Tourists might be momentarily deterred from booking a hot-air balloon flight but the balloon disaster that left 11 dead is unlikely to shock New Zealand's adventure tourism industry, an expert says.
Carterton's fiery balloon crash on Saturday has stunned the country and left many once again questioning safety standards of New Zealand's substantial and highly-successful adventure tourism sector.
Tough regulations were introduced in November requiring stricter standards and certification for the industry in the wake of several fatal accidents.
It is not yet known to what extent the company Early Morning Balloons had complied with the new rules.
Professor Simon Milne, a tourism specialist at the Auckland University of Technology, said while the disaster was widely publicised overseas, potential tourists would unlikely be put off booking their next trip to New Zealand.
"I think overseas it will be seen as what it is, a tragic accident, probably one that could have happened anywhere, rather than something that reflects badly on the safety of rafting, jet boating and everything else here in New Zealand," Prof Milne told NZ Newswire.
He said the country's small hot-air ballooning industry will probably take a hit in the medium term, with would-be customers considering making a booking in the next couple of months "possibly deterred".
"To be frank though, when we look at past jet boating and white river rafting accidents we see the effect is short-lived.
"People soon put these incidents behind them, preferring to move on. That's human nature, isn't it?"
That the tourists were domestic rather than foreign would also lessen the impact overseas, Prof Milne said.
The blow would be felt hardest in Carterton itself, which had been reaping the benefits of income and regional promotion of businesses by Early Morning Balloons, now under intense scrutiny.
"That's tough to bear for a small community like this and I'd imagine the ramifications will be very significant indeed," he said.
NZN