Adventure Tourism Review Good For Industry

Media release Tuesday 30 August 2010

Adventure Tourism Review Good For Industry And Training - TPP

Tai Poutini Polytechnic, the first training institute in New Zealand to offer outdoor recreation programmes, says the Adventure Tourism Review recommendations will be good for the tourism industry.

Tai Poutini Polytechnic Head of Outdoor Education, Stuart Drake, says the review outcomes will help improve consistency and provide clear expectations to operators and training providers.

"Tai Poutini started New Zealand's first outdoor recreation polytechnic programme in the early 1990s and remains the country's foremost centre for adventure tourism training and education," Mr Drake says.

"Our role is to train and develop students that will go into these industries fully prepared and ready to provide clients with the highest standard of service and safety. It's good to know we'll soon have the Government supporting us in our aim to raise safety standards and improve consistency and quality control in the outdoor tourism sector."

The Government's recently released review of adventure tourism operators has found gaps in safety that risk more accidents and damage to New Zealand's $3 billion adventure tourism industry.
The Government has announced it will set up a compulsory register for adventure tourism operators and demand safety checks for operators to stay on the register.

The implications of Adventure Tourism Review will be examined at Ecotourism NZ Conference, Rotorua, 2 & 3 September. This year's event is co-hosted by Greymouth-based Tai Poutini Polytechnic and Waiariki Institute of Technology. It will be the first time the event has been held outside the South Island since it started in 2006.

Mr Drake said Tai Poutini supported the review's recommendation for "up-front and ongoing" external safety audits.

"It will be nice to have consistency across the industries and clear expectations and consistency in the audit process," Mr Drake says.

" Our core business is producing students who are ready for jobs. Having clear and consistent audit criteria to adhere to will mean we know where we stand as an education and training provider and can fully prepare students based on that standardised criteria."

Mr Drake says while many tourism operators already acknowledge value of investing in their staff and improving safety - "obviously, there are always going to be those who can do better, and we're here to help them".

"It's never been more important to ensure your staff are trained to the highest safety standards, this review makes that all too clear," he says.

Tai Poutini Polytechnic provides a range of training options including certificate or diploma programmes in outdoor recreation, advanced leadership and guiding, ski patrol and ecotourism. It offers flexible training including short courses, distance learning and work place training, and can cater courses to suit the employer or individual needs.

"Our goal is always to provide the best standard of training to meet current industry needs," Mr Drake says. "TPP will ensure in the future that students will graduate with certification and qualifications to meet any new industry requirements that may come out of this review."

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