LAUSR

Abstract This paper considers the need for an industry-wide approach to risk management within the US aerial adventure industry, a sub-sector of adventure tourism. Since its inception in 2008, the industry has quickly become one of the fastest growing adventure tourism sectors in the US with many established attractions, such as ski resorts adding them to their portfolio. However, due to a number of serious accidents in recent years, the industry faces questions over its risk management procedures and as a result its long-term sustainability, with a drop in consumer confidence being a good example of this. Despite a number of industry standards having been published, the industry remains largely unregulated. As a result of the recognised need for improved risk management procedures, the drop in consumer confidence and the industry being largely self-regulated, this paper calls for an industry-wide approach to risk management involving public and private stakeholders. Through a qualitative case-study 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior managers from the public and private sectors taking part. The purpose was to explore the levels of stakeholder collaboration within the industry. This paper provides two contributions to knowledge: first, the use of industry-wide stakeholder collaboration to improve risk management procedures within the aerial adventure industry. The creation of the Safety Committee Life Cycle adds another theoretical contribution to knowledge, particularly tourism.