Adventure tourism

An Arrowtown health and safety professional says changes in safety regulations for the adventure tourism industry mean businesses need to take responsibility and adopt a solid safety programme.

Queenstown showed strong growth in domestic visitors for April and a recovery in international visitors, according to figures by Statistics New Zealand, released this week.

New adventure aviation safety standards - the only such formal regulations in the world - take effect today, with international regulators watching keenly but some operators not impressed.

Four Australian visitors had the surprise of a lifetime in Queenstown yesterday when they became the three-millionth Shotover Jet passengers, riding in the same jet-boat as Prime Minister John Key and his entourage.

Adventure and outdoor activity commercial operators welcome guidelines they consider make sense and would make the sector safer, the Tourism Industry Association (TIA) says.

Long-standing Queenstown resident Stuart Cordelle has been appointed the general manager for Ziptrek Ecotours Queenstown, taking up the position on March 22.

Many of the adventure tourism operators in Queenstown will not be covered by new Government tourism industry regulations announced earlier this week.

That adventure tourism operators could continue operating for up to another four years without being required to obtain a safety certificate is "absolutely extraordinary", says the father of an English woman who drowned while river-boarding near Queenstown.

As new regulations are announced for the adventure tourism industry, John Lapsley applauds and looks at some of the incidents, attitudes and people that have led to the changes.

The Dunedin-born inventor who has devoted 26 years of his life to creating the world's first commercial jetpack is hoping for a $2 million investment to ensure the venture remains in New Zealand.

Adventure tourism companies throughout the Lakes District are being encouraged to attend next month's second annual adventure tourism forum, organised by Destination Queenstown, the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) and the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), in Queenstown.

Prices at AJ Hackett Bungy will plunge like a diver on a rubber cord this weekend - if you are an Otago or Southland local, that is.

The Government review of safety in the $3.5 billion adventure tourism and outdoor commercial sector understated the extent of the problem, a safety specialist who contributed research data to the report said.

The very word "adventure" carries with it a frisson of uncertainty and excitement. The Collins Concise Dictionary's first entry proposes it to mean "a risky undertaking".

Safety regulations for adventure tourism activities are set for a shake-up, following the release of the Department of Labour's report into the adventure tourism and outdoor sectors.