Under the Act on the Icelandic Tourist Board No. 96/2018, any party that operates organised tours within Icelandic jurisdiction must have safety plans in place for each type of tour offered. Sellers who market tours operated by other parties are responsible for ensuring that safety plans exist for those tours.
The Icelandic Tourist Board ensures that safety plans are in place and may request them at any time. Safety plans do not need to be submitted as part of a licence application. Further information on the supervision of safety plans is provided below.
A safety plan is made up of four key elements: a risk assessment, operating procedures, a contingency plan, and an incident report. Below you will find a short description of each element, along with guidance materials and templates that may be freely used when preparing safety plans. Safety plans should be reviewed and updated regularly, with an emphasis on learning from experience and continuous improvement
Risk assessment
Risk assessments identify and evaluate potential risks associated with each type of tour. They consider what risks may arise, how likely they are to result in accidents or incidents, when and where they may occur, and who could be affected.
Operating procedures
Operating procedures describe how activities and tasks should be carried out in a safe, consistent, and appropriate manner. They help ensure that operations are conducted according to defined practices and standards, while supporting both safety and quality.
Operating procedures should take account of the risks identified in the risk assessment and include appropriate measures to prevent, reduce, or manage those risks. They should provide clear guidance to guides and other staff on how tours and activities are to be carried out in practice.
Operating procedures should include, as appropriate, information on matters such as employee qualifications, training and experience; customer-to-staff ratios; information provided to customers; required equipment; and communication systems.
• Example - Operating Procedures (pdf)
Contingency plan
A contingency plan is based on the risk assessment and describes how to respond to accidents and incidents in order to minimise their consequences.
One or more contingency plans may be required, depending on the nature and location of the tours, the hazards that may be encountered, and other relevant circumstances. This may include specific contingency plans for areas exposed to natural hazards or where access to emergency assistance may be limited or delayed.
Contingency plans should be simple, clear, and readily available to staff during tours.
• Contingency plan template
Incident reporting
It is important to record detailed information about all incidents and accidents that occur in connection with the company’s tours or activities and involve customers or participants, whether they are minor incidents or serious accidents. Accidents involving employees must be reported to the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health.
Companies can use The Incident Guard/Atvikavaktin, an incident reporting system to record incidents. Alternatively, a dedicated incident report form can be completed for each incident.
Incident reporting is important, among other things, when reviewing safety plans, as it enables companies to learn from incidents that have occurred and use that experience to improve safety
• Fillable form for incident report
Suggestions and practical advice
- Preparing safety plans is an integral part of providing quality services.
- It is important to record ALL incidents and accidents that occur during operations. Near accidents must also be recorded.
- Safety plans must be in writing in both Icelandic and English.
- Agents reselling tours must verify that companies performing the tours have safety plans.
- Various engineering and consulting companies offer assistance in the preparation of safety plans.
- Safety plans must be revised on a regular basis (at least once a year and always following any accidents / mishaps / incidents / near accidents) and new plans prepared when new types of tours are planned.
- The website Vakinn – the official quality and environmental certification for Icelandic tourism – contains detailed information on the preparation of safety plans (see here).
Checklists for Preparing and Reviewing Safety Plans
Below you will find checklists for different types of tours and activities that can be used as guidance when preparing safety plans. Please note that these checklists are also used by the Icelandic Tourist Board as a reference when conducting inspections of safety plans.
It is recommended that the checklists be opened in Chrome.
Supervision and Review of Safety Plans
In accordance with Act No. 96/2018, the Icelandic Tourist Board monitors compliance with the requirements for safety plans, including that they are in place, meet the relevant legal requirements, and are updated as necessary. The Icelandic Tourist Board is authorised to request safety plans at any time.
All parties operating organised trips within Icelandic jurisdiction may be subject to random selection. In such cases, the Icelandic Tourist Board requests that the company’s safety plans be submitted for review. In addition, the Icelandic Tourist Board may request safety plans following notifications received by the agency, or in the aftermath of incidents or accidents. In the latter case, a completed incident report must be submitted along with the safety plans.
When the Icelandic Tourist Board requests safety plans, companies holding an Icelandic licence are notified via island.is. Companies licensed abroad are contacted by email. The notification includes information on the submission deadline and the review process. In the assessment of safety plans, the Icelandic Tourist Board uses checklists, such as those shown above, as a reference.
According to the aforementioned Act, the Icelandic Tourist Board is authorised to impose daily fines on companies that do not meet the requirements of the Act. Daily fines may range from ISK 50,000 to ISK 500,000 per day.
For further information please e-mail safety@itb.is
