Representatives from AJ Hackett Bungy, Shotover Canyon Swing, mountain-guiding companies and other operators gathered for a closed-session workshop in the Queenstown Resort College this week.
The workshop was one of 11 held by the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) and Outdoors New Zealand nationally, and one was held in Wanaka too.
Association advocacy manager Geoff Ensor and recommendations project leader Rachael Moor, with Outdoors NZ safety review project leader Sue Gemmell, all of Wellington, facilitated the discussion.
Mr Ensor said operators were supportive of the regulations, recognised the long-term benefits and were aware visitors' safety expectations were high and their tolerance for mistakes was low.
"The calibre of operators is very high in New Zealand. We are leading-edge and we're finding a lot of very experienced operators are very supportive of the direction we're taking. The sector is in very good health going into summer," he said.
"They feel the principle of an external audit is a good one; they do think enforcement is going to be important and fair across the sector and the depth and frequency of the audit versus the cost of it. They want real value and a thorough audit, but that also relates to the cost of the audit, so those two factors need to be in balance."
The audit standard was expected to be announced in late February, which would make audit costs clearer, although costs were likely to depend on the complexity of the operation, Mr Ensor said.
Operators already volunteering to be audited were not likely to pay more than the figure they were paying now, as existing auditors were being accredited by the Department of Labour.
Prime Minister John Key announced the Government Review of Risk Management and Safety in the Adventure and Outdoor Commercial Sectors in September 2009.
The review looked at the existing regulations, safety systems and processes, plus any ways of improving risk management and safety.
After consultation with industry organisations and agencies, the Department of Labour released the review in June 2010. The six recommendations to be delivered by the TIA and Outdoors NZ included the development of an industry-led entity to strengthen the safety management framework for the adventure tourism sector as well as new Health and Safety in Employment Act regulations making it an offence to provide activities involving significant hazards and some level of instruction or leadership without a current safety audit certificate.
Mr Ensor urged incoming and established operators to consult the evolving website www.supportadventure.co.nz which offered official information and updates, feedback and advice from the industry on running safe operations.
The association and Outdoors NZ intended to return to Queenstown for another workshop in the autumn.
