Section 4.1: Health and Safety Issues
A cultural tourism activity may fall into different legal categories to which different
legislation applies. There is a great difference between guiding a group through
a city or engaging your visitors into a local food tasting and cooking in your own
kitchen. The second part of this manual, which deals with specific types of cultural
tourism activities, will inform you about specific regulations for each type of
cultural tourism activity. There are, however, a number of issues that are common
to all activities, and which are explained below:
- Risk assessment: identify all possible risks and safety hazards that could reasonably
occur during the development of the activity. Eliminate those or take measures to
prevent them (for example, by buying safety helmets or goggles for your visitors
for a certain activity or visit) even if it means changing part the activity or
eliminating it completely.
- Information: inform your customers thoroughly of any kind of risk or complication
that could issue from the activity and be sure that they have read and understood
the information.
- Medical conditions and allergies: check for all those before engaging yourself in
any kind of cultural tourism activity.
- First aid: first aid training and a first aid kit are compulsory in many countries
for those who carry out an activity with public. Even if it is not your case try
to get some basic training and learn how to use a FA kit.
- Waiver: a waiver for your customers to sign is a useful document to prevent liability
claims. You will need the assistance of a lawyer to compose a reliable waiver that
will include all important information and is written in the appropriate legal form.
- Insurance: whether your local legislation makes it compulsory or not you will need
to buy some kind of insurance that protects you against personal liability claims.
Even if you take all measures to prevent risks, accidents do happen and litigious
customers do exist. If an accident takes place during the development of the activity
it is most likely that you will be found to some degree responsible and be bound
to pay compensation.
- Planning: in the eventuality of an accident, be sure to have an emergency plan drawn
beforehand and a listing of emergency services always at hand.
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Figure 4. The guide and visitor during a nature's interpreting activity in the
Ebro River. Both are wearing lifejacket, Zaragoza, Spain
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Although some of these measures may seem exaggerated, depending on the risks of
the activity you want to carry on, you must take all these issues into account and
provide for them in one way or another. An insurance company will probably make
an assessment of your activity before you buy the insurance and will be able to
help with safety and risk prevention. Buying insurance is also a good quality indicator
and you will improve your customer attraction if you include this information in
all your marketing materials.
