No one wants to imagine worst-case scenarios on vacation, but helping clients prepare for unexpected events abroad is essential to their safety and your credibility as a travel advisor. By equipping clients with practical knowledge and resources, you can help them stay safe and navigate any situation confidently.

Safety starts with preparation. Ensure clients know potential risks in their destination, from political tensions to weather-related hazards. Encourage them to check the State Department’s travel advisories and sign up for STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program), which provides location-based alerts and connects them to embassy resources. These small steps can offer big peace of…

Cabarete hardly misses a beat, even in a pouring tropical deluge.  Arrive by taxi along the main coastal road from Puerto Plata on a mid-summer day, and the route into this ever-lively resort town swiftly becomes jammed with traffic—cars, taxis, the local guaguas (mini-vans that make frequent stops), and of course the Dominican favorite, the motorbike.  As they enter the center of town, all ply their way at maximum speed along the two-lane road overburdened with the rush to development on this stretch of the Dominican Republic’s northern coastline.  Still, the spirit that keeps Cabarete pulsing and thriving remains on display along the rain-clogged main artery: surfers dodge past front fenders on their way back to the beach, an open air vendor optimistically keeps his…

I know what you are asking. “Mike, how in the world do you know what my biggest problem is?” My answer to you without missing a beat: “I just do.”

I don't care if you have a storefront or if you work from your kitchen table.  It doesn’t matter if you work out of your attic or out of your car. You all have the same problem. And it's the same problem I have.

Not enough people know you're alive. …