Adventure tourism changes

Increasing safety standards for visitors to Western Australia’s outback is the focus of recommendations made in a recent adventure tourism industry review.

The review outlined 24 recommendations including developing adventure tour operator accreditation, expediting the delivery of the National Outdoor Leadership Registrations Scheme and progressing implementation of adventure activity standards for WA.

Some of the key recommendations include:

• adventure tour operator accreditation to be developed as part of the National Tourism Accreditation Program (WA);
• expediting the delivery of the National Outdoor Leadership Registration Scheme, including the introduction of a canyoning category;
• progressing implementation of adventure activity standards for WA;
• consideration of making operator accreditation a mandatory requirement for the issue of licenses for operators to enter lands managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation;
• consideration of prohibiting use by a licensee of persons convicted within the previous 10 years of serious offences under the Conservation and Land Management Act or regulations;
• promoting the benefits of accreditation to the tourism industry, including adventure tour operators;
  regional tourism organisations to include safety tips and advice in each of the five regional holiday planners;
• Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) to include safety tips and advice in each of the five regional holiday planners;
• improved customer feedback systems; and
• commercial tour operators to register a trip plan with an agreed gorge exit strategy when taking tour groups to Karijini Gorges and Kalbarri National Park.

Additional funding of $568,000 over three years was recently announced to deliver on all of the above recommendations.

The review of adventure tourism visitor safety was compiled by a Ministerial taskforce involving the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Tourism Western Australia, Department for Planning and Infrastructure, Department of Sport and Recreation, and the Department of Environment and Conservation.