Satsa, South Africa's inbound industry association, is throwing its weight behind the country's adventure tourism sector with the release of its Adventure Tourism Self-Regulation Roadmap and Code of Good Practice documents.
The code is designed to establish standards and guidelines for adventure tourism operators, with the aim of promoting safety, sustainability and ethical practices in the industry and positioning Southern Africa as a top adventure destination.
It aims to provide a framework for adventure tourism operators to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner while also promoting the growth and development of the adventure tourism industry in Southern Africa.
Andre du Toit, Satsa Adventure Chapter chair, noted that self-regulation of the adventure tourism sector is a necessary but massive undertaking.
"Since it is essential that we build credibility around safety management and profile a reliable adventure industry, the first steps must be to develop a database of credible products so that our trade partners will have confidence that the products they endorse meet the global adventure tourism standards," he said.
Hannelie du Toit, COO of Satsa, added that publishing the Adventure Tourism Self-Regulation documents is a significant milestone for the adventure tourism industry in Southern Africa.
"Following years of work toward this step, we believe that the project will provide a clear framework for operators to follow, resulting in the raising of standards and producing credible products with which we can position Southern Africa as a top adventure destination," du Toit said.