Tourism operators, canyoning companies talk safety measures

Swiss tourism officials and adventure sports companies are meeting Tuesday to discuss the implementation of safety guidelines in order to avoid a repeat of the recent canyoning tragedy, in which 21 people were killed near Interlaken.

Swiss tourism officials and adventure sports companies are meeting Tuesday to discuss the implementation of safety guidelines in order to avoid a repeat of the recent canyoning tragedy, in which 21 people were killed near Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland.

Adventure World, the company which organised July’s fatal canyoning trip in the Saxet Gorge, will participate in the discussion in the town of Spiez, near Interlaken.

The meeting was organised by the Bernese Oberland tourism office, whose directors say they want to “make some safety recommendations” and draw up some training requirements for canyoning guides.

The federal sport ministry also wants safety standards improved. It’s reportedly sending round a letter to each canton this week urging them to take a close hard look at the sport.

Safety guidelines, although not obligatory, are already widely followed by river rafting companies in the Bernese Oberland region, according to tourism officials.

Adventure World has rejected criticism that its guides were not sufficiently trained or had ignored warnings about impending thunderstorms. Victims in the canyoning accident died when a flash flood carrying logs and heavy boulders washed the mostly foreign tourists down the gorge. Swiss police are investigating six Adventure World guides for involuntary manslaughter.

Even though canyoning expeditions in the Bernese Oberland have resumed — except in the Saxet Gorge – the sport is no longer a big seller: Demand is down by as much as 50 per cent.

Along with bungee jumping and white water rafting, tourism operators see canyoning as a way of appealing to a younger clientele — a clientele which will hopefully return to Switzerland and fill a gap soon to be left by an ageing population of loyal visitors.

During the talks in Spiez, Adventure World will come face to face with competitor companies, who have accused Adventure World of recklessness and carelessness.


From SRI staff.