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Tourist safety in New Zealand and Scotland
www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures
Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 150–166, 2005 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 0160-7383/$30.00
doi:10.1016/j.annals.2004.06.006
TOURIST SAFETY IN NEW ZEALAND AND SCOTLAND Stephen J. Page University of Stirling, UK Tim Bentley Massey University, New Zealand Linda Walker University of Stirling, UK Abstract: This paper develops a comparative research methodology to examine the safety experiences of adventure operators in two destinations: New Zealand and Scotland. The paper argues that a comparative methodology assists in understanding the process of development and change in tourism at different geographical scales. The probability of adventure tourists in each destination experiencing injuries can be deduced from this survey data based on a postal questionnaire used in New Zealand and Scotland. The similarities and differences in the experiences establish the basis for further research in other countries to highlight common injury experiences and mechanisms to reduce such events, and to enhance tourist well-being. Keywords: injuries, adventure tourism, comparative research, New Zealand, Scotland. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. R esume´: La se´curite´ touristique en Nouvelle-Ze´lande et en E´cosse. Cet article de´veloppe une me´thodologie de recherche comparative pour examiner les expe´riences de la se´curite´ des voyagistes d’aventures a` deux destinations: la Nouvelle-Ze´lande et 1’E´cosse. L’article soutient qu’une me´thodologie comparative aide a` comprendre le processus de de´veloppement et de changement dans le tourisme a` diffe´rentes e´chelles ge´ographiques. Le risque des touristes d’aventures a` chaque destination de subir un accident peut eˆtre de´duit des donne´es de cette enqueˆte, qui a e´te´ base´e sur un sondage par la poste en Nouvelle-Ze´lande et en E´cosse. Les ressemblances et les diffe´rences entre les expe´riences e´tablissent la base de recherches comple´mentaires dans d’autres pays pour attirer l’attention sur des expe´riences de blessures communes et de me´canismes pour re´duire de tels e´ve´nements et ame´liorer le bien-eˆtre des touristes. Mots-cle´s: blessures, tourisme d’aventure, recherche comparative, NouvelleZe´lande, E´cosse. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION As tourism continues to mature as an area of study, its development and progress can be gauged in relation to researchers’ degree of understanding and sophistication. Although it is widely acknowledged that tourism is not a discipline, it exhibits many characteristics of other Stephen Page is Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley Chair in Tourism, Department of Marketing, University of Stirling, (Stirling FK9 4LA, United Kingdom. Email). He has published extensively on tourist health and safety since 1994. Tim Bentley is Senior Lecturer in management and has worked on tourist injuries and specializes in ergonomics as well as safety management. Linda Walker is a PhD student in tourism, examining tourist health and safety in Scotland. 150
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subject areas that developed from both a social science and business and management area, such as marketing. One criticism of marketing research in the 60s and 70s, its being devoid of sophisticated methodologies, has also been levelled at tourism research in numerous monographs (Pearce and Butler 1993) and in reviews of research performance. One recurrent theme embodied in these criticisms is the inability within the area of study to derive generalizations, models of the tourism phenomenon, and studies which provide greater understanding of the processes of development, growth, change, operation, and management of tourism at different spatial scales. Indeed, the globalization of this activity with local and regional resonances and nuances has attracted attention from researchers as one of the overarching elements of growth and development (Hall and Page 2002). However, despite such conceptualizations, primary research efforts which can yield insights into the global operation and effects of tourism are still largely informed by destination-based studies and case studies. While this is not intended as a severe criticism, due to the resource constraints facing researchers in most countries, it does belie a real lack of comparative analysis using primary research to frame research questions which begin to understand how far certain elements of tourism operate on a global basis, and the specific similarities and differences that exist within and between countries. As Pearce lamented, there is a lack of comparative research capable of widening the research agenda to move the subject to a more critical and methodologically sound basis. The comparative approach has yet to emerge as a distinctive, readily recognizable methodology in . . . research . . . [W]hen a comparative approach has been adopted by researchers there has generally been little elaboration on its use, with at best only passing mention of methodological issues or fleeting reference to other work. Studies have not built upon each other (1993:20).
Despite the global nature of tourism, such studies still remain the exception rather than the norm. Therefore, this paper builds upon the recognized need for a greater degree of comparative research by examining the extent of injuries and safety management practices of adventure operators in New Zealand and Scotland. This research builds upon previous studies of this sector to illustrate the extent to which similarities and differences can be discerned and explanations of these observed patterns. What does need to be stressed in any comparative study such as this is that the research is being undertaken from a Western, developed destination perspective and those potential differences may in fact be due to cultural differences in the way the adventure sector is managed and operates, something which previous studies by the authors have observed. This sector of the industry was selected because existing critiques (Swarbrooke, Beard, Leckie and Pomfret 2003) illustrate that this is a growth area globally, a feature reiterated in numerous destination-based studies of adventure tourism. The importance of safety and well-being among adventure activity participants has also become a global issue (see the various contributions
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in Wilks and Page 2003), as ‘‘the well-being of tourists has become one of the primary concerns of the tourism industry’’ (Frangialli 2003:xii). Given the growing literature on tourist health and safety published in this journal and other syntheses of the current literature that update and develop prior studies (Clift and Grabowski 1997; Clift and Page 1996), the area is now clearly demarcated and identifiable to researchers and cognate areas. However, what is poignant for this study is to briefly identify and summarize the principal health and safety issues which impact upon adventure tourists in the two countries and to identify the rationale for selecting these destinations. This is followed by a discussion of the methodology, results, and findings. These form the basis for the comparative analysis and implications for adventure operations.
CONCEPTUALIZING INJURY AND RISK Much of the research activity in adventure tourism has been informed by interdisciplinary research from travel medicine, safety science, and a specific focus upon individual adventure activities, as Bentley, Meyer, Page and Chalmers (2001) illustrated in relation to New Zealand. Table 1 provides a list of what is now an established definition of the scope of activities within adventure tourism used in numerous studies internationally; it illustrates the potential risk which these activities might pose to participants in different land, water-, and air-based environments. Among the commonly reported injuries in this sector were slips, trips, and falls (STF) which were minor in terms of morbidity but large in volume. This is shown in a safety continuum (Figure 1) which shows that the most extreme events (mortality) were at one end of the spectrum and STF were at the other. While it is possible to objectively analyze such data to determine rates of accidents and injuries (which are conceptualized and explained in previous research published in this journal which need not be reiterated here), there is an underlying behavioral and social psychological element: the notion of risk. Much of the conceptual work on risk is derived from studies of outdoor recreation research, as in both Ryan (2003) and Ewert and Jamieson (2003). While this paper does not explicitly focus upon risk from the adventure perspective, it does impact upon the perception of this sector as one characterized by risk dependent upon the activity one engages in. Other considerations include whether the activity is perceived of as ‘‘soft’’ or less risky through to the more ‘‘hard’’ and extreme sports category where the adrenaline rush is high, and perception of challenge and risk is also high. Yet as Bentley and Page (2001) found in New Zealand, injury rates do not necessarily conform to the notion of perceived risk, with these being high among some ‘‘soft’’ activities, such as horse riding. What this may illustrate is that rather than injury being the result of one catastrophic event or initiating factor, adventure injuries commonly have a series of interacting contributory causal factors. This is sometimes called a causal chain of events. Many of the risk factors are
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Table 1. List of Adventure Tourism Activities Aviation-related Ballooning Hang gliding Gliding Heli-bungy jumping Parachuting Paragliding Scenic aerial touring (small aircraft/helicopter) Marine Black-water rafting Caving Charter sailing Diving/snorkelling Jet-biking Jet-boating Para-sailing Rafting River kayaking/sea kayaking Canoeing River surfing/river-sledging Water skiing Wind surfing Fishing Land-based Cross-country skiing Downhill skiing Heli-skiing Ski-touring Trekking/tramping Vehicle safaris Flying-fox operations Bungy jumping Mountain biking/cycling Guided glacier trekking Horse-trekking Hunting Mountain-guiding Rap-jumping/abseiling Rock climbing Source: Page (1997).
conceptualized in safety science in terms of ‘‘human factors’’, which are thought of as latent errors or factors such as activities undertaken or omitted prior to the time and place of injury event (distal factors), while active failures relate to actions taken or omitted at the time and place of the incident (proximal factors). What this implies is that adventure operators have the greatest potential to control risk associated with latent errors. Therefore, their organizational and management structure, operating decisions, maintenance of equipment,
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Figure 1. The Tourist Health–Safety Continuum: Severity and Scale of Incidents
weather and environmental risk assessment, extent of quality management systems, guide-client ratios, and active management of the client experience are all critical. Figure 2 presents a model of the multicausal nature of adventure injury events, highlighting the interacting nature of system factors and the need for adventure operators to recognize the interaction of factors to balance the level of risk, so as not to reduce the level of excitement and enjoyment in relation to a safe level of operation. Herein lies the real challenge for adventure operator: balancing risk, excitement, and a safe client experience without prejudicing the appeal of participating. Study Methodology This study sought to build upon previous research in New Zealand (Bentley, Page and Laird 2000), a countrywide survey of adventure operators to assess their experiences of client injuries. This provided an initial survey instrument which was devised as a self-completion questionnaire, being four pages in length with a series of open and closed questions. The instrument was piloted among a sample of 10 operators in 1998 after preliminary scoping interviews with key operators and NGOs in 1998 to establish the principal issues to examine. This was then mailed out to the entire known population of adventure operators during the winter season. As the adventure sector is characterized by small businesses in New Zealand (Cameron, Massey and Tweed 1997) and overseas (Swarbrooke et al 2003), a postal survey
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Figure 2. Conceptual Model of Risk Factors for Accidents after (Bentley et al 2000)
was deemed more appropriate to reach the target population, than would have been feasible with face to face interviews. To achieve a countrywide survey of a particular sector, postal surveys are a widely employed research tool. In 2003, this survey instrument was once again revisited, with revisions made to the questionnaire structure following discussions with NGOs and the sector in New Zealand and Scotland. Scotland was chosen as a comparative destination since it exhibited many of the inherent environmental qualities characterizing adventure operations in New Zealand: it has a degree of rural remoteness and a relatively scenic backdrop for adventure participants, and its volume of international and domestic tourism is not too dissimilar to permit valid comparisons. Each has a tradition of outdoor activities as a prerequisite for the development of adventure tourism, based upon historical antecedents in Scotland (Durie 2003), and New Zealand (Hall and Kearsley 2001). In each destination, the historical evolution of outdoor adventure activities illustrates a degree of similarity in some areas, particularly mountain climbing (Johnston 1989; Durie 2003), and other similarities exist in skiing, cycling, rambling, and the use of the outdoors initially by the domestic population in the late 19th century and subsequently. In each case, adventure tourism has been developed to promote more commercial realization of the business opportunities afforded by an expansion in the volume of business. In the case of New Zealand, the growth in international tourists undertaking adventure activities expanded rapidly from 1.3 million undertaking such activities
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in 1997 to 1.7 million representing a 6% growth per annum between 1997 and 2002. In Scotland comparable data does not exist, since adventure tourism is not precisely defined, being included in the ‘‘activities’’ sector. According to Scotexchange (2003), hosted by VisitScotland, data suggests that this market currently comprises 2.2 million domestic activity holidays, generating up to US$1.03 billion based on 9.2 million bednights. These data highlight one of the perennial problems of comparative research: establishing similar definitions and means by which participation in activities can be accurately measured and compared. In this case, the data are not strictly comparable, and so only a broad indication can be derived of value and volume. One further element which was important in the selection of Scotland and New Zealand for comparative purposes is in the reliance on small firms particularly the importance of the small, medium and micro scale enterprise or SME (Wanhil 2000) operating adventure businesses (Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise 2000).
Survey Study In New Zealand and Scotland, an extensive review of secondary sources was undertaken, including listings in trade journals and activity magazines, trade associations, regional and national tourist boards, as well as listings in the Yellow Pages to identify the scope of this sector. In New Zealand, some 301 companies were identified after 59 business closures/database duplications were removed. In Scotland, some 389 companies were located, which was modified after recalibrating the database after an initial mail out to derive 351 operators from a known total of 960 ‘‘activity’’ operators who manage adventure through to non-adventure-related holidays/activities (System Three 1998). This provides two sample populations of almost equal size, illustrating one of the similarities between the two destinations in terms of the size and importance of this niche. What also reinforced the comparative element was the use of the same survey instrument in each case, to ensure consistency in the results to aid comparison, which is critical in deriving robust generalizations. The questionnaire comprised three discrete sections: the business, its characteristics, and volume and nature of clients; a much lengthier section on injuries and risk factor perceptions; and one inviting operators to expand or elaborate upon their experiences. In each section, a mixture of open and closed questions was used to complement a deductive approach with opportunities for operators to offer insights on key themes. Each respondent was provided with a reply-paid envelope and the survey was addressed to the business owner or operations manager. The initial mail out in each destination was followed by a reminder letter and additional copy of the survey 3 weeks later. The only inconsistency which emerged was that New Zealand operators were surveyed in their winter season 2003 and in Scotland just prior to the main summer season. However, this was unavoidable, given the desire to capture
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data simultaneously in each destination for reasons of consistency and completeness. In each case, the entire known population of operators was surveyed to seek a representative sample. In New Zealand, a total of 96 operators responded to the survey, equating to a 31.9% response rate. In Scotland, 132 responded which was a response rate of 37.6%. This is, by international standards for postal surveys of small businesses, a reasonable outcome given that response rates for this type of survey rarely exceed 40%. The low response rate in the former may be attributed to the timing of the survey in the winter period; but it is more likely to be associated with the extremely sensitive nature of this type of study, seeking data on client injury rates, a feature observed in the initial scoping exercise in 1998 and again in 2003.
The Management and Operation of Businesses Previous research on small businesses (Shaw and Williams 1990) has noted the noneconomic motivations associated with the establishment and running of such ventures. Goffee and Scase’s (1983) model of the structure and characteristics of small business owners identified what Shaw and Williams described as ranging from ‘‘the highly marginalized, self-employed category through to owner–director companies (1990:134)’’. In the Scottish sample, the pluarity of businesses were owned by individuals or jointly owned (44.7%) compared to 41% in New Zealand. In Scotland, the sample displayed a greater diversity in the proportions owned as charity/voluntary associations (7%), by the local authority, often as activity centers (1.5%), as part of a landed estate (l%), and by the national sports organisation––SportScotland (1.5%). This highlights one critical difference between Scotland and New Zealand. In the former, the public sector not only operates some businesses, but has also played a lead role in pump-priming and developing adventure clusters through economic development agencies such as Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. In terms of the length of time in business, a Scottish study by System Three (1998), which examined 82 businesses in the activity holiday sector, found 24% had been in business for 1–5 years. The data reported here was broadly consistent with that finding, with a further 14% having been in business for 11–15 years and 11% having operated for 16–20 years. As a result, in Scotland 78% had been in operation for 1–20 years, with a small proportion having operated for over 40 years. In New Zealand, a less established pattern of operation existed, confirming findings from previous studies, where 8% had been in business for 2 years or less; 21% for 5 years or less, and 52% for 10 years or less. In New Zealand and Scotland, the employment characteristics of these businesses is consistent with the studies of the SME sector which appear to employ less than five full-time staff and similar numbers of part time staff. In Scotland, the average number of full-time employees was 4.61 and 5.13 part-time. In New Zealand, the numbers were lower at 2 employees, and only 5–10 employees in 27% of businesses. In fact,
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the Scottish System Three (1998) study found 17% of businesses employed no one else, highlighting the SME characteristics of this sector of the industry.
The Principal Locations of Operators In terms of the development of adventure tourism, earlier research indicated that in New Zealand many of these businesses were located in, or were developing operations in, remote rural areas and adjacent to the circuits for international and domestic tourists. In New Zealand the sample represented the total population of operators in each region, plus or minus 5%. In Scotland, a more precise and targeted outcome emerged, with the sample representing the total known population plus or minus 3% in most cases. These figures also confirm the known major adventure centers in New Zealand at Queenstown and Wanaka, in and around Auckland, Rotorua, Taupo, Nelson, and the West Coast, which also have good air access. In Scotland, the pattern reflects three broad geographical groupings by Tourist Board region: First, in Central Scotland, the Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and Trossachs area which is adjacent to the main gateways of Glasgow and Edinburgh and major sources of domestic tourists, also containing over 50% of Scotland’s population. It also includes the first National Park. Second, the Perthshire region, to the north, with a series of lochs and glens which are accessible but deemed remoter adventure activity sites. Lastly, the Highlands of Scotland with its historical associations with mountain climbing and outdoor pursuits, focused on Aviemore (skiing), Fort William and the Lochaber district (climbing) and a number of smaller clusters on islands. While New Zealand has led the world in the place-promotion of adventure destinations in recent years (Cloke and Perkins 2002) with Queenstown acknowledged as the country’s adventure capital, Scotland is only beginning to address this dimension of place-marketing. For example, in Lochaber, plans by the local company (Lochaber Enterprise) are for the Fort William/Ben Nevis area to develop as Scotland’s outdoor activity capital while Perthshire is building a profile as the adventure capital. What is clear from these place-promotion activities is that the adventure product has powerful place and image-led associations which can underpin plans for development, based on the SME sector, which are tied to locality and place. Some of these associations are linked to specific activities.
Activities Provided by Operators In the survey, the activities undertaken by operators spanned 27 activity groups, ranging from soft to hard, active to passive, and high and low in risk. In New Zealand, the most commonly reported activities provided were scenic flights (15%), kayaking (14%), mountain guiding (6%), white-water rafting (6%), and horse-riding (6%). In Scotland,
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land-based activities dominated (54.69%), followed by water-borne (25%), air-based (1.56%), or those offering a mixed portfolio of activities across these categories (11.72%). The most common ones cited were horse riding (15.15%), boat-based trips (9.85%), multi-activity centres (8.33%), canoeing/rafting (6%), land-based ecotours (5.3%), outbound educational trips (5.3%), mountaineering (6%), snowsports (4%), and off-road driving/quadbiking (4.55%), with 25 categories of activities listed. This represents a wide range of activity sectors and a broad market appeal. What is noticeably absent from the sample are cycle hire companies, since less than 1% of the survey offered mountain bike hire, yet this has been a significant growth business within the United Kingdom in recent years. One of the common problems encountered by research in this area of small business and niche operations is a lack of consumer data on the volume of local day-trip/domestic/overseas activity and the contribution adventure tourism makes to their individual businesses. In New Zealand, operators reported 643,167 clients in the period of January– December 2002 and a mean number of clients of 7,479 ranging from 20 to 128,000 a year. In Scotland, the sample reported 599,088 clients with a mean of 5,301 clients a year, ranging from 50 to 200,000 per annum. These figures illustrate the scale and volume of business which is modest for many businesses, but high yield and value-added with personal involvement and interaction. These results also indicate, if compared with estimates of the volume of business in this sector, that these operations represent a significant proportion of the adventure sector. In terms of client mix, the situation in New Zealand was 51% male, 49% female with 14% of the market being children less than 16 years of age. In Scotland, 52% of clients were male, 48% female, with 10–20% children, which is not unexpected given the number of activity centers and tradition of outward bound activities. As market intelligence seems to suggest, adventure participants tend to be 25–40 years of age (Page 2003). What was notably different between Scotland and New Zealand was the principal market for such activities. In the former, the volume of clients was estimated by operators as 14% overseas (83,872), 62% domestic (371,434), with 24% day-trips/leisure (143,781), while in latter the market was estimated to be 53% overseas (340,878), 30% domestic (192,950), with 17% leisure/day trip traffic (109,338). This establishes two different profiles reflecting both the product appeal in each case and the different marketing strategies promoted by the national tourism organization. In New Zealand, adventure, excitement, and the outdoors have been consistently promoted since the 90s, with local and regional promotion to support and build upon this (Cloke and Perkins 2002). In contrast, the other destination has reimaged and re-engineered its approach to destination marketing after several reviews which led to the renaming of the Scottish Tourist Board to VisitScotland (Kerr 2003). In the case of the latter organization, the extreme sports portfolio and adventure have begun to be actively promoted in printed and online media and supported at the local level by the work of area tourist offices such as Perthshire Tourist Board with its adventure portfolio and operator cluster. New Zealand and Scotland
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have distinctly different markets, with the former viewing adventure tourism as a well developed international tourist product; the New Zealand International Visitor Survey profiles visits in this sector, particularly the under 3–5 year-old market who backpack and travel by independent means. In contrast, the latter is focused on the less lucrative domestic and day-trip/leisure traffic; this is far more price-sensitive and reliant upon established forms of travel and accommodation, yet there is growing evidence of niche developments among the overseas markets visiting and using independent means of travel or small operators offering backpacking style experiences and transport around the destination. From a safety management perspective, however, the New Zealand industry has a far greater potential for language and cultural barriers in the management of client safety due to the overseas markets it targets, particularly Asia. Operators were asked to rank a list of factors they perceived as threats that impacted upon safety in terms of client factors, environment factors, task and equipment factors, organization, and management. Based on analysis of the results, both sets of respondents ranked environmental factors high, as a key threat to client safety, combined with unfamiliar environments which also feature prominently in the ‘‘excitement’’ factor for such activities. In Scotland, 60% of the perceived threats were STF; in New Zealand they accounted for 49% with ankle injuries being 33% of these as the most commonly noted injury risks. Other frequently reported hazards included striking an object (30%), falls from a height (26%), and drowning or non-fatal submersion (18%). In contrast, exposure to water and risk of drowning accounted for 4.8% of responses in Scotland. Client factors were also ranked highly by operators, with those ignoring instructions/horseplay/taking shortcuts noted as major problem areas. When asked to elaborate on these issues in an open-ended question regarding injury risks, common responses in each destination included unpredictable weather/hazards, together with clients not listening to safety briefings, and a tendency for clients to overestimate their own abilities.
Injury Types and Characteristics As already noted, both New Zealand and Scotland reported a predominance of STF, focused on stepping on/off vessels and vehicles generating foot/ankle injuries. Other key problems included striking an object, falls from a height, drowning or near fatal submersion in water. More specifically, operators were asked to record the number of injuries from their accident books over the last year. In the former, 87 businesses responded and 125 in the latter. In New Zealand, 1,095 injury incidents were recorded compared to 1,030 in Scotland. In New Zealand, there were only 148 (16%) serious harm incidents requiring hospitalization, an average of 1.6 per operator. In Scotland, 116 (11%) such incidents occurred, the majority with land-based activities. Comparative figures of businesses reporting no injuries were 44% and
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51%, respectively. In other words, a substantial proportion of businesses reported injuries with 37% stating 1–5 injuries in New Zealand and 24.2% in Scotland. The client injury incidence rate per million participation hours varied by activity sector. In New Zealand, snow sports remain the main category of injuries (Hudson 2000), since other sectors have low reporting levels. In Scotland, the higher client injury rates highlight snow sports as an equally important category for injuries, with horse riding and multi-activity centres also prominent, since these three activities accounted for 81% of all client injuries. They also have the highest participant risk based on duration of exposure, with snow sports in Scotland accounting for 53% of all serious harm injuries (53.4 incidents per operator). Similar concerns also emerge in the New Zealand data. In its high profile sector, bungee jumping recorded 62 injuries, although only 3 led to serious harm to a client. This represents an increase from the injury rates reported by Bentley et al (2000), with a rate of 117 injury incidence rate per million participation hours compared to 477 in the present study. In contrast to Scotland, the educational and personal development activity providers (who correspond to pursuits marketed by many multi-activity centers) had low client injury rates, suggesting that this sector has a low level of reporting in New Zealand. Its multi-activity operators highlight a common problem of high levels of injury risk to clients due to the time exposure over multiple activities. Here the problem of fatigue, unfamiliar tasks, and different environments can increase the risk. In both destinations, the ownership structure of the business was an important variable, since jointly owned enterprises had relatively low levels of reported injuries (at around 20%). This may reflect better accident recording by these businesses, improved risk awareness, and smaller numbers of clients participating in their establishments. The youngest businesses in both cases reported low levels of injuries, since many recently established businesses in this sector were found to have better safety management.
Safety Management and Barriers to Improvement Operators were asked to state what safety systems or measures they had in place to reduce risk injury to clients. In New Zealand, the situation is less straightforward, since minor injuries and accidents are covered by the Accident Compensation Corporation Scheme (Page and Meyer 1996; Callander and Page 2003). Yet this does not negate the legal requirement to provide a safe environment for employees and the need to work to standards set by licensing bodies in each case-study destination. In New Zealand, 30 businesses reported a safe operating plan, clear operational guidelines or regulatory codes of practice as the principal safety measures taken. Only 16 businesses reported a risk assessment procedure, while 34 used staff training and selection as a preventive measure, with 25 giving safety training or talks prior to or during activities, and 20 undertook regular equipment checks.
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In Scotland, 36 businesses had a risk assessment procedure, reflecting the much higher importance attached to operating and regulatory procedures in EU countries but particularly in the United Kingdom following numerous high profile law suits against school teachers following catastrophic events during outward bound courses. Other notable points were codes of practice, regular equipment checks, provision of safety information and guidance, as well as close supervision of clients due to a much more litigious environment in relation to health and safety. External bodies such as the Adventure Activity Licensing Authority and other regulatory bodies were cited as imposing stringent conditions related to licensing, particularly as it was imperative to have risk assessment procedures for all forms of activity provision where approval was sought. Businesses’ feedback on continuous safety improvements were sought, particularly in terms of barriers they perceived. The cost of compliance in implementing safety measures were cited in New Zealand and Scotland as barriers, but this also had to be counterbalanced with maintaining a degree of realism in the natural environment in relation to perceived risk and excitement. While operators pointed to staff competence and experience as important, owners reported that finding time to remain current on such issues was a problem due to the wide range of tasks facing SMEs. In Scotland, with its greater dependence upon day trippers and domestic tourists as clients, operators pointed to participants who often over estimated their own ability, particularly with horse riding. The most important summary of this situation by one operator was that: A key issue, today is the perception on the part of the clients’ or clients’ guardians that risk can be guaranteed. While risks can be minimized, and managed, and safety is pre-eminently important, adventurous activities have inherent risks.
If clients do not heed safety warnings, or horseplay occurs in individual or group situations, it can trigger accident events. All operators acknowledged the dangers posed by changeable and unpredictable weather, but clients’ lack of preparation or awareness of the level of challenge posed by activities in both cases was a major barrier to safety. Research Implications This study has shown that in two totally independent destinations, the adventure sector is dominated by the SMEs, a feature consistent with many of the previous studies. This has many of the hallmark features of the SME businesses examined in the large literature, a useful synthesis which is contained in Thomas (2004). The literature is helpful as a background to understanding the operating context which the SME sector faces at a global level. The findings of this comparative study of adventure operators indicate that few serious harm incidents occur, which is reassuring in the organized (operator-led) sector. This is in contrast to the informal recreation––unguided tramping, walking and mountain climbing (Beedie and Hudson 2003)––which has a
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history of accident and injury in New Zealand (Johnston 1989) and Scotland (Sharp 2001). Although in each case a considerable number of minor injuries were reported by operators, it is reassuring to find a large proportion of operators reporting no injuries. Ironically, from a safety management perspective, these findings are unfortunate as minor injuries and near-miss events provide important organizational learning opportunities for operators seeking to improve their safety systems. Indeed a number of operators at both destinations reported relatively high serious to minor injury count ratios, suggesting poor incident reporting systems rather than good client safety records. In each case, land-based operators provided the highest injury counts, especially in the snow sport and horse riding sector, and in Scotland, within the multi-activity sector. This reflects the risk exposure factors. But in terms of the actual injury types, STF and under foot injuries dominate the minor injury category. Bentley and Haslam (1998) explain the range of risk factors which contribute to STF risk, together with the environmental factors (such as slippery underfoot), weather contingent situations (wet/frozen), and task-related factors (carrying kayaks). Risk assessment can help identify and address some of these problem scenarios, this is now becoming a global process which many businesses have to carry out when dealing with tourists. At a more generic level, Figure 2 provides a more holistic assessment of the interactions which may contribute to accidents and incidents and illustrates how these factors are inter-related. One key development in each destination is the use of codes of practice to help diagnose the accident-related factors that operators need to focus on, particularly best practice to reduce injuries. This has gained momentum in New Zealand due to industry concerns related to media hyping of injuries and fatalities, which lead to short-term drops in the bookings from lucrative overseas markets, a feature explained by Hall (2002) in terms of the issue-attention cycle. It is also related to developing the sector’s potential (through continuous improvements) so that short-term events do not damage the long-term message that adventure activities are relatively safe in relation to those risk factors that increase the thrill and excitement participants seek. To do this, requires balancing client injury risk against injury causation consistently to provide a uniformly adopted commitment to safety. This study, in part, benchmarks the experiences in two independent destinations and raises concerns about the lack of consensus among operators concerning formal risk assessment as a mandatory process that they must all endorse. Reliance on client briefings to address this weakness is totally unacceptable, particularly in stressful conditions (such as a raft turnover). Greater supervision and client-supervisor ratios are critical. Where English is not the first language (as among overseas tourists), client briefings need to be more complex, using printed media in their language. The use of seasonal and part-time labor is also a cause for concern in this area, given the small and flexible nature of these businesses. Regulatory bodies and compliance costs are a burden for small operators; but in New Zealand recent changes to the Occupational Health and
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Safety legislation in 2002 has addressed this concern across land, air, and marine environments. Above all, safety must be part of the business culture, rather than a separate business or operational function in what is by far the most high-risk sector of the tourism industry. To a certain degree, the insurance industry has now accepted the underlying injury-safety link, raising premiums in many countries after September 11, and placed the onus on operators to illustrate low injury rates through evidence-based assessment. Yet these issues have to be set in context. Adventure is a sector experiencing growth at a global level, with increasing participation, making minor injury and risk a key element of the adventure-participating experience. It is not desirable to sanitize these experiences through global harmonization in the same way that hotel chains have done for the accommodation regardless of location. Locations, products, and experiences need to be different, stimulating, and challenging to compete and add to the experience of a place or destination. Clients need to be advised of likely risks, injuries, and how to react in situations during their activity experience, so operators must be responsible and transparent.
CONCLUSION This study has highlighted a considerable similarity in many of the safety issues, injury rates, and factors which operators identified as contributing to injuries in New Zealand and Scotland. It starts to develop a greater understanding of this sector using a consistently applied methodology. While a certain number of injury categories exhibit place-specific causes, and are related to the markets each sector targets, this whole problem is probably explained as a global issue with a local dimension. Being able to derive a series of similar experiences that transcend one destination and can be replicated in two different parts of the world is a start to developing a greater understanding of the dynamics and implications of these sectors developing in destinations and contributing to tourist well-being. The use of a comparative research instrument that has equivalence in concept and measurement, derived from previous scoping research and detailed testing of the research instrument and approach in one of the localities, highlights the value of deriving cross-comparisons, even though cultural differences may explain some of the disparity in injury experience. Although the outcome of the study is not a new technique or model (rather the use of an existing model), it does highlight the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach combining research with safety science, travel medicine, and a spatially specific focus: two destinations with a degree of similarity in their adventure product offering. The study also highlights the significance of replicating such an approach in a number of other countries to more fully understand whether there are distinct injury experiences which affect the activities undertaken by adventure tourists. As Pearce (1993) argued, there is a need to move beyond simple description in research, and to help develop a broader understanding of the dynamics of tourism in different
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geographical contexts, and this paper begins this debate in relation to adventure tourism injuries. REFERENCES Beedie, P., and S. Hudson 2003 Emergence of Mountain-based Adventure Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 30:625–643. Bentley, T., and R. Haslam 1998 Slip, Trip and Fall Accidents Occurring During the Delivery of Mail. Ergonomics 41:1859–1872. Bentley, T., and S. Page 2001 Scoping the Extent of Accidents in Adventure Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 28:705–726. Bentley, T., D. Meyer, S. Page, and D. Chalmers 2001 Recreational Tourism Injuries among Visitors to New Zealand: An Exploratory Analysis Using Hospital Discharge Data. Tourism Management 22:373–381. Bentley, T., S. Page, and I. Laird 2000 Safety in New Zealand’s Adventure Tourism Industry: The Client Accident Experience of Adventure Tourism Operators in New Zealand. Journal of Travel Medicine 7:239–245. Callander, M., and S. Page 2003 Managing Risk in Adventure Tourism Operations: A Review of the Legal Case History and Potential for Litigation. Tourism Management 24:13–24. Cameron, A., C. Massey, and D. Tweed 1997 New Zealand Small Business: A Review. Chartered Accountants Journal of New Zealand 76:4–12. Clift, S. and P. Grabowski, eds. 1997 Tourism and Health. London: Pinter. Clift, S. and S. Page, eds. 1996 Health and the International Tourist. London: Routledge. Cloke, P., and H. Perkins 2002 Commodification and adventure in New Zealand Tourism. Current Issues in Tourism 5:521–549. Durie, A. 2003 Scotland for the Holidays: A History of Tourism in Scotland, 1780–1939. Edinburgh: Tuckwell Press. Ewert, A., and L. Jamieson 2003 Current Status and Future Directions in the Adventure Tourism Industry. In Managing Tourist Health and Safety in the New Millennium, J. Wilks and S. Page, eds., pp. 67–84. Oxford: Pergamon. Frangialli, F. 2003 Foreword. In Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry, D. Glaesser, ed., pp. xi–xii. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Goffee, R., and R. Scase 1983 Entrepreneurship and the Service Sector: Towards a Conceptual Clarification. Service Industries Journal 3:146–160. Hall, C. 2002 Travel Safety, Terrorism and the Media: The Significance of the IssueAttention Cycle. Current Issues in Tourism 5:458–466. Hall, C. and G. Kearsely, eds. 2001 Tourism in New Zealand: An Introduction. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Hall, C., and S. Page 2002 The Geography of Tourism and Recreation (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Hudson, S. 2000 Snow Business. London: Continuum.
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Johnston, M. 1989 Accidents in Mountain Recreation: The Experiences of International and Domestic Visitors in New Zealand. GeoJournal 19:323–328. Kerr, W. 2003 Tourism in Scotland. Oxford: Pergamon. Page, S. 1997 The Cost of Accidents in the New Zealand Adventure Tourism Industry. Report for Tourism Policy Group, Ministry of Commerce, Wellington. 2003 The Market for Adventure in Pershire Perth: Perthshire Tourist Board. Page, S., and D. Meyer 1996 Tourist Accidents: An Exploratory Analysis. Annals of Tourism Research 23:666–690. Pearce, D. 1993 Comparative Studies in Tourism Research. In Tourism Research: Critiques and Challenges, D. Pearce and R. Butler, eds., pp. 20–35. London: Routledge. Pearce, D. and R. Butler, eds. 1993 Tourism Research: Critiques and Challenges. London: Routledge. Ryan, C. 2003 Risk Acceptance in Adventure Tourism: Paradox and Content. In Managing Tourist Health and Safety in the New Millennium, J. Wilks and S. Page, eds., pp. 55–66. Oxford: Pergamon. Scotexchange 2003 Scotexchange http://www.scotexchange.com (accessed December). Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise 2000 Active Horizons: A Study of Scotland’s International Competitiveness in the Activity Tourism Market. Glasgow: Scottish Tourism Research Unit, University of Strathclyde. Sharp, B. 2001 Strategies for Improving Mountain Safety: Analysis of Scottish Mountain Incidents 1996–1999. Glasgow: University of Strathclyde. Shaw, G., and A. Williams 1990 Tourism, Economic Development and the Role of Entrepreneurial Activity. In Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management (Vol. 2), C. Cooper, ed., pp. 67–81. Chichester: Wiley. Swarbrooke, J., C. Beard, S. Leckie, and G. Pomfret 2003 Adventure Tourism: The New Frontier. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. System Three 1998 Activity Holidays in Scotland: A Survey of Operators’ Views and Opinion. Edinburgh: System Three. Thomas, R., ed. 2004 Small Firms in Tourism. Oxford: Pergamon. Wanhill, S. 2000 Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises. Annals of Tourism Research 27:132–147. Wilks, J. and S. Page, eds. 2003 Managing Tourist Health and Safety in the New Millennium. Oxford: Pergamon.
Submitted 15 February 2004. Resubmitted 14 May 2004. Accepted 24 May 2004. Final version 8 June 2004. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor: Julio R. Aramberri
Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 150–166, 2005 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 0160-7383/$30.00
doi:10.1016/j.annals.2004.06.006
TOURIST SAFETY IN NEW ZEALAND AND SCOTLAND Stephen J. Page University of Stirling, UK Tim Bentley Massey University, New Zealand Linda Walker University of Stirling, UK Abstract: This paper develops a comparative research methodology to examine the safety experiences of adventure operators in two destinations: New Zealand and Scotland. The paper argues that a comparative methodology assists in understanding the process of development and change in tourism at different geographical scales. The probability of adventure tourists in each destination experiencing injuries can be deduced from this survey data based on a postal questionnaire used in New Zealand and Scotland. The similarities and differences in the experiences establish the basis for further research in other countries to highlight common injury experiences and mechanisms to reduce such events, and to enhance tourist well-being. Keywords: injuries, adventure tourism, comparative research, New Zealand, Scotland. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. R esume´: La se´curite´ touristique en Nouvelle-Ze´lande et en E´cosse. Cet article de´veloppe une me´thodologie de recherche comparative pour examiner les expe´riences de la se´curite´ des voyagistes d’aventures a` deux destinations: la Nouvelle-Ze´lande et 1’E´cosse. L’article soutient qu’une me´thodologie comparative aide a` comprendre le processus de de´veloppement et de changement dans le tourisme a` diffe´rentes e´chelles ge´ographiques. Le risque des touristes d’aventures a` chaque destination de subir un accident peut eˆtre de´duit des donne´es de cette enqueˆte, qui a e´te´ base´e sur un sondage par la poste en Nouvelle-Ze´lande et en E´cosse. Les ressemblances et les diffe´rences entre les expe´riences e´tablissent la base de recherches comple´mentaires dans d’autres pays pour attirer l’attention sur des expe´riences de blessures communes et de me´canismes pour re´duire de tels e´ve´nements et ame´liorer le bien-eˆtre des touristes. Mots-cle´s: blessures, tourisme d’aventure, recherche comparative, NouvelleZe´lande, E´cosse. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION As tourism continues to mature as an area of study, its development and progress can be gauged in relation to researchers’ degree of understanding and sophistication. Although it is widely acknowledged that tourism is not a discipline, it exhibits many characteristics of other Stephen Page is Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley Chair in Tourism, Department of Marketing, University of Stirling, (Stirling FK9 4LA, United Kingdom. Email
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subject areas that developed from both a social science and business and management area, such as marketing. One criticism of marketing research in the 60s and 70s, its being devoid of sophisticated methodologies, has also been levelled at tourism research in numerous monographs (Pearce and Butler 1993) and in reviews of research performance. One recurrent theme embodied in these criticisms is the inability within the area of study to derive generalizations, models of the tourism phenomenon, and studies which provide greater understanding of the processes of development, growth, change, operation, and management of tourism at different spatial scales. Indeed, the globalization of this activity with local and regional resonances and nuances has attracted attention from researchers as one of the overarching elements of growth and development (Hall and Page 2002). However, despite such conceptualizations, primary research efforts which can yield insights into the global operation and effects of tourism are still largely informed by destination-based studies and case studies. While this is not intended as a severe criticism, due to the resource constraints facing researchers in most countries, it does belie a real lack of comparative analysis using primary research to frame research questions which begin to understand how far certain elements of tourism operate on a global basis, and the specific similarities and differences that exist within and between countries. As Pearce lamented, there is a lack of comparative research capable of widening the research agenda to move the subject to a more critical and methodologically sound basis. The comparative approach has yet to emerge as a distinctive, readily recognizable methodology in . . . research . . . [W]hen a comparative approach has been adopted by researchers there has generally been little elaboration on its use, with at best only passing mention of methodological issues or fleeting reference to other work. Studies have not built upon each other (1993:20).
Despite the global nature of tourism, such studies still remain the exception rather than the norm. Therefore, this paper builds upon the recognized need for a greater degree of comparative research by examining the extent of injuries and safety management practices of adventure operators in New Zealand and Scotland. This research builds upon previous studies of this sector to illustrate the extent to which similarities and differences can be discerned and explanations of these observed patterns. What does need to be stressed in any comparative study such as this is that the research is being undertaken from a Western, developed destination perspective and those potential differences may in fact be due to cultural differences in the way the adventure sector is managed and operates, something which previous studies by the authors have observed. This sector of the industry was selected because existing critiques (Swarbrooke, Beard, Leckie and Pomfret 2003) illustrate that this is a growth area globally, a feature reiterated in numerous destination-based studies of adventure tourism. The importance of safety and well-being among adventure activity participants has also become a global issue (see the various contributions
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in Wilks and Page 2003), as ‘‘the well-being of tourists has become one of the primary concerns of the tourism industry’’ (Frangialli 2003:xii). Given the growing literature on tourist health and safety published in this journal and other syntheses of the current literature that update and develop prior studies (Clift and Grabowski 1997; Clift and Page 1996), the area is now clearly demarcated and identifiable to researchers and cognate areas. However, what is poignant for this study is to briefly identify and summarize the principal health and safety issues which impact upon adventure tourists in the two countries and to identify the rationale for selecting these destinations. This is followed by a discussion of the methodology, results, and findings. These form the basis for the comparative analysis and implications for adventure operations.
CONCEPTUALIZING INJURY AND RISK Much of the research activity in adventure tourism has been informed by interdisciplinary research from travel medicine, safety science, and a specific focus upon individual adventure activities, as Bentley, Meyer, Page and Chalmers (2001) illustrated in relation to New Zealand. Table 1 provides a list of what is now an established definition of the scope of activities within adventure tourism used in numerous studies internationally; it illustrates the potential risk which these activities might pose to participants in different land, water-, and air-based environments. Among the commonly reported injuries in this sector were slips, trips, and falls (STF) which were minor in terms of morbidity but large in volume. This is shown in a safety continuum (Figure 1) which shows that the most extreme events (mortality) were at one end of the spectrum and STF were at the other. While it is possible to objectively analyze such data to determine rates of accidents and injuries (which are conceptualized and explained in previous research published in this journal which need not be reiterated here), there is an underlying behavioral and social psychological element: the notion of risk. Much of the conceptual work on risk is derived from studies of outdoor recreation research, as in both Ryan (2003) and Ewert and Jamieson (2003). While this paper does not explicitly focus upon risk from the adventure perspective, it does impact upon the perception of this sector as one characterized by risk dependent upon the activity one engages in. Other considerations include whether the activity is perceived of as ‘‘soft’’ or less risky through to the more ‘‘hard’’ and extreme sports category where the adrenaline rush is high, and perception of challenge and risk is also high. Yet as Bentley and Page (2001) found in New Zealand, injury rates do not necessarily conform to the notion of perceived risk, with these being high among some ‘‘soft’’ activities, such as horse riding. What this may illustrate is that rather than injury being the result of one catastrophic event or initiating factor, adventure injuries commonly have a series of interacting contributory causal factors. This is sometimes called a causal chain of events. Many of the risk factors are
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Table 1. List of Adventure Tourism Activities Aviation-related Ballooning Hang gliding Gliding Heli-bungy jumping Parachuting Paragliding Scenic aerial touring (small aircraft/helicopter) Marine Black-water rafting Caving Charter sailing Diving/snorkelling Jet-biking Jet-boating Para-sailing Rafting River kayaking/sea kayaking Canoeing River surfing/river-sledging Water skiing Wind surfing Fishing Land-based Cross-country skiing Downhill skiing Heli-skiing Ski-touring Trekking/tramping Vehicle safaris Flying-fox operations Bungy jumping Mountain biking/cycling Guided glacier trekking Horse-trekking Hunting Mountain-guiding Rap-jumping/abseiling Rock climbing Source: Page (1997).
conceptualized in safety science in terms of ‘‘human factors’’, which are thought of as latent errors or factors such as activities undertaken or omitted prior to the time and place of injury event (distal factors), while active failures relate to actions taken or omitted at the time and place of the incident (proximal factors). What this implies is that adventure operators have the greatest potential to control risk associated with latent errors. Therefore, their organizational and management structure, operating decisions, maintenance of equipment,
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Figure 1. The Tourist Health–Safety Continuum: Severity and Scale of Incidents
weather and environmental risk assessment, extent of quality management systems, guide-client ratios, and active management of the client experience are all critical. Figure 2 presents a model of the multicausal nature of adventure injury events, highlighting the interacting nature of system factors and the need for adventure operators to recognize the interaction of factors to balance the level of risk, so as not to reduce the level of excitement and enjoyment in relation to a safe level of operation. Herein lies the real challenge for adventure operator: balancing risk, excitement, and a safe client experience without prejudicing the appeal of participating. Study Methodology This study sought to build upon previous research in New Zealand (Bentley, Page and Laird 2000), a countrywide survey of adventure operators to assess their experiences of client injuries. This provided an initial survey instrument which was devised as a self-completion questionnaire, being four pages in length with a series of open and closed questions. The instrument was piloted among a sample of 10 operators in 1998 after preliminary scoping interviews with key operators and NGOs in 1998 to establish the principal issues to examine. This was then mailed out to the entire known population of adventure operators during the winter season. As the adventure sector is characterized by small businesses in New Zealand (Cameron, Massey and Tweed 1997) and overseas (Swarbrooke et al 2003), a postal survey
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Figure 2. Conceptual Model of Risk Factors for Accidents after (Bentley et al 2000)
was deemed more appropriate to reach the target population, than would have been feasible with face to face interviews. To achieve a countrywide survey of a particular sector, postal surveys are a widely employed research tool. In 2003, this survey instrument was once again revisited, with revisions made to the questionnaire structure following discussions with NGOs and the sector in New Zealand and Scotland. Scotland was chosen as a comparative destination since it exhibited many of the inherent environmental qualities characterizing adventure operations in New Zealand: it has a degree of rural remoteness and a relatively scenic backdrop for adventure participants, and its volume of international and domestic tourism is not too dissimilar to permit valid comparisons. Each has a tradition of outdoor activities as a prerequisite for the development of adventure tourism, based upon historical antecedents in Scotland (Durie 2003), and New Zealand (Hall and Kearsley 2001). In each destination, the historical evolution of outdoor adventure activities illustrates a degree of similarity in some areas, particularly mountain climbing (Johnston 1989; Durie 2003), and other similarities exist in skiing, cycling, rambling, and the use of the outdoors initially by the domestic population in the late 19th century and subsequently. In each case, adventure tourism has been developed to promote more commercial realization of the business opportunities afforded by an expansion in the volume of business. In the case of New Zealand, the growth in international tourists undertaking adventure activities expanded rapidly from 1.3 million undertaking such activities
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in 1997 to 1.7 million representing a 6% growth per annum between 1997 and 2002. In Scotland comparable data does not exist, since adventure tourism is not precisely defined, being included in the ‘‘activities’’ sector. According to Scotexchange (2003), hosted by VisitScotland, data suggests that this market currently comprises 2.2 million domestic activity holidays, generating up to US$1.03 billion based on 9.2 million bednights. These data highlight one of the perennial problems of comparative research: establishing similar definitions and means by which participation in activities can be accurately measured and compared. In this case, the data are not strictly comparable, and so only a broad indication can be derived of value and volume. One further element which was important in the selection of Scotland and New Zealand for comparative purposes is in the reliance on small firms particularly the importance of the small, medium and micro scale enterprise or SME (Wanhil 2000) operating adventure businesses (Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise 2000).
Survey Study In New Zealand and Scotland, an extensive review of secondary sources was undertaken, including listings in trade journals and activity magazines, trade associations, regional and national tourist boards, as well as listings in the Yellow Pages to identify the scope of this sector. In New Zealand, some 301 companies were identified after 59 business closures/database duplications were removed. In Scotland, some 389 companies were located, which was modified after recalibrating the database after an initial mail out to derive 351 operators from a known total of 960 ‘‘activity’’ operators who manage adventure through to non-adventure-related holidays/activities (System Three 1998). This provides two sample populations of almost equal size, illustrating one of the similarities between the two destinations in terms of the size and importance of this niche. What also reinforced the comparative element was the use of the same survey instrument in each case, to ensure consistency in the results to aid comparison, which is critical in deriving robust generalizations. The questionnaire comprised three discrete sections: the business, its characteristics, and volume and nature of clients; a much lengthier section on injuries and risk factor perceptions; and one inviting operators to expand or elaborate upon their experiences. In each section, a mixture of open and closed questions was used to complement a deductive approach with opportunities for operators to offer insights on key themes. Each respondent was provided with a reply-paid envelope and the survey was addressed to the business owner or operations manager. The initial mail out in each destination was followed by a reminder letter and additional copy of the survey 3 weeks later. The only inconsistency which emerged was that New Zealand operators were surveyed in their winter season 2003 and in Scotland just prior to the main summer season. However, this was unavoidable, given the desire to capture
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data simultaneously in each destination for reasons of consistency and completeness. In each case, the entire known population of operators was surveyed to seek a representative sample. In New Zealand, a total of 96 operators responded to the survey, equating to a 31.9% response rate. In Scotland, 132 responded which was a response rate of 37.6%. This is, by international standards for postal surveys of small businesses, a reasonable outcome given that response rates for this type of survey rarely exceed 40%. The low response rate in the former may be attributed to the timing of the survey in the winter period; but it is more likely to be associated with the extremely sensitive nature of this type of study, seeking data on client injury rates, a feature observed in the initial scoping exercise in 1998 and again in 2003.
The Management and Operation of Businesses Previous research on small businesses (Shaw and Williams 1990) has noted the noneconomic motivations associated with the establishment and running of such ventures. Goffee and Scase’s (1983) model of the structure and characteristics of small business owners identified what Shaw and Williams described as ranging from ‘‘the highly marginalized, self-employed category through to owner–director companies (1990:134)’’. In the Scottish sample, the pluarity of businesses were owned by individuals or jointly owned (44.7%) compared to 41% in New Zealand. In Scotland, the sample displayed a greater diversity in the proportions owned as charity/voluntary associations (7%), by the local authority, often as activity centers (1.5%), as part of a landed estate (l%), and by the national sports organisation––SportScotland (1.5%). This highlights one critical difference between Scotland and New Zealand. In the former, the public sector not only operates some businesses, but has also played a lead role in pump-priming and developing adventure clusters through economic development agencies such as Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. In terms of the length of time in business, a Scottish study by System Three (1998), which examined 82 businesses in the activity holiday sector, found 24% had been in business for 1–5 years. The data reported here was broadly consistent with that finding, with a further 14% having been in business for 11–15 years and 11% having operated for 16–20 years. As a result, in Scotland 78% had been in operation for 1–20 years, with a small proportion having operated for over 40 years. In New Zealand, a less established pattern of operation existed, confirming findings from previous studies, where 8% had been in business for 2 years or less; 21% for 5 years or less, and 52% for 10 years or less. In New Zealand and Scotland, the employment characteristics of these businesses is consistent with the studies of the SME sector which appear to employ less than five full-time staff and similar numbers of part time staff. In Scotland, the average number of full-time employees was 4.61 and 5.13 part-time. In New Zealand, the numbers were lower at 2 employees, and only 5–10 employees in 27% of businesses. In fact,
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the Scottish System Three (1998) study found 17% of businesses employed no one else, highlighting the SME characteristics of this sector of the industry.
The Principal Locations of Operators In terms of the development of adventure tourism, earlier research indicated that in New Zealand many of these businesses were located in, or were developing operations in, remote rural areas and adjacent to the circuits for international and domestic tourists. In New Zealand the sample represented the total population of operators in each region, plus or minus 5%. In Scotland, a more precise and targeted outcome emerged, with the sample representing the total known population plus or minus 3% in most cases. These figures also confirm the known major adventure centers in New Zealand at Queenstown and Wanaka, in and around Auckland, Rotorua, Taupo, Nelson, and the West Coast, which also have good air access. In Scotland, the pattern reflects three broad geographical groupings by Tourist Board region: First, in Central Scotland, the Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and Trossachs area which is adjacent to the main gateways of Glasgow and Edinburgh and major sources of domestic tourists, also containing over 50% of Scotland’s population. It also includes the first National Park. Second, the Perthshire region, to the north, with a series of lochs and glens which are accessible but deemed remoter adventure activity sites. Lastly, the Highlands of Scotland with its historical associations with mountain climbing and outdoor pursuits, focused on Aviemore (skiing), Fort William and the Lochaber district (climbing) and a number of smaller clusters on islands. While New Zealand has led the world in the place-promotion of adventure destinations in recent years (Cloke and Perkins 2002) with Queenstown acknowledged as the country’s adventure capital, Scotland is only beginning to address this dimension of place-marketing. For example, in Lochaber, plans by the local company (Lochaber Enterprise) are for the Fort William/Ben Nevis area to develop as Scotland’s outdoor activity capital while Perthshire is building a profile as the adventure capital. What is clear from these place-promotion activities is that the adventure product has powerful place and image-led associations which can underpin plans for development, based on the SME sector, which are tied to locality and place. Some of these associations are linked to specific activities.
Activities Provided by Operators In the survey, the activities undertaken by operators spanned 27 activity groups, ranging from soft to hard, active to passive, and high and low in risk. In New Zealand, the most commonly reported activities provided were scenic flights (15%), kayaking (14%), mountain guiding (6%), white-water rafting (6%), and horse-riding (6%). In Scotland,
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land-based activities dominated (54.69%), followed by water-borne (25%), air-based (1.56%), or those offering a mixed portfolio of activities across these categories (11.72%). The most common ones cited were horse riding (15.15%), boat-based trips (9.85%), multi-activity centres (8.33%), canoeing/rafting (6%), land-based ecotours (5.3%), outbound educational trips (5.3%), mountaineering (6%), snowsports (4%), and off-road driving/quadbiking (4.55%), with 25 categories of activities listed. This represents a wide range of activity sectors and a broad market appeal. What is noticeably absent from the sample are cycle hire companies, since less than 1% of the survey offered mountain bike hire, yet this has been a significant growth business within the United Kingdom in recent years. One of the common problems encountered by research in this area of small business and niche operations is a lack of consumer data on the volume of local day-trip/domestic/overseas activity and the contribution adventure tourism makes to their individual businesses. In New Zealand, operators reported 643,167 clients in the period of January– December 2002 and a mean number of clients of 7,479 ranging from 20 to 128,000 a year. In Scotland, the sample reported 599,088 clients with a mean of 5,301 clients a year, ranging from 50 to 200,000 per annum. These figures illustrate the scale and volume of business which is modest for many businesses, but high yield and value-added with personal involvement and interaction. These results also indicate, if compared with estimates of the volume of business in this sector, that these operations represent a significant proportion of the adventure sector. In terms of client mix, the situation in New Zealand was 51% male, 49% female with 14% of the market being children less than 16 years of age. In Scotland, 52% of clients were male, 48% female, with 10–20% children, which is not unexpected given the number of activity centers and tradition of outward bound activities. As market intelligence seems to suggest, adventure participants tend to be 25–40 years of age (Page 2003). What was notably different between Scotland and New Zealand was the principal market for such activities. In the former, the volume of clients was estimated by operators as 14% overseas (83,872), 62% domestic (371,434), with 24% day-trips/leisure (143,781), while in latter the market was estimated to be 53% overseas (340,878), 30% domestic (192,950), with 17% leisure/day trip traffic (109,338). This establishes two different profiles reflecting both the product appeal in each case and the different marketing strategies promoted by the national tourism organization. In New Zealand, adventure, excitement, and the outdoors have been consistently promoted since the 90s, with local and regional promotion to support and build upon this (Cloke and Perkins 2002). In contrast, the other destination has reimaged and re-engineered its approach to destination marketing after several reviews which led to the renaming of the Scottish Tourist Board to VisitScotland (Kerr 2003). In the case of the latter organization, the extreme sports portfolio and adventure have begun to be actively promoted in printed and online media and supported at the local level by the work of area tourist offices such as Perthshire Tourist Board with its adventure portfolio and operator cluster. New Zealand and Scotland
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have distinctly different markets, with the former viewing adventure tourism as a well developed international tourist product; the New Zealand International Visitor Survey profiles visits in this sector, particularly the under 3–5 year-old market who backpack and travel by independent means. In contrast, the latter is focused on the less lucrative domestic and day-trip/leisure traffic; this is far more price-sensitive and reliant upon established forms of travel and accommodation, yet there is growing evidence of niche developments among the overseas markets visiting and using independent means of travel or small operators offering backpacking style experiences and transport around the destination. From a safety management perspective, however, the New Zealand industry has a far greater potential for language and cultural barriers in the management of client safety due to the overseas markets it targets, particularly Asia. Operators were asked to rank a list of factors they perceived as threats that impacted upon safety in terms of client factors, environment factors, task and equipment factors, organization, and management. Based on analysis of the results, both sets of respondents ranked environmental factors high, as a key threat to client safety, combined with unfamiliar environments which also feature prominently in the ‘‘excitement’’ factor for such activities. In Scotland, 60% of the perceived threats were STF; in New Zealand they accounted for 49% with ankle injuries being 33% of these as the most commonly noted injury risks. Other frequently reported hazards included striking an object (30%), falls from a height (26%), and drowning or non-fatal submersion (18%). In contrast, exposure to water and risk of drowning accounted for 4.8% of responses in Scotland. Client factors were also ranked highly by operators, with those ignoring instructions/horseplay/taking shortcuts noted as major problem areas. When asked to elaborate on these issues in an open-ended question regarding injury risks, common responses in each destination included unpredictable weather/hazards, together with clients not listening to safety briefings, and a tendency for clients to overestimate their own abilities.
Injury Types and Characteristics As already noted, both New Zealand and Scotland reported a predominance of STF, focused on stepping on/off vessels and vehicles generating foot/ankle injuries. Other key problems included striking an object, falls from a height, drowning or near fatal submersion in water. More specifically, operators were asked to record the number of injuries from their accident books over the last year. In the former, 87 businesses responded and 125 in the latter. In New Zealand, 1,095 injury incidents were recorded compared to 1,030 in Scotland. In New Zealand, there were only 148 (16%) serious harm incidents requiring hospitalization, an average of 1.6 per operator. In Scotland, 116 (11%) such incidents occurred, the majority with land-based activities. Comparative figures of businesses reporting no injuries were 44% and
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51%, respectively. In other words, a substantial proportion of businesses reported injuries with 37% stating 1–5 injuries in New Zealand and 24.2% in Scotland. The client injury incidence rate per million participation hours varied by activity sector. In New Zealand, snow sports remain the main category of injuries (Hudson 2000), since other sectors have low reporting levels. In Scotland, the higher client injury rates highlight snow sports as an equally important category for injuries, with horse riding and multi-activity centres also prominent, since these three activities accounted for 81% of all client injuries. They also have the highest participant risk based on duration of exposure, with snow sports in Scotland accounting for 53% of all serious harm injuries (53.4 incidents per operator). Similar concerns also emerge in the New Zealand data. In its high profile sector, bungee jumping recorded 62 injuries, although only 3 led to serious harm to a client. This represents an increase from the injury rates reported by Bentley et al (2000), with a rate of 117 injury incidence rate per million participation hours compared to 477 in the present study. In contrast to Scotland, the educational and personal development activity providers (who correspond to pursuits marketed by many multi-activity centers) had low client injury rates, suggesting that this sector has a low level of reporting in New Zealand. Its multi-activity operators highlight a common problem of high levels of injury risk to clients due to the time exposure over multiple activities. Here the problem of fatigue, unfamiliar tasks, and different environments can increase the risk. In both destinations, the ownership structure of the business was an important variable, since jointly owned enterprises had relatively low levels of reported injuries (at around 20%). This may reflect better accident recording by these businesses, improved risk awareness, and smaller numbers of clients participating in their establishments. The youngest businesses in both cases reported low levels of injuries, since many recently established businesses in this sector were found to have better safety management.
Safety Management and Barriers to Improvement Operators were asked to state what safety systems or measures they had in place to reduce risk injury to clients. In New Zealand, the situation is less straightforward, since minor injuries and accidents are covered by the Accident Compensation Corporation Scheme (Page and Meyer 1996; Callander and Page 2003). Yet this does not negate the legal requirement to provide a safe environment for employees and the need to work to standards set by licensing bodies in each case-study destination. In New Zealand, 30 businesses reported a safe operating plan, clear operational guidelines or regulatory codes of practice as the principal safety measures taken. Only 16 businesses reported a risk assessment procedure, while 34 used staff training and selection as a preventive measure, with 25 giving safety training or talks prior to or during activities, and 20 undertook regular equipment checks.
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In Scotland, 36 businesses had a risk assessment procedure, reflecting the much higher importance attached to operating and regulatory procedures in EU countries but particularly in the United Kingdom following numerous high profile law suits against school teachers following catastrophic events during outward bound courses. Other notable points were codes of practice, regular equipment checks, provision of safety information and guidance, as well as close supervision of clients due to a much more litigious environment in relation to health and safety. External bodies such as the Adventure Activity Licensing Authority and other regulatory bodies were cited as imposing stringent conditions related to licensing, particularly as it was imperative to have risk assessment procedures for all forms of activity provision where approval was sought. Businesses’ feedback on continuous safety improvements were sought, particularly in terms of barriers they perceived. The cost of compliance in implementing safety measures were cited in New Zealand and Scotland as barriers, but this also had to be counterbalanced with maintaining a degree of realism in the natural environment in relation to perceived risk and excitement. While operators pointed to staff competence and experience as important, owners reported that finding time to remain current on such issues was a problem due to the wide range of tasks facing SMEs. In Scotland, with its greater dependence upon day trippers and domestic tourists as clients, operators pointed to participants who often over estimated their own ability, particularly with horse riding. The most important summary of this situation by one operator was that: A key issue, today is the perception on the part of the clients’ or clients’ guardians that risk can be guaranteed. While risks can be minimized, and managed, and safety is pre-eminently important, adventurous activities have inherent risks.
If clients do not heed safety warnings, or horseplay occurs in individual or group situations, it can trigger accident events. All operators acknowledged the dangers posed by changeable and unpredictable weather, but clients’ lack of preparation or awareness of the level of challenge posed by activities in both cases was a major barrier to safety. Research Implications This study has shown that in two totally independent destinations, the adventure sector is dominated by the SMEs, a feature consistent with many of the previous studies. This has many of the hallmark features of the SME businesses examined in the large literature, a useful synthesis which is contained in Thomas (2004). The literature is helpful as a background to understanding the operating context which the SME sector faces at a global level. The findings of this comparative study of adventure operators indicate that few serious harm incidents occur, which is reassuring in the organized (operator-led) sector. This is in contrast to the informal recreation––unguided tramping, walking and mountain climbing (Beedie and Hudson 2003)––which has a
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history of accident and injury in New Zealand (Johnston 1989) and Scotland (Sharp 2001). Although in each case a considerable number of minor injuries were reported by operators, it is reassuring to find a large proportion of operators reporting no injuries. Ironically, from a safety management perspective, these findings are unfortunate as minor injuries and near-miss events provide important organizational learning opportunities for operators seeking to improve their safety systems. Indeed a number of operators at both destinations reported relatively high serious to minor injury count ratios, suggesting poor incident reporting systems rather than good client safety records. In each case, land-based operators provided the highest injury counts, especially in the snow sport and horse riding sector, and in Scotland, within the multi-activity sector. This reflects the risk exposure factors. But in terms of the actual injury types, STF and under foot injuries dominate the minor injury category. Bentley and Haslam (1998) explain the range of risk factors which contribute to STF risk, together with the environmental factors (such as slippery underfoot), weather contingent situations (wet/frozen), and task-related factors (carrying kayaks). Risk assessment can help identify and address some of these problem scenarios, this is now becoming a global process which many businesses have to carry out when dealing with tourists. At a more generic level, Figure 2 provides a more holistic assessment of the interactions which may contribute to accidents and incidents and illustrates how these factors are inter-related. One key development in each destination is the use of codes of practice to help diagnose the accident-related factors that operators need to focus on, particularly best practice to reduce injuries. This has gained momentum in New Zealand due to industry concerns related to media hyping of injuries and fatalities, which lead to short-term drops in the bookings from lucrative overseas markets, a feature explained by Hall (2002) in terms of the issue-attention cycle. It is also related to developing the sector’s potential (through continuous improvements) so that short-term events do not damage the long-term message that adventure activities are relatively safe in relation to those risk factors that increase the thrill and excitement participants seek. To do this, requires balancing client injury risk against injury causation consistently to provide a uniformly adopted commitment to safety. This study, in part, benchmarks the experiences in two independent destinations and raises concerns about the lack of consensus among operators concerning formal risk assessment as a mandatory process that they must all endorse. Reliance on client briefings to address this weakness is totally unacceptable, particularly in stressful conditions (such as a raft turnover). Greater supervision and client-supervisor ratios are critical. Where English is not the first language (as among overseas tourists), client briefings need to be more complex, using printed media in their language. The use of seasonal and part-time labor is also a cause for concern in this area, given the small and flexible nature of these businesses. Regulatory bodies and compliance costs are a burden for small operators; but in New Zealand recent changes to the Occupational Health and
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Safety legislation in 2002 has addressed this concern across land, air, and marine environments. Above all, safety must be part of the business culture, rather than a separate business or operational function in what is by far the most high-risk sector of the tourism industry. To a certain degree, the insurance industry has now accepted the underlying injury-safety link, raising premiums in many countries after September 11, and placed the onus on operators to illustrate low injury rates through evidence-based assessment. Yet these issues have to be set in context. Adventure is a sector experiencing growth at a global level, with increasing participation, making minor injury and risk a key element of the adventure-participating experience. It is not desirable to sanitize these experiences through global harmonization in the same way that hotel chains have done for the accommodation regardless of location. Locations, products, and experiences need to be different, stimulating, and challenging to compete and add to the experience of a place or destination. Clients need to be advised of likely risks, injuries, and how to react in situations during their activity experience, so operators must be responsible and transparent.
CONCLUSION This study has highlighted a considerable similarity in many of the safety issues, injury rates, and factors which operators identified as contributing to injuries in New Zealand and Scotland. It starts to develop a greater understanding of this sector using a consistently applied methodology. While a certain number of injury categories exhibit place-specific causes, and are related to the markets each sector targets, this whole problem is probably explained as a global issue with a local dimension. Being able to derive a series of similar experiences that transcend one destination and can be replicated in two different parts of the world is a start to developing a greater understanding of the dynamics and implications of these sectors developing in destinations and contributing to tourist well-being. The use of a comparative research instrument that has equivalence in concept and measurement, derived from previous scoping research and detailed testing of the research instrument and approach in one of the localities, highlights the value of deriving cross-comparisons, even though cultural differences may explain some of the disparity in injury experience. Although the outcome of the study is not a new technique or model (rather the use of an existing model), it does highlight the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach combining research with safety science, travel medicine, and a spatially specific focus: two destinations with a degree of similarity in their adventure product offering. The study also highlights the significance of replicating such an approach in a number of other countries to more fully understand whether there are distinct injury experiences which affect the activities undertaken by adventure tourists. As Pearce (1993) argued, there is a need to move beyond simple description in research, and to help develop a broader understanding of the dynamics of tourism in different
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Submitted 15 February 2004. Resubmitted 14 May 2004. Accepted 24 May 2004. Final version 8 June 2004. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor: Julio R. Aramberri