Ensuring safety at adventure activity sites in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, home to the mountain-and-waterfall tourist town of Da Lat, is not an easy task, given the lack of ministry-level management, industry insiders have said.

Da Lat, with a number of mountains, hills, mountain passes and waterfalls, has emerged as a popular destination for domestic and international adventure lovers in recent years, but all such activities are running with no official safety regulations.

However, it is high time Vietnam’s tourism authorities took safety seriously, after four foreign tourists died at two different Da Lat waterfalls last week, according to insiders.

Three British tourists were swept down the Datanla waterfall during a trekking trip on February 26, while a Belarusian vacationer was found dead downstream from the Pongour cascade two days later.

Nguyen Thi Nguyen, director of the Lam Dong tourism department, admitted that there are no official standards to oversee safety issues at adventure tourism spots across the province.

“With no regulations or standards set by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, we have to prepare our own set of rules,” she told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

When adventure tourism first emerged in Da Lat, the provincial tourism department considered banning it from developing as it was deemed too risky, Nguyen admitted.

“But it is impossible to do so, as adventure tourism is a trend among young travelers, as well as an attractive tourism product,” she added.

The Lam Dong tourism department has requested that firms have proper safety equipment, trained tour guides and insurance policies if they want to offer adventure tour packages.

“While some travel firms have even sent their tour guides for overseas training trips, there are companies who are less serious about such issues,” Nguyen said.

The lack of ministry-level management means that the Lam Dong tourism authorities have no foundation to crack down on violators.

“We have no standards to evaluate if a travel firm is eligible to offer adventure tours,” she said.

A canyoner lies at the mercy of the currents of a waterfall in Da Lat. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Nguyen Van My, chairman of Lua Viet Tours Co. Ltd., a Ho Chi Minh City-based travel firm, also said many tour organizers only focus on getting customers, while neglecting safety issues.

“Every firm has its own way of organizing adventure tours since there is neither an official set of standards nor state management for this kind of tourism,” My told Tuoi Tre.

While adventure tourism is under strict management in some countries, where a tour guide has to be properly trained and certificated before he can take tourists through high-risk activities, it is not the case in Vietnam, he added.

“There are even training centers for adventure tour guides in Thailand and Malaysia,” he said.

My added accidents in adventure tourism activities in Vietnam usually occur when safety rules are ignored and the equipment is faulty.

“The recent accidents at the Datanla and Pongour waterfalls could have been avoided if each individual involved had been more responsible,” he said.

My, however, underlined that state-level management is what matters most.

Adventure tourism must be made conditional on tour operators meeting several basic standards in order to be eligible to offer certain packages, he said.

“There must be standards for tour guides, rescuers and first-aid providers at adventure tourism spots,” he said.

“Adventure tour operators should also undergo frequent checks and inspection, and those who breach regulations should be strictly sanctioned.”

From a tourist’s perspective, Ngo Tan Thuy Tien, hailing from the south-central city of Nha Trang, said that there is a lack of warning signs at adventure tourism attractions, where accidents are likely to happen.

“They only sell entrance tickets, and tourists can do whatever they want,” she said.

“Come to any waterfall tourism spot, you will walk on wet paths surrounded by rotten safety fences, and rescuers are nowhere to be seen.”

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