Tourism Ministry sets safety standards due to rise in tourist snorkeling deaths

With the rise in snorkeling and other accidental deaths of tourists, the Ministry of Tourism has now set new safety standards for tourism service providers.

A circular sent by the ministry to guesthouses, snorkeling and water sports providers on inhabited islands, homestay and tourist vessel operators noted the rising number of tragic incidents in ocean activities.

They noted that tourists who visit the Maldives highly engage in water sports, and hence, swift action needs to be taken to avoid further tragedies.

They said that a regulation is being formulated for the matter and will be published on the government gazette soon. However, until the regulation is set in place, the Ministry urged service providers to abide by the safety standards even in the meantime.

The ministry called on all service providers to abide by set safety standards and ensure the safety of all tourists as the peak tourism season approaches.

Safety Guidelines include:

- Disbursing safety information regarding each activity to participants before beginning the activity

- Ensuring equipment used in ocean activities are of accepted safety standards. Ensure the equipment is used for the determined purpose and as per instructions

- If a person who does not know how to swim participates in water activities, they must wear a life jacket at all times

- Where applicable, set boundaries within which the activity will take place

- Discontinue the activity in the instance that the MET office warns of adverse weather, or existing weather conditions are unsafe for the activity, or in any instance where the instructor feels it may be unsafe

- Provide participants with weather updates for each day

- Having a form of communication which will allow communication between the instructor and the center at all times

- Maintain a log of water sports participants. This should include their names, identity card or passport numbers and age.

- Have a consent and health status disclosure form that participants sign before joining water sports. The form must include a clause where the signee bears responsibility for any risk they place themselves at.

- For those under 16, parents should sign the consent form

These safety standards are in effect from last Thursday onwards.