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THREE/Supplied
New adventure tourism safety rules are being implemented following the Whakaari White Island tragedyn in 2019.
Adventure tourism operators want more detail on new safety rules to understand how it will impact their businesses.
The new rules follow reviews into the 2019 Whakaari White Island tragedy, where 22 people died and 25 were injured when the volcano erupted while visitors were sightseeing on the island.
They require adventure activity operators to communicate serious risks to customers before they purchase a ticket and throughout the activity, including if the risks changed.
WorkSafe will be able to suspend operations where there is a serious risk and suspend, cancel, or refuse registration applications when operators cannot provide activities safely.
Totally Tourism/Supplied
Totally Tourism has already included new activity adventure safety guidelines into its policies.
The new rules are to come into effect from April 2024, but some said the rules were widely anticipated, and had been incorporated into safety systems already.
Totally Tourism owner and director Mark Quickfall said his helicopter, plane, heli-skiing, walking and rafting businesses were already meeting the requirements.
“The level of safety compliance in New Zealand is very high. That’s not a complaint. It ensures that visitors are safe.
“We already communicate the risks to customers, but I think we need to be careful. If I’m going heli-skiing than do I already know there’s avalanche danger. How far do we go?”
He expected the rules would present more challenges for booking and travel agents who were also required to disclose the risks.
Booking agents and their representatives contacted by Stuff declined to comment as they were still looking at the rules, they said.
Supplied/Stuff
Rafting companies such as Queenstown Rafting, will have to meet the new requirements by April.
Real NZ acting chief executive Paul Norris said his company supported the rules but was waiting to see more detail on how the government expected the communication to take place.
“Does it have to be written, will it need a signature, should it be on the website? How do we confirm that we’ve passed all the information to a guest?”
Operations including Queenstown Rafting and mountainbiking at Cardrona would be affected, he said.
Fox Glacier Guiding chief executive Rob Jewell told RNZ the rules needed to be tidied up, and an April enforcement date would be tight for many operators.
ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff
Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Carmel Sepuloni said the goal was to improve safety standards in the adventure tourism sector following on from the Whakaari/White Island tragedy.
Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Carmel Sepuloni said the rules were aimed at improving safety standards, and ensuring the adventure tourism sector remained a popular drawcard for overseas visitors.
“The Whakaari White Island disaster made clear that further action was needed to ensure what happened to the victims, their families and the community that day does not happen again,” she said.
Adventure activities were a major draw card for international tourists looking to come to New Zealand and resulted in significant economic opportunities in our regions, she said.
“With our tourism numbers continuing to bounce back, these changes will help keep them safe and maintain the high reputation of our Adventure Tourism Industry across the globe.
“Most adventure activity operators are already following good practice and will only need to make minor adjustments to their safety systems.
“These changes will help standardise those practices across the sector.”
A further full review of the adventure activities regulations is scheduled to begin in 2026.
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