Choosing an Adventure Program

Ian Wade, Executive Director Outward Bound International

(This is adapted from an article prepared for Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine)

How should you select an organization for adventure travel in a country that you are not familiar with? This is not an easy task for a variety of reasons:

• Different cultures have different expectations for quality of service.
• The tolerance for risk varies in different countries.
• Awareness of risk management practice varies.
• The expertise of the staff in dealing with foreign clients may vary.

Recognize that you will never be absolutely certain what you are getting into before you begin your adventure. It might be a pretty dull adventure if it was that predictable! However, you can become well informed before you make your decision.

Some questions to ask before choosing an adventure program include:

1. How many years have the current operators been in business?
2. What experience do they have running programs in the area you are going, not just in other areas?
3. Do they work primarily with clients who speak the same language as you? What is the primary language of staff and the other participants?

4. Do they have a web page and professional catalogs that describe the program positively?
5. Do they have references in your country from people who have been on a similar program? If so, give them a call and find out if their experience was satisfactory.
6. Does the program operate under land use permits from a government agency? If so you could contact the agency and see what reputation they have.
7. Does any national body in their country accredit the program? Ask to see a copy of the last accreditation report or their last safety report.
8. The process of gathering this information and how the program responds as you ask some unusual yet reasonable questions will make you much better informed. If you select the program after gathering all this information chances are very good that you'll have a safe and high-quality experience.