Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

The Commercial Adventure Tourism Industry
The importance of the adventure tourism industry is recognized by the wider
tourism industry. Commercial adventure tourism provides significant financial
benefits for regional economies as these nature-based activities normally take
place in rural and wilderness settings (Tourism Victoria and VTOA, 2002). In
Australia, these benefits are reinforced where growth rates in international tourist
participation in adventurous activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, and white-
water rafting have outstripped overall international visitor growth rates (Blamey
and Hatch, 1998). A recent newspaper report claimed that adventure tourism is the
fastest growing segment of the Australian tourist market, and estimated its worth
at somewhere between $50 million and $500 million (Elias, 1999).
The commercial opportunities will continue to attract new adventure tourism
operators. New operators will often have to meet government requirements includ-
ing those relating to guide qualifications, operating regulations, and site permits
(Cloutier, 1998, p. 32). Many operators will also seek accreditation through industry-
based bodies that can provide a range of operational benefits including training
and access to lower insurance premiums (e.g., VTOA, 2001a). These requirements
assist the development of suitable standards and practices across the industry.
Nevertheless, the nature of adventures means that operators and clients face a
range of natural hazards found in the environment. The potential consequences for
loss and injury are considered in the following section.
Risk Management for Australian Commercial Adventure Tourism Operations
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Injury Research in Commercial Adventure Tourism
It is not surprising that adventure tourists suffer injury in commercial adventures,
given that these activities occur in natural settings characterized by inherent phys-
ical risks (Bentley and Page, 2001). Injuries have been reported in a range of com-
mercial adventure tourism operations including scuba diving, rafting, and horse
trekking.
The injury patterns are somewhat imprecise because of the difficulty of deter-
mining specific injury (i.e., morbidity and mortality) rates in adventure tourism
activities (Bentley and Page, 2001; Langley and Charmers, 1999). For example,
not all injuries will be severe enough to require medical treatment. Even where an
injury is treated at a local surgery or in a hospital, records may not always provide
specific information regarding the circumstances of injury (e.g., whether the injury
occurred during a commercial adventure activity) or the person (e.g., whether the
victim was a short stay tourist or a permanent resident). Bentley and Page (2001)
acknowledge other data deficiencies including the lack of specific exposure (to
physical risk) data required to determine the relative risk of participation.
Nevertheless, adventure tourist injury rates for specific activities have been
reported in Australia and elsewhere (e.g., Bentley, Meyer, Page, and Chalmers,
2001; Bentley and Page, 2001; Wilks and Coory, 2000; Wilks and Davis, 2000).
Considering this data, serious injuries in Australia’s adventure tourism industry
are uncommon events in most activities. Nevertheless, incidents such as the
Interlaken tragedy and the 1998 disappearance of the Lonergans during a dive on
the Great Barrier Reef (see Wilks and Davis, 2000), highlight the imperative need
for operators to manage the potential physical risks posed by adventure tourism
activities.
Further development of reporting methods and industry-specific definitions
will provide the opportunity for future injury epidemiology studies in adventure
tourism. Although present research is limited, common risk factors include the
unfamiliar nature of the activities undertaken (Wilks and Atherton, 1994), errors
of judgment made by the employees of operators (e.g., Maritime Safety Authority,
1994), and possibly a greater propensity for risk taking when away from the home
environment (e.g., Carey and Aitken, 1996). The extent and cost of injury across
the context of all adventure tourism activities remains an important area for future
investigation.
Injury data provide one avenue for understanding the range of hazards manifest
in adventure activities. Through a better understanding the elements of adventure,
we can make more astute judgments about the source of hazards and potential risks.