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Tourism Management 31 (2010) 563–571

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Tourism Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman

Adventure and ecotourism safety in Queensland: Operator experiences and practice
Tim A. Bentley a, *, Carl Cater b, Stephen J. Page c a Department of Management and International Business, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3AL, UK c London Metropolitan University Business School, Stapleton House, 277-281 Holloway Road, London N7 8HN, UK b a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history: Received 27 November 2008 Accepted 5 March 2009 Keywords: Adventure tourism Ecotourism Queensland Australia Tourism safety Tourist injury Safety management Risk management

a b s t r a c t
This study identifies the client injury experience and safety management practices of Queensland adventure and ecotourism operators, and to compare these findings with those from recent New Zealand surveys. The effectiveness of an on-line survey for collecting safety information from operators is evaluated in relation to the future development of an industry safety monitoring system. Some 60 adventure and ecotourism operators were surveyed, while in-depth interviews were conducted with four further Queensland operators. Survey findings indicated a relatively low level of reported incidents, with slips, trips and falls the most common incident type. Risk factors identified by operators related most frequently to adverse and changeable weather conditions and client skills and behavior, and a notable proportion of operators reported that they did not apply important safety management practices. A model of injury control is presented to assist operators in their risk management practice. Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Adventure and ecotourism are fast growing sectors of the international tourism

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