Safety guidelines developed for adventure activities

Safety guidelines developed for adventure activities

In a first for New Zealand, three popular adventure tourism activities – canyoning, caving and indoor rock-climbing – have comprehensive safety guidelines available for operators.

The three Adventure Safety Guidelines (ASGs) being launched today are the first nationally consistent approaches to managing safety in the canyoning, caving and indoor rock-climbing sectors in New Zealand.

The three ASGs are an outcome of the 2009-10 government-led review of risk management and safety in the adventure and outdoor commercial sector in New Zealand. With funding and support from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) was given responsibility for developing the guidelines in consultation with leading experts from each sector.

“These guidelines draw on the knowledge of recognised canyoning, caving and indoor rock-climbing experts, and reflect international standards, but they also take account of the impacts New Zealand’s unique environment can have on each activity,” TIA Advocacy Manager Geoff Ensor says.

“It's critical that 'adventure' remains in adventure tourism, but we all have a responsibility to ensure that these experiences are being delivered within a strong safety framework.”

Outdoors New Zealand (ONZ), which supported the development of the guidelines, says they are an important step forward for adventure and outdoor safety.

ONZ Chief Executive Garth Dawson says the adventure tourism, outdoor education and recreation sectors look forward to benchmarking their activities against the relevant ASGs.

“We encourage all operators to strive for continual improvement in all aspects of their activities. The ASGs are an invaluable addition to sector safety knowledge.”

Mr Ensor says the ASGs will be essential if operators elect to undergo an external safety audit, as the recommendations they contain will be referred to by auditors working to the Health and Safety in Employment (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2011.

“Any investigation into an accident may look at how well an operator followed these guidelines,” he says.

ASGs for a range of other adventure tourism activities, including heli-skiing, quad-biking, high wire crossing and abseiling, are under development.

“Client expectations of safety are higher than ever while the tolerance for mistakes is very low. New Zealand is a world-leader in adventure tourism and our development of these industry-accepted safety standards is being noted internationally,” Mr Ensor says.

The ASGs have been welcomed by operators in each sector:
• “This document is a good guiding tool for those in or wanting to get into the indoor climbing facility field,” says YMCA Christchurch Partnership Manager Dave Goldsworthy. www.ymcachch.org.nz
• “The canyoning sector will benefit from having the ASG out there,” says Big Rock Canyons Business Manager Grant Prattley. http://bigrockcanyons.co.nz/
• “Caving takes many visitors right outside their comfort zone but we want to keep them safe while they’re experiencing this great activity. The caving ASG will help even experienced operators double-check their safety management plans,” says The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. Operations Supervisor Angus Stubbs. www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting.aspx

To read the ASGs for canyoning, caving and indoor rock-climbing, and for more information about the Adventure Safety Review, go to SupportAdventure.co.nz

The ASGs build on the SupportAdventure.co.nz website launched in May 2012 which offers adventure tourism and commercial outdoor operators a “one stop shop” for information and advice on running a safe operation.

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