eTN Asia/Pacific, 10-19-2006
The Western Australia government has imposed new strict standards for adventure tourism operators, in a move to protect tourists following some “near tragedies” in the state's wilderness areas.
Under a new legislation, accreditation will be compulsory for all adventure tourism operators in the state.
The state has also allocated 'more' than of A$500,000 to improve safety across the industry, with the bulk to be spent for its accreditation program.
"The changes have been made following some near tragedies in the state's wilderness area," said Sheila McHale.
"Our goal is all adventure tourism operators are properly assessed and accredited so that the lives of our visitors are safe," she added. "We want to make sure everybody in adventure tourism is properly accredited, competent and equipped."
While the majority of operators offering adventure tourism in the state are competent and accredited presently, it is still done a voluntary basis.
The accreditation program is one of the recommendations of a recent government review of adventure tourism.
