Tour safety plan: risk assessment, weather and emergencies

1. 1

   Assess each tour's risks

   A one-page risk assessment: the hazards (traffic, falls, water, heat or cold, altitude, animals, crowds, allergies), the control for each, and who can stop the tour. Review it every season.

2. 2

   Make an emergency card for each route

   Every guide carries it: the template is below.

3. 3

   Set a weather rule

   Limits and decision times for each activity, below.

4. 4

   Brief and count your guests

   Two minutes at the start: the hazards, the rules, what to do if separated, the guide's phone. Count heads at every stop and boarding.

5. 5

   Log incidents

   And every near miss, the same day, on the form below, kept on your guides' phones. Review the log every month, in your monthly routine.

Say who a tour isn't for before guests book, such as fitness or age limits: see Design a tour.

Copy it, fill it in for each route, and keep it on every guide's phone and in every vehicle.

Tour and route:
Nearest hospital (address, phone):
Emergency and rescue numbers:
Evacuation route and meeting point:
Places with no phone signal:
Office phone:
Lead guide's phone:

Write each activity's limits: wind, waves, lightning, heat, river level, visibility and official alerts. Then decide at fixed times:

Never overrule a guide's no-go for money, and log every decision. What guests get when you cancel is in Booking policies.

Fill it in the same day, for every incident and near miss.

Date, time and place:
Tour and guide:
What happened:
Injuries and first aid given:
Witnesses and photos:
What we did next:
Who we told, and when (guest, booking site):
What we change so it doesn't happen again:

Have all of these ready:

1. 1
   A risk assessment for each tour
2. 2
   An emergency card for each route
3. 3
   A weather rule for each activity
4. 4
   First aid matched to the risks

   A trained guide and a kit on every tour: see Guides and staff.

5. 5
   A way to call for help

   GPS, and a satellite phone or radio where phones have no signal.

6. 6
   Enough guides

   GetYourGuide requires one guide per 20 guests on walking tours, and recommends one per 8 on high-risk water activities (2025).

7. 7
   Vehicles and boats checked

   Seat belts, life jackets for everyone on board, maintenance records.

8. 8
   An incident log, ready to use

Ask each traveller what a tour's safety depends on, such as Weight (kg) or Pregnant (weeks), under Configuration → Passenger details: see Customer details.

Your guides see each booking's travellers, medical details included, in TourTask Crew, not in a chat group.