Adventure tourism operators contribute to safety plans

Adventure tourism operators contribute to safety plans

Adventure tourism and outdoor commercial activity operators are being
invited to contribute to new guidelines to help improve safety across
the sector.

The Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) and Outdoors New
Zealand (ONZ) are holding a series of workshops around the country to
get operator feedback on what they want to see included in a new generic guide to operational safety practices.

The guide is one of the recommendations from the government-led review
of safety in the adventure tourism and outdoor commercial sectors. TIA
and ONZ have been jointly charged with a range of actions, including
developing the generic guide which will aim to provide clear and
succinct safety guidance for adventure and outdoor operators.

It is likely to cover a range of subjects, including crisis planning,
staff rostering, planning for audits, developing safety operating
procedures, communications and legislative obligations. While it would
be aimed primarily at commercial activity operators who are not
regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority or Maritime New Zealand, it
will also be a valuable resource for all organisations operating in the
outdoors, both commercial and non-commercial.

TIA Advocacy Manager Geoff Ensor says that it became clear during the
adventure tourism review that operators would value clear and simple
guidance on safety management, over and above that provided by the
Health and Safety in Employment Act.

"The review found that operators were highly safety conscious, but many
had to develop their own safety practices as limited information was
available that met the specific needs of adventure tourism. TIA and ONZ
see the development of this new generic guide as a way to make our
adventure and commercial outdoor sectors even better at providing high
quality experiences to our clients," Mr Ensor says.

"Through the workshops, we want to hear to hear what sort of information
operators believe should be included."

The workshop series begins in Wanaka and Queenstown today (27 April) and
continues in Te Anau and Invercargill tomorrow and Friday respectively.
ends

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