The body of a 27-year-old British tourist was recovered yesterday from a ravine in southern Brazil, three days after a rope-jumping accident that has reopened the debate over global safety standards for adventure tourism. Sources confirm the man, whose name has not been released pending family notification, died instantly when the main line failed during a 200-foot descent into the Cânion do Itaimbezinho. The operator, a local firm with no international accreditation, has been shut down pending investigation.
Documents obtained by this paper show that the company had no valid insurance and its equipment had not been inspected by any recognised body. This is not an isolated case. In the past five years, there have been at least 14 fatalities in rope-jumping incidents across South America, with at least seven involving tourists from the UK or Europe. Yet there is no binding international code for this sport.
The British Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) has long maintained a voluntary code of conduct for operators abroad. But it has no teeth. Sources inside the Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirm the government has been lobbied repeatedly to push for a treaty. Each time the answer has been the same: the market will regulate itself.
The market is not regulating itself. A dossier compiled by the International Adventure Travel Association shows that unlicensed operators in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia can undercut accredited rivals by up to 60 per cent. They buy second-hand climbing ropes from industrial auctions. They use carabiners without load ratings. They train their guides in a weekend.
One former operator in Rio de Janeiro, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told me: 'These guys know that if a tourist dies, they can pack up and move a hundred miles down the road. The police don't care. The British embassy sends a consular officer and files a report. That's it.'
The tragedy in Brazil has already prompted a hastily convened meeting of the British Travel Association. But the real question is whether the Foreign Office will use its influence in Brasília to push for a bilateral safety agreement. So far, the answer has been a deafening silence.
The family of the victim is expected to arrive in Porto Alegre tomorrow. They have hired a lawyer. They are talking to this paper. And they are asking the same question that should be asked in Whitehall: how many more bodies before someone takes responsibility?
