that – as far as possible – respect and tolerance are top of the agenda on all sides.”

World Travel Protection said that it was now necessary for organisations to “understand the risk profile of each individual member of their travelling team”, as well as where they are going and what they are doing while travelling.

“Understanding who your travellers are and their individual risk profile should consider travel experience and past work, pre-existing conditions as well as their gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality, and physical and mental health,” added the security specialist.