Safety in Coastal and Marine Tourism

Abstract

Coastal and marine tourism is the largest segment of the travel industry, historically associated with the Sun, Sand and Sea imagery of beach holidays, and more recently inclusive of a broad range of boating and watercraft activities within what has been termed Blue Tourism. The health and safety of visitors in water-based environments is particularly important as the consequences of an incident can result in drowning or more serious injuries than on land. This chapter describes the activities of tourists in coastal and marine environments, where they are likely to experience difficulties and the services available through various government agencies and organisations to assist them. A particular focus is on the legal responsibilities and duties of care owed to tourists, recognising that for many visitors water-based environments are very unfamiliar settings. The chapter concludes by looking at innovations and initiatives in coastal and marine tourism in response to COVID-19 and how safety contributes to greater enjoyment of the marine environment.

Appendix: Best Practice Guidelines

Guidelines Relevant to All Aquatic Environments

WATER SAFETY
1.	Conduct a safety brief with all participants before engaging visitors in aquatic activities.
2.	Advise visitors that a great way to keep safe at Queensland beaches is to remember the F.L.A.G.S. message F—Find the flags and swim between them L—Look at and read all safety signage A—Ask a lifesaver or lifeguard for some good advice G—Get a friend or travel companion to swim with you S—Stick your hand up if you need help
3.	Advise visitors to swim between the red and yellow flags at patrolled beaches and waterways.
4.	When swimming, snorkelling or diving, teach the guests to make a reference point on shore to avoid drifting outside of supervised areas.
5.	Make visitors aware of rips and currents. Reinforce that swimming between the flags is the best way to avoid getting into trouble.
6.	IF IN DOUBT, DON’T GO OUT! Advise guests if you think conditions are too rough for them to enter the water. The same rule applies if you are taking guests on an activity and you think it’s too rough for them. It’s not worth the risk. If possible, let them know what other great things they can do in Queensland! A good rule of thumb for visitors is, if their feet can’t touch the bottom—they are out too far and should make their way back to shore immediately.
7.	Never enter the ocean at night and only swim in well-lit pools, lagoons, and the like.
8.	When visiting beaches, lakes, rivers, estuaries and canals, advise guests not to swim at dusk or dawn as this is when dangerous marine creatures are most active.
9.	Advise visitors that it is best to swim with light clothing on as baggy clothing makes them heavier in the water and it’s more difficult for them to swim. Operators need to be aware that this is only a recommendation. Some cultures do not allow members of their community to wear clothing that is considered revealing. Please advise visitors wearing baggy and light clothing to bathe in knee deep water only.
10.	Advise guests that they should not swim if they have any medical condition that could affect or impede their abilities.
11.	Ensure guests are aware that when swimming in rivers and lakes they may experience dangerous cool water temperatures and should always be alert to the dangers of flash flooding.
12.	Regularly monitor weather and tide conditions (twice daily—morning and afternoon) so you can advise guests on where the most enjoyable and safe conditions are. Guests need to be made aware that conditions can change quickly. What might be safe swimming at one time could change to unsafe in a short period of time.
13.	Advise guests on how to avoid marine creatures such as stingers, sharks, crocodiles, sea snakes, and stingrays as outlined in the SLSQ Dangerous Marine Creatures (pages 13–22) and Marine Stinger (pages 23–31) fact sheets
14.	Advise all guests to take notice of and understand safety warning signs and explain the meaning of the signs to visitors. Remember! Safety signs are great but they do not replace the need for verbal instruction. Be sure to offer written and verbal communication about local dangers wherever possible.
15.	Visitors should always enter the water slowly, feet first and never dive in when the depth is not known
16.	Reduce the risk of spinal injury. Prior to allowing guests to enter an aquatic environment ensure staff check the area for dangerous objects. Advise visitors of the risk of spinal injury by erecting notices or signs. Notices and signs should be explanatory—for example, do not just say DANGER, say SUBMERGED ROCKS, LOGS, or SHALLOW WATER
17.	Ensure all equipment used is checked and maintained regularly.
18.	Minimise the risk of infection from animal faeces. Make guests aware that the water may not be drinkable because of animal faeces and promote the drinking of bottled water.
19.	Ensure multilingual water safety information is available for your guests. Details on Surf Life Saving Queensland’s range of multilingual Fact Sheets and Beachsafe smartphone app can be found in this resource.
20.	Develop a risk management plan whereby risks are identified and assessed; and control measures are developed, implemented and monitored for effectiveness. Ensure you regularly assess all possible risks in an area so guests receive the most up-to-date information.
21.	If you have activities that operate in or near rivers, construct a Safety Line downstream consisting of heavy duty rope and a floatation device.
SUPERVISION
22.	Where possible, provide trained lifeguards or appropriately qualified personnel around water areas as required and encourage visitors not to swim alone
23.	Ensure you are aware of the lifeguard/lifesaver beach patrolling hours and advise guests not to swim outside these hours
24.	Advise guests to follow all instructions given by lifesavers, lifeguards, and trained personnel.
25.	When visiting the beach, encourage your guests to obtain additional information about the local swimming conditions from the qualified personnel on duty.
26.	Children should be supervised at all times.

1. Source: QTIC (2018). Water safety handbook: Best practice guidelines for tourism operators (8th ed., pp. 4–5). Reproduced with permission