Reviewing Safety in a Major Export

“Adventure tourism is one of New Zealand’s biggest drawcards, but sometimes tourists can get far more adventure than they bargained for,” begins a report by Dominque Schwartz for ABC. “This week, the industry made world headlines for all the wrong reasons. Chris Coker is the father of 24-year-old Bradley Coker who died in a Fox Glacier plane crash. Coker is urging the government to review the system of tourism regulation, monitoring and control of adventure activities including reforming the way the role of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The director of CAA, Graeme Harris, concedes the changes were slow in coming; too slow for Bradley Coker. But Harris says he’s confident the industry is safe. New Zealand’s Tourism Industry Association says there’ve been 50 deaths in adventure tourism over the past eight years. Any death is one too many, but industry operators say the toll needs to be put into perspective.”