Dream Vacation Although a true dream vacation would be longer than five days, I do understand that I am on a tight schedule. If I only budget for five calendar days, including the day I leave home and the day I return, I can still make it to London, England and back. There are frequent flights to London, and with my frequent flyer miles on Air Canada, I can offset some of the costs and retain most of my budget of $2,000. Furthermore, I have an aunt in London with whom I can stay. If I take public transportation while I am there and eat fish and chips and grilled cheese at the Borough Market, then my total expenditures will be small and I can afford to go out at night.

After checking the Government of Canada Traveller's Checklist, I have determined that all I need is a passport and I will be ready to leave on my short but fun-filled dream vacation. There are no nationwide advisory effects for the United Kingdom, and Canadian citizens are urged to "exercise normal security precautions," which means do not be stupid and leave my laptop sitting on the table while I go take a pee, or going to bed with a total stranger without using a condom. However, there are some risks involved with any travel, even to a country as relatively risk-free as Great Britain.

Risk Management

The Government of Canada Traveller's Checklist indicates that "vehicle theft and theft from parked vehicles also occurs, particularly in tourist areas and roadside stops," but I will be taking public transportation the entire time. In fact, I will not be taking taxis at all, but only using the Underground. The Government of Canada Traveller's Checklist does tell me that I should take the normal precautions that I would at home because "petty crime, such as pickpocketing and purse snatching occurs in tourist areas and airports, restaurants, pubs and bars and underground pedestrian walkways, and on public transportation." Thus, to prevent this risk, I will not leave my belongings unattended, I will be wary of my surroundings at all times, and I will not wear my fancy jewelry so as to attract too much attention in case I stay out late at night. I am going to rate the risk of my being a victim of petty theft as MEDIUM, with a MEDIUM impact.

Because I do like to go out at night, I have determined that my risk factors may rise if I decide to have a few drinks. In this case, my risk will still remain at MEDIUM, unless...

The Government of Canada Traveller's Checklist says, "Be wary of accepting snacks, beverages, gum or cigarettes from new acquaintances, as these items may contain drugs that could put you at risk of sexual assault and robbery." Duly noted, I will not accept drinks from strangers no matter how attractive they may be. I will rate my risk for this at MEDIUM, because if I do get drunk, I would be more likely to accept a drink from an attractive stranger. I like drinking, so it will be difficult to avoid this risk, but I can mitigate it by trying to remain within my limits and retain my wits at all possible times.
The Government of Canada also warns me to be on the lookout for fraudulent ABMs/ATMs, and to only use them in brightly lit areas and preferably from established banks. This is a risk I will label as LOW, because I do not use ABMs that I do not trust, but the impact of this event would be MEDIUM. I can always borrow money from my aunt if my bank card gets compromised. To avoid this risk, I will continue to use only real banks and not the third party machines, and to make sure no one is watching me.

Unfortunately, there are terrorism threats in the United Kingdom. There is nothing I can do about this, as terrorism is not something I can necessarily prevent against given that "attacks could occur at any time and could target areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers, such as tourist attractions, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, shopping centres, markets, hotels, schools, places of worship and airports and other transportation hubs." Unless I want to stay home, I will be at some degree of risk even when I am home asleep at my aunt's house. I am going to rate the risk of me being anywhere near a terrorist attack as LOW, but the impact of a potential attack would be HIGH.

Risk Event

Likelihood

Impact

Detection Difficulty

Risk Value

When

Petty theft/pickpocketed

LOW-MEDIUM

LOW-MEDIUM

MEDIUM-HIGH

LOW

Anytime I am out

Drink Spiked

LOW-MEDIUM

MEDIUM

LOW

MEDIUM

When…