ABSTRACT
The importance of the safety and well-being of tourists has become a global issue and one of the primary concerns of the tourism industry (Frangialli, 2 003; Wilks & Page, 2 003). Indeed, the welfare of tourists is a growing area of interest for researchers from a range of disciplines including tourism, ergonomics, safety science, travel medicine and health (Page, Bentley, & Meyer, 2003). Importantly, researchers from these areas have begun to recognise the advantages of collaboration in multi-disciplinary research, where the complexity of the tourist safety problem is reflected in the range of expertise of the research team (e.g. Bentley & Page, 2 001). These initiatives have occurred despite a serious lack of funding from government and industry internationally for research in the tourist health and safety area. Such a situation is surprising, given the considerable impacts tourist fatalities and injuries can potentially have on the image of both the industry and regional and national destinations (World Tourism Organization, 1996). New Zealand, for example, a country with an economy highly dependent upon its two-plus million overseas visitors per year, has been host to a large number of high-profile fatality cases involving overseas visitors taking part in adventure and recreational tourism activities, including major incidents and fatalities involving scenic flights, white water rafting, jet boating and tramping and mountaineering. While the impact of these and other serious incidents in terms of visitor perceptions and travel behaviour have not been meaningfully quantified, there is anecdotal evidence that the travel behaviour of potential visitors from lucrative markets such as the US and Japan may be affected by news of serious incidents involving fellow nationals. For example, a survey reported in the New Zealand press (Bentley & Page, 2 001), found safety concerns to be the major hindrance to Japanese travel to New Zealand, with New Zealand ranked behind Hawaii, Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, UK and Guam as a safe destination. It is likely these perceptions were strongly related to media reports in Japan concerning scenic flight crashes in which Japanese tourists were killed (also see Greenaway, 1996; Page & Meyer, 1996; Page, 1997).
