New Zealand Tourist Deaths Expose Liability Risks for Adventure Tourism
Skift Take
If tourists increasingly seek adventure when they travel, whose job is it to ensure they are adequately informed of the risks associated with doing so? It's a tough question to answer.
One thing everyone can agree on is that the scenes coming out of White Island, or Whakaari, in New Zealand are tragic.
After a volcanic eruption occurred on Monday with 47 people on the island, six are dead and counting, nine are missing, and roughly 30 are hospitalized with severe burns. Reports suggest that about 30 people were there as part of an excursion from Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas, though the cruise line declined to confirm that number.
But whether the tragedy was a function of terrible luck or a case of putting tourists in a position of unnecessary risk is up for debate. New Zealand's health and safety regulator, WorkSafe, has opened an investigation into the deaths, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that "bigger questions" must be looked into after the crucial search and rescue period is over.
One of those questions may be whether tourists are adequately aware of the risks surrounding adventure travel. Another is the responsibility of tour opera
