It's a $3 billion a year industry for New Zealand, with an estimated 850,000 international visitors every year taking part in at least one adventure activity during their stay in the country.
This week's report into the adventure tourism and outdoor commercial sector was far-reaching and found while the country's safety record was good, there was room for improvement and "gaps in the framework".
Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson has provided some common questions and answers about the review and what it may mean for operators.
What gaps in safety practices have been identified that need addressing?
For a variety of reasons, businesses can start up and operate at a standard different from is accepted across the sector as best practice.
It's possible for passionate operators to start a small business without the skills or knowledge to implement appropriate risk-management systems.
The review team's analysis of the controls in place for activities shows that some with high inherent risks are controlled only by the Health and Safety in Employment Act, or with added industry guidance, while others are covered by activity-specific rules.
With different approaches across agencies, there is also a risk that safety standards could fall between jurisdictional cracks.
Will a compulsory registration scheme fix this?
Yes.
Compulsory registration will ensure that all operators have a strong risk-management plan in place. A safety audit will be required upfront and further periodic audits will be required.
Adventure aviation, commercial jet-boating and rafting will be exempt from this registration, as rules-based requirements already exist to protect customers.
How many businesses will need to register and how much will the scheme cost to set up?
The Department of Labour estimates there are about 1500 businesses that would fall under the proposed registration scheme and it will cost between $150,000 and $250,000 to establish an online database.
Ongoing costs would be recovered through a modest registration fee.
What further costs do you anticipate operators will face?
Many operators already undertake safety audits as part of good business practice or because they require a Department of Conservation or local authority concession to operate on public land or in certain areas, so this requirement will not affect them.
For new operators, or those who have not undertaken a safety audit, the cost will be based on the risk of the activity and complexity of the operation.
The typical cost of a one-off upfront audit is roughly between $1000 for a medium-risk business and $2200 for high-risk activities.
Periodic audits will typically cost about half that.
Some low-risk activities may not require an audit in order to register.
What impact will this have on clubs or non-charging organisations?
The registration scheme is specifically targeted at commercial operators, which offer the vast majority of activities covered by this review.
The Department's detailed design report due in November will consider any implications for other organisations such as clubs.
Can these recommendations ensure safety?
It is impossible to eliminate all accidents as many of these activities carry some risk.
For example, with mountaineering the risks can be quite high.
But it is reasonable for people to expect that all practical efforts are made to minimise the risk of accidents.
The report showed that 39 people have died in New Zealand undertaking outdoor activities in the five years between 2004 and 2009.
No death is acceptable and that is why the review was undertaken.
Does this suggest the industry has been unsafe?
No, the review found that there were high levels of safety.
However, there will always be areas for improvement.
Most operators are already managing risk well and the data shows that the accident and fatality rate on adventure tourism activities is relatively low.
Awareness of safety in the sector has never been higher.
Operators have been involved in the process, and those not involved have been watching the process carefully.
Doesn't the review show that adventure tourism operators lack qualifications?
Unqualified does not mean unskilled.
For many newer activities, appropriate qualifications have not yet been developed.
The Department of Labour has been asked to do further work on whether guides and instructors should be required to have qualifications.
International trends show that regulation is moving toward better management of the business, rather than requiring individual qualifications.
Will the review stifle innovation?
Providing operators can meet the auditing criteria and expected safety levels, we are sure people will continue to innovate and develop new activities.
How does New Zealand compare with adventure tourism sectors worldwide?
The registration scheme we will introduce will see New Zealand leading the way in ensuring all activities are as safe as possible.
Like the majority of other countries considered in the review, New Zealand has relied primarily on voluntary accreditation of providers to oversee risk management and safe delivery of activities, backed up by generic health and safety legislation for all businesses.
Why did you not opt for a licensing scheme?
There is no need to go to licensing.
It is costly and does not confer any real benefits in addition to those that come from the registration scheme being introduced.
The report noted that submissions from accident victims' families had raised a number of other concerns with New Zealand's laws. Will these be addressed?
The review sought input from families who had lost a loved one in an accident and has recorded their recommendations.
Some of these, such as placing controls on media reporting, speeding up the justice system and amending New Zealand's no-fault accident compensation scheme, fall outside the scope of this review.
The chief concern raised was the need for safety practices to be prioritised when an activity is established.
The input from these families has been valuable and their concerns have been taken on board by the Government.
Incidents
Between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2009, 39 people were killed in New Zealand while taking part in adventure tourism or outdoor commercial activities, as defined by the Department of Labour.
In addition, 382 people were seriously harmed or injured during that period.
• Serious harm Injuries
Abseiling (1), bungy jumping (3), canyoning (1), caving (2), diving - from boats less than 6m/within 5 nautical miles of coast (6), glacier walking (3), globe riding - plastic spheres (5), go-karting (20), horse-trekking (40), hunting (1), indoor rock climbing (17), infrastructural attractions - extreme rides not covered by other legislation (7 - three from flying fox rides and four from swings), jet-boating (11), luge riding (31), motorcycle touring - off-road (6), mountain biking (11), mountaineering (1), quad bike touring (26), rafting - white water (41 - most appear to be in white-water rafting, although two were clearly in black-water rafting), river sledging/boarding (1 - the low number of accidents reported may be the result of ambiguity over reporting requirements under the Maritime Transport Act 1994.
This has been addressed in the white-water boarding safety guidelines, which specify that operations should have reporting and recording procedures for accidents, incidents and mishaps, which should comply with the MTA and the Health and Safety Act 1992), ski-fields - activities on (102), ski touring (0 - this may be because accidents were viewed as recreational rather than occurring in workplaces.
The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council notes every winter there are incidents that involve clients and guides getting caught and occasionally buried), snorkelling (1), swift-water kayaking/canoeing (4), tandem hang-gliding and paragliding (33), walking/tramping (8).
• Fatalities
Canyoning (7), cycle touring (1), diving - from boats less than 6m/within 5 nautical miles of coast (5), infrastructural attractions - extreme rides not covered by other legislation (1 - bridge swinging), glacier walking (1), jet-boating (1), land-based fishing (2 - the death of a fishing guide and his client in a hut and may not be fairly attributable to the activity), luge riding (1 - happened on an off-road luge cart track), microlight passenger flights (2), mountain biking (2), mountaineering (4), quad-bike touring (1), rafting - white-water (3), river sledging/boarding (2), sand boarding (1), ski touring (2), tandem hang-gliding/paragliding (2), walking/tramping (1).
