Education

Safety standards in adventure tourism (Part - II)

The last article spoke about adventure tourism in India. Since the word 'adventure' contains inherent and presumed risks, I decided to concentrate on safety in this article.

Akshay Kumar

India today is witnessing a spurt in adventure tourism with new companies mushrooming every month. Most of these company owners are experienced professionals who have worked in the industry for many years before branching off on their own. A majority of the companies in India offer safe, responsible and eco-friendly adventures, which every one can and must enjoy. They follow prescribed international guidelines for the particular sport they are involved in.

Standards in safety

In India, there are no standard guidelines in place for most activities other than traditional activities like mountaineering. Although the Ministry of Tourism is in the process of laying down guidelines for all adventure sports, trade bodies like the Indian Association of Professional Rafting Outfitters (IAPRO) and Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) play a key role in ensuring self regulation till this process is complete. These bodies conduct regular training camps on first aid, CPR, mountain rescue, swift water rescue techniques and early warning systems.

Older and established rafting and trekking companies regularly conduct refresher courses for their instructors and invite international trainers to keep abreast with the latest in rescue techniques. With the adventure travel industry growing by leaps and bounds, it is important that as an operator we are aware of the current safety standards accepted worldwide and in India. The important issue here is for everyone involved to understand the sport, market it to the right people and use the right operator to execute the project.

Firstly, one has to accept that the term 'adventure' itself implies that there are inherent risks involved in the sport. Still, there are many who get injured or even die from mundane activities like crossing the road than from participating in adventure sports. Why is that? The way I see it is that most adventure travel companies today are aware of the risks involved and they train their staff accordingly. They are always prepared with back-up safety plans in case of any untoward incidents.

Commercialised hazards

Having said that, one must realise that today the potential risks in adventure travel are much higher. In an attempt to stay ahead in the market, adventure travel companies are offering increasingly tougher and more exotic adventure trips to clients.

In the 1960s and 1970s, only a select few were capable of attempting climbing expeditions on Himalayan summits above 7,000 metres. Today if you have one year and USD 1,00,000 you can easily find someone to guide you to the summit of Everest. You can undertake first rafting descents of Grade V rivers, heli-ski down 4,000 metres peaks, walk into active volcanoes, sky dive from 25,000 feet, trek across Tibet, visit the North and South Poles and even go on a space mission, all for a fee.

It is great that such opportunities are available to us. But when one decides to commercialise hardcore adventure activities, you tend to add a completely new dimension to safety. The risks and chances of accidents are much higher. Anyone organising these trips needs to be much more aware and prepared to handle the 'unforeseens'. Clients also need to be trained extensively and be in great physical shape before they can undertake these expeditions. Even a small mistake can lead to a huge disaster.

In most cases you are dealing with vagaries of nature and you can't stop it from acting up. But you can certainly anticipate trouble, stop yourself in time and wait for better conditions before moving on. One also needs to accept that there is no shame in giving up against nature. Once you recognise that fact, there will always be another time for you to come back. Some examples of times when people have failed to recognise these warning signs are:

• In 1996 May, eight climbers, most of them amateurs, from a commercial expedition to Everest perished when they were caught in a blinding blizzard.
• In 1999 July, 21 young adventurers died while participating in a commercial canyonning expedition in Switzerland. The incident occurred when they were caught in a flash flood.

The above disasters are freak accidents that took place in two completely different locations. These are rare events and should not be used to generalise the entire industry, but at the same time we should look at them carefully and learn from them.

In India we have been able to avert any major accidents till date but we should not get complacent and ignore the warning signs. All stakeholders in the industry must therefore need to work together to ensure that the adventure travel industry grows at a steady and safe pace. Everyone from the consumer to the sales agent to the actual operator need to contribute to achieve this goal. Following are some guidelines I would like to suggest for each of the above stakeholders.

For the selling agency

If you yourself are not an adventure operator but use some other company to provide services to your clients then do try and follow these guidelines.

• Select your adventure partner carefully. Your company's reputation is at stake.
• Check on the credentials of the company.
• Make sure that your adventure partner is covered by a liability insurance in case of any mishaps.
• Listen to advice from your adventure partner. They are more experienced in the field. They will advice you if some areas/rapids/ treks etc. are not suitable for your client and will advise alternatives.
• At the first opportunity, try for yourself the trips you are trying to sell and promote. Once you have experienced the adventure, you will be in a better position to advise your clients.
• Lower prices do not necessarily mean safe operations. Make sure you get value for money but do not beat down prices to a level where safety might be compromised.

For the tour operator

• Ensure that you take recognition from department of tourism as an adventure tour operator. In addition to the recognition, this will also help you enjoy many benefits and marketing schemes offered by the government.
• Become a recognised member of IAPRO (in case of rafting) or the ATOAI (in case of other adventure sports).
• If you are involved in trekking and climbing then it is always good to be recognised by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
• Ensure sound training for all your instructors from a recognised private or government institute. All instructors and camp staff must have First Aid and practical CPR experience.
• Be sensitive to the local environment and help in sustainable tourism by giving maximum training and employment to the locals from your area of operation.
• Always maintain a high safety standard. Do not bow down to pressures from clients to compromise on safety.
• Figure out your minimum operating costs and quote well above that. Once you reduce costs you will have to compromise on safety and lower your standards to make profits.
• Make sure that you buy the best equipment in the market. Sub-standard equipment can fail at crucial times leading to serious accidents.
• Ensure that you have a good insurance policy which covers third party liability as well as accident and treatment for you and your staff.
• Follow environment and safety guidelines to the T. Your clients will appreciate your concerns and will recommend you to others just for this.
• Keep a look out for training programmes and refresher courses conducted by various bodies and make your staff attend them.
• Always get a liability waiver signed by the clients before they use any of your services.

These points cover basic safety requirements for the adventure travel industry in general. Activity-specific guidelines can be obtained from the local state tourism departments, adventure travel associations and the ministry of tourism, Government of India.

The writer is general manager (Operations) at Mercury Himalayan Explorations.