Family tragedy
As the beaches are told to be pure paradise, and since the weather was fine that morning and the sea looked calm, Bavo Verheyden (21) and his brother Bart (29) went into the sea. The two Flemish young men, who were spending their holiday at the Wild Coast in South Africa, were not aware of the dangers of the ocean. They had never heard of rip currents and high waves. And nothing or nobody spoke against their plan. But Bavo and Bart got into serious problems.
Bart survived the ocean, Bavo didn't. April 18th 2011 turned into a tragedy for all of us.
Holiday drowning
Bavo is one of 8 000 international tourists that get drowned every year in the sea worldwide. If we include domestic tourists, he is one of 400 000 people who do not survive the sea by drowning.
We have been studying the phenomenon of holiday drowning in depth as we wanted to understand how this accident could have happened, and we want to convey our insights to you. As far as our study is concerned, we first contacted the International Life Saving Federation (ILS), which is the world authority for drowning prevention and lifesaving. The organization supports and collaborates with national and international organizations engaged in drowning prevention, water safety, water rescue, lifesaving and lifeguarding, and counts about 150 member states.
According to ILS worldwide one foreign tourist per hour gets drowned in the sea because of ignorance or underestimation of the dangers of the sea, which amounts to the aforementioned 8 000 foreign tourists per year. The main cause is the tourists' unawareness or underestimation of the dangers of the sea. Many of these drowning victims come from regions or countries where the sea is far away and - by consequence - no attention is paid to open water swimming education. The absence of the sea and the ocean in their daily lives makes those tourists completely unacquainted with the dangers of the sea.
We have studied organizations in the touristic industry, such as travel agencies, but also embassies and ministries in Flanders and in South Africa, and last but not least the UNWTO. We read the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and we learned that the touristic industry is expected to take appropriate measures to ensure the health, safety and security of tourists. However, reading through all kinds of brochures, websites, etc., and repeating the long journey from Flanders to the South African beach where Bavo died, we noticed that "safety and security" is restricted to protecting the tourist against criminality. Physical or environmental risks, to which risks of the sea belong, do not feature in these texts, nor on the road.
Our principal insight is that the world of tourism and the world of lifesaving (prevention of drowning) do hardly meet:
Prevention makes the difference
We encourage lifesaving organizations and all touristic stakeholders to join efforts, at home as well as in the country of destination, to undertake preventive measurements, which reduce coastal drowning: the provision of accurate and uniform information by means of safety warnings is a very important strategic tool. Our organization therefore fights misleading and/or untruthful slogans to attract unaware tourists.
Leaflets, signs and flags, guidebooks in touristic centers and accommodations, and information videos, have proved to be efficient tools to prompt beachgoers to a safer behavior at the seaside.
The vision of the organisation
A world free of coastal tourism drowning.
The mission of the organisation
The mission is to undertake all possible measures to avoid coastal tourism drowning, primarily in South Africa but also globally.
As the beaches are told to be pure paradise, and since the weather was fine that morning and the sea looked calm, Bavo Verheyden (21) and his brother Bart (29) went into the sea. The two Flemish young men, who were spending their holiday at the Wild Coast in South Africa, were not aware of the dangers of the ocean. They had never heard of rip currents and high waves. And nothing or nobody spoke against their plan. But Bavo and Bart got into serious problems.
Bart survived the ocean, Bavo didn't. April 18th 2011 turned into a tragedy for all of us.
Holiday drowning
Bavo is one of 8 000 international tourists that get drowned every year in the sea worldwide. If we include domestic tourists, he is one of 400 000 people who do not survive the sea by drowning.
We have been studying the phenomenon of holiday drowning in depth as we wanted to understand how this accident could have happened, and we want to convey our insights to you. As far as our study is concerned, we first contacted the International Life Saving Federation (ILS), which is the world authority for drowning prevention and lifesaving. The organization supports and collaborates with national and international organizations engaged in drowning prevention, water safety, water rescue, lifesaving and lifeguarding, and counts about 150 member states.
According to ILS worldwide one foreign tourist per hour gets drowned in the sea because of ignorance or underestimation of the dangers of the sea, which amounts to the aforementioned 8 000 foreign tourists per year. The main cause is the tourists' unawareness or underestimation of the dangers of the sea. Many of these drowning victims come from regions or countries where the sea is far away and - by consequence - no attention is paid to open water swimming education. The absence of the sea and the ocean in their daily lives makes those tourists completely unacquainted with the dangers of the sea.
We have studied organizations in the touristic industry, such as travel agencies, but also embassies and ministries in Flanders and in South Africa, and last but not least the UNWTO. We read the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and we learned that the touristic industry is expected to take appropriate measures to ensure the health, safety and security of tourists. However, reading through all kinds of brochures, websites, etc., and repeating the long journey from Flanders to the South African beach where Bavo died, we noticed that "safety and security" is restricted to protecting the tourist against criminality. Physical or environmental risks, to which risks of the sea belong, do not feature in these texts, nor on the road.
Our principal insight is that the world of tourism and the world of lifesaving (prevention of drowning) do hardly meet:
- because of a shortage of means, esp. in developing countries such as South Africa, ILS focuses on teaching children how to swim, and does not go into the issue of holiday drowning.
- the touristic sector on the other hand does not go into the risks of drowning. And we have discovered why. In South Africa and other developing countries, which have recently becoming fascinating destinations for tourists, the touristic industry, focusing on the economic advantages, fears that naming risks gives a negative impression of the destination.
Prevention makes the difference
We encourage lifesaving organizations and all touristic stakeholders to join efforts, at home as well as in the country of destination, to undertake preventive measurements, which reduce coastal drowning: the provision of accurate and uniform information by means of safety warnings is a very important strategic tool. Our organization therefore fights misleading and/or untruthful slogans to attract unaware tourists.
Leaflets, signs and flags, guidebooks in touristic centers and accommodations, and information videos, have proved to be efficient tools to prompt beachgoers to a safer behavior at the seaside.
The vision of the organisation
A world free of coastal tourism drowning.
The mission of the organisation
The mission is to undertake all possible measures to avoid coastal tourism drowning, primarily in South Africa but also globally.