New Zealand’s Adventure Tourism Industry in Trouble
A review of New Zealand's adventure tourism industry has found industry-wide safety inconsistencies that threaten more accidents and damage to the $3 billion industry, after a death on the Kawarau River.
After receiving a letter from Chris Jordan, the father of Emily Jordan, an English tourist who drowned in the Kawarau River in April 2008, the Prime Minister John Key ordered the review.
After a review exposed potentially fatal gaps, Labor Minister Kate Wilkinson said some adventure tourism operators were likely to be shut because of planned new safety checks. With no checks or controls, Ms Wilkinson said it was "scary" that adventure tourism companies could start up, and she warned that a compulsory register and mandatory safety tests were likely to see some closed or stopped from opening.
She said, "To be honest, if they're operating unsafely, they should be shut down until they can operate safely,"
Excluding white-water rafting and jetboating companies, all operators would need to be registered with a yet-to-be-created control body and submit a safety plan, said the report, which was released yesterday. Yet to be implemented is a rule covering jetboating, rafting and adventure aviation, but will cover safety requirements for these industries. A high variance in safety guidelines was found in the review and accepted practice industry wide.
It found under-reporting of accidents occurred and it also uncovered weaknesses in safety controls. A lack of any overall system to identify safety gaps was highlighted. The report found, new companies were able to start and operate below generally accepted safe practices, although developing safety systems was healthy and proactive.