The slayings of eight tourists last week in Uganda have rocked the
travel industry, the traveling public and the world at large. Yet
like all momentous events, the far-reaching repercussions of this
tragedy will unfold slowly. The manner in which our industry reacts
to these deaths will be a test of the integrity, responsiveness and
commitment of our community to the people we serve.
All travel involves risk. It can not be ignored, nor can it be
eliminated. Potential dangers can, however, be identified,
explored, explained and thereby, hopefully, minimized. And in an
era when adventure travel and Xtreme outings are fast becoming not
only the norm, but the ideal, the responsibilities of agents,
operators and travelers themselves must evolve apace.
Is this going to involve more work? Certainly. But it's a whole
new ballgame, folks. People don't want to gaze at Niagara Falls
anymore, they want to ride over them in a barrel. Maybe we need to
get them the best possible barrel. Maybe we need to let them know
that it's a long way down. Or maybe, just maybe, we need to tell
them not to do it at all.