Three British tourists were confirmed dead after a recent fatal zip line accident in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. The accident has raised alarming questions about safety management of adventure tourism in Vietnam. The local authority has called for leaders of tourist sites and travel firms to tighten measures to improve services and ensure safety for tourists.
The three dead tourists included a man and two women. The trio had been using a zip line to cross the Datanla waterfall in Da Lat city in the early afternoon. The deceased were taken to the area by the Dam Me Tourist Company. The operator did not buy tickets for using the zip line, so the tourists were not provided with the proper equipment.
The company dodged the admission fees and failed to ensure the safety of the site or equipment.
Experts say that adventure tours always have some element of risk; however, these are minimised by careful and responsible tour management. This means that there should be more standardised adventure tour packages and stricter control over this type of tourism.