How court ruling could reshape adventure tourism

White water rafting guide Hamish Watters stands in a garage, a 30-minute drive north of Wellington city, hosing down an inflatable raft and hanging lifejackets up to dry.

- Eva Corlett WELLINGTON

The owner of Wellington Rafting has just taken five tourists down the rapids of the Te Awa Kairangi/Hutt river.

It has been a good morning for it - rain the previous day has lifted the river levels, giving customers a thrilling ride as they flew over gushing white water.

It can be a dangerous sport, with potential problems around every bend, but Watters has his safety protocols down pat.

"That stuff we can mitigate, by studying the environment... we find ourselves very, very connected to the elements," Watters said.

Customers are given a full run-down of the hazards before they go near the water and are prepared with a safety briefing. Before hopping into the rafts, customers don hard hats, wetsuits and lifejackets.

Wellington Rafting is one of roughly 300 registered adventure tourism operators in New Zealand trying to strike a balance between offering exciting and potentially dangerous experiences while keeping their customers safe. Now, that responsibility will be even greater.

Adventure tourism safety has been pulled into sharper focus after a court ruling last month found the owners of Whakaari/White Island guilty of failing to adequately communicate the risks to visitors touring the active volcano.