New Zealand adventure tourism operators warned to shape up or pay crippling fines

While WorkSafe New Zealand has given adventure tourism operators a short extension to a deadline requiring them to be registered under new Adventure Activities Regulations, Prime Minister John Key has warned operators that they must comply with the new tougher regulations.

Prime Minister Key, who is also New Zealand’s Tourism Minister, has advised that any adventure  tourism operators who think they might be able to avoid complying with the new tougher regulations are mistaken.

Warning that adventure tourism operators who fail to comply with new audit and certification regulations will be fined thousands of dollars a day until they go out of business, Prime Minister Key has explained “I expect people to meet their legal requirements.

“If we don’t do that, then firstly we’re putting at risk lives of people that go on those particular tourism activities and we’re secondly undermining the very people who are complying with the law.”

Prime Minister Key (pictured) was speaking at this week’s Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIANZ) 2014 Summit in Wellington.

Tourism brought in $10.3 billion to the New Zealand economy in the last year, and about half of that spending comes from visitors who have come to take part in adventure tourism.

However, in 2009, following 37 deaths over four years, Prime Minister Key ordered an urgent safety audit of the country's adventure tourism providers.

This led to the new Adventure Activities Regulations.

Commenting on the registration process, TIANZ Chief Executive Chris Roberts told Radio New Zealand that between 20 and 50 adventure operators had yet to comply.

Roberts stated “I suspect those who are actually found to be not complying, not doing their bit, will be quite a small number.”

Main image used for illustrative purposes only.

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