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Health & safety in retail and tourism

Health and safety standards support tourism and retail organizations to identify the hazards present in their workplace and to take reasonable steps to manage those risks. Health can safety standards can help retail and tourism organizations embed health and safety best practices into the heart of their operations - protecting both organizations and consumers.

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Reducing COVID-19 risk in the tourism industry with safety standards
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Reducing COVID-19 risk in the tourism industry with safety standards

Tourism is one of the world’s major economic sectors. It is the third-largest export category (after fuels and chemicals) and in 2019 accounted for around 7% of global trade.  However, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, many countries introduced curfews and travel restrictions to contain the spread of the virus, causing travel across the world to significantly decline from early 2020 onwards. Tourism fast became one of the most negatively impacted industries of the COVID-19 pandemic and it is predicted not to recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2023 and beyond.  As the world enters a new phase of vaccinations and lockdown restrictions easing, encouraging the traveling public to regain confidence in travel has proved to be tricky for organizations in the tourism industry. This is due to several challenges which we will go on to explore.  Until the public feels more reassured that they can travel safely and hygienically, it’s likely we’ll continue to see demand for domestic leisure trips remain high, and a preference for short-haul travel where trips abroad are taken. For business travellers, it’s likely their employers will be rethinking travel policies with a focus on personnel safety and their duty of care about traveling. Several new standards have been developed that can help tourism organizations reduce the spread of COVID-19 and build back trust and travel confidence in consumers. What are the challenges the tourism industry faces? There are several challenges that the tourism industry is facing when it comes to getting consumers confident enough to begin traveling: Infection; and how to minimize it. This applies to the whole journey, including getting from your home to the airport, and then going into the departure airport to exit at the destination airport, and the destination country’s COVID risk. Government policies; tourism organizations and the public are currently being heavily impacted by differing government policies, including some who require two weeks of isolation on arrival, so you may get to your destination but not be able to go out for two weeks, or countries who require proof of vaccinations before allowing entry through their borders.  Finance and economics; tourism companies are facing the challenge of getting people to spend money on booking holidays with no guarantee that they will be able to go ahead due to changing Government policies.  This means companies need to be able to offer more flexible and efficient refund policies and improve the handling of customer queries and complaints. They also need to manage their pricing to ensure they are getting the revenue they need, whilst having a competitive offer to counter the additional expenditure traveling consumers face on COVID-19 tests and quarantine stays. To learn about how tourism companies can achieve supply chain resilience, click here. Building travelling confidence with standards New guidance has been developed to help revive the tourism industry in a secure way, by improving the safety, and therefore the confidence, of traveling consumers. ISO/PAS 5643:2021 Tourism and related services. Requirements and guidelines to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in the tourism industry. This document establishes requirements and recommendations for tourist organizations to prevent the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in order to protect their employees’ health from COVID-19 and to provide safer tourist services and products to tourists and residents. This standard has a broad scope and will help all providers in the sector (accommodation, museums, transport, experiences, activities, and guides) to ensure safer services and prevent the spread of the virus. It is designed to help tourism providers implement the best measures for everyone’s safety and reassure tourists of the effectiveness of what they have in place. CWA 5643-2:2021 Tourism and related services. Requirements and guidelines to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in the tourism industry. European visual identity. The mounting evidence of the positive impact of vaccination campaigns together with the proposed use of the Digital Green Certificate will gradually restore the freedom of movement and facilitate the recovery of the tourism sector in Europe. Therefore, it is imperative that support is provided to the EU tourism industry to be prepared to resume services in a safe and coordinated manner.  In order to help the tourism sector to recover faster, become a more resilient industry, and to rebuild trust in intra-EU and international traveling. It is now time to provide clear common and voluntary guidance at a European level. CWA 5643-2:2021 will help promote Europe as a safe, COVID-proof tourism destination through a common visual identity and build confidence among EU and international travellers, thereby giving a competitive advantage to Europe on the global tourism market. BS EN ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems. Requirements with guidance for use. An effective occupational health and safety management system will help you to protect and enhance your most important asset, your people, to drive business excellence. BS EN ISO 45001 is designed to prevent work-related injury and ill-health and to provide safe and healthy workplaces. As an international standard, BS EN ISO 45001 crosses geographic, political, economic, commercial, and social boundaries. This sets a single benchmark for the management of occupational health and safety. So, if your tourism organization operates or trades internationally, you can work to a single standard which can simplify your business. PD ISO/PAS 45005:2020 Occupational health and safety management — General guidelines for safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic. This document gives guidelines for organizations on how to manage the risks arising from COVID-19 to protect work-related health, safety, and well-being. It also provides guidance relating to the protection of workers of all types (e.g. workers employed by the organization, workers of external providers, contractors, self-employed individuals, agency workers, older workers, workers with a disability, and first responders), and other relevant interested parties (e.g. visitors to a workplace, including members of the public). Ensure your organization is in the best possible position to build confidence in your customers and support their safety needs by adding these standards to your collection today. Discover BSI Knowledge Over 100,000 internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. Our subscription service puts the control in your hands, giving you instant access to the resources you need to improve your safety management processes. Build your own custom collection of standards, or opt for access to our GBM04 Management, Law & Quality module and keep up-to-date with any relevant changes to your standards strategy. Request to learn more.Read more
Achieving best practice with adventure tourism standards
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Achieving best practice with adventure tourism standards

Hundreds of thousands of people take part in organized activities abroad every year. Adventure tourism refers to a tourism trip that includes at least two of the following three elements - physical activity, natural environment, and cultural immersion. It often involves risk and some skill from the tourist. They can be great fun, broaden horizons, and teach new skills. But, if the venture isn’t managed properly, the consequences can be very serious, resulting in an accident, injury, or even loss of life. Adventure travel is supposed to be challenging. But regardless of your age, destination, or chosen activity, your safety should be of paramount importance. Whether you’re a student going on a geography field trip; a young person planning a gap year or adventure holiday; someone in their forties taking on a charity challenge; or a pensioner considering a volunteering project; standard BS 8848 can offer you peace of mind. Providers that comply with the standard must endeavor to keep participants safe and informed at all stages of the venture. If you, a family member or a friend are planning an adventurous activity abroad make sure that the chosen provider complies with BS 8848 best practices. What Does Standard BS 8848:2014 Cover? BS 8848:2014 Specification for the provision of visits, fieldwork, expeditions, and adventurous activities outside the United Kingdom can be used by providers of any adventurous activities abroad, including; adventure holidays, gap-year travel, volunteering projects, charity challenges, expeditions, field research, and educational visits. In summary, BS 8848 requires an adventure tourism organization to have the following: A single provider – one clearly identified person, or organization, to take overall responsibility for the whole venture Informed choice – participants to be given clear information about the venture, and potential risks, before they book. Capable staff – all ventures to be run by competent and experienced people Good preparation and planning – policies and procedures put in place to identify and manage risk at every stage of the venture Any UK organization (e.g. schools, charities, or tour operators) planning an adventurous activity abroad, for individuals or groups, can use the standard and should consider its requirements. Even when adventuring, with a BSI Knowledge subscription your team will have access to all your BSI standards in one place, wherever they are and whenever they need them, through a fast, simple, and intuitive platform. It provides you with the best practice insights and up-to-date standards to help ensure the safety of your clients. Request to learn more. Why is Standard BS 8848:2014 Important? Organizers of adventurous activities, from schools to travel and tour operators, need to know the risks involved and how to manage them effectively. If the appropriate level of planning, risk assessment, or training is not in place then the consequences can be serious. BS 8848 enables organizers of adventure travel to put in place a system to assess and manage risks, covering both the venture itself and the capabilities and experience of venture leaders and participants. This standard can also provide assurance to participants that venture providers are following good practices to help reduce the risk of injury or illness. It sets out to help ensure operational systems are effective at managing risk and help reduce the likelihood of incidents. In so doing, BS 8848 reassures those wishing to be involved in a venture, demonstrates a duty of care to employees and others, and provides a means of demonstrating that good practice has been followed. To read more about how to gain customer trust in the tourism industry, click here. How to Comply with Standard BS 8848:2014 Organizations that comply with BS 8848 must: Assign clear roles and responsibilities - Identify one individual or organization as the ‘venture provider’ who is accountable for all parts of the venture, including those run by third parties. Assess the services of any third-party providers, for example, for travel, accommodation, or venture activities. Give clear instructions to the leadership team about following procedures and supervising participants. Appoint competent staff - Assign an overall group leader who knows and understands the skills of the group. Recruit leaders with the right skills, training, and experience for the activity being undertaken. Carry out relevant checks on all staff working unsupervised with children under 18. It can be used in conjunction with standard BS EN 15565:2008 specifies minimum requirements for the provision of professional tourist guide training and qualification programs. Plan and prepare - Plan and research all aspects of the venture – including the location, transport, accommodation, and equipment – to assess them for suitability and safety. Prepare an itinerary and budget for each venture. Collect information about participants, including any pre-existing medical conditions, to assess that the venture is suitable for everyone involved. Check the availability of local medical services and support for each venture. Provide clear, accurate information - Before booking give potential participants clear and detailed information about activities; the expertise of the leaders; potential safety issues; price; itineraries; and any prerequisites for travel (e.g. fitness or training), so that they can decide if it’s the right venture for them. After booking provide detailed information about accommodation, transport, meals, payment schedules, insurance, and the participants’ own responsibilities (for example to obtain relevant visas or insurance). Safety management - Develop written plans to identify, assess and then manage potential health and safety risks. These should cover the venture itself, plus the capability and experience of the venture leaders and participants. Make sure that everyone involved in the venture is aware of the risks of specific activities and locations – for example, dehydration or altitude sickness – and understands what to do to minimize these risks. Emergency plans - Produce a written ‘incident and emergency response plan for each venture to detail what should happen if things go wrong. Ensure that all staff is aware of the emergency plan; have access to medical advice and support; and know what to do and who to contact in the event of illness, accident, or emergency. Make sure your adventure tourism organization is operating to best practices by adding standard BS 8848:2014 to your collection today.

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