Warning on tag-a-long tour operators

Submitted: Monday, May 02, 2005 at 15:52
ThreadID: 22572 Views:5204 Replies:14 FollowUps:28
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I was chatting with a mate who is "in the industry" this morning and he related a story about a tag-a-long tour which is going to conclude in a court of law. Apparently, some months back a couple with children were undertaking their ultimate outback holiday with a reputable tour operator and were half way through the proposed trip when after dinner one evening, in the middle of nowhere there was a medical emergency with one of the children. Allegedly the guide had imbibed a quantity of alcohol prior to and during the meal and when confronted with the emergency, was unable, in the eyes of the parents to offer appropriate procedures or directions to deal with either the medical situation or transfer to an environment with care facilities. The child in question apparently has a permanent disability which may have been avoided if the correct course of action had been undertaken.
The parents are arguing that the tour guide had a duty of care to be 100% sober as part of the implied responsibility he had assumed by providing the tag-a-long and that their child had suffered due to his perceived inability to fulfil his obligations.
Reading between the lines I don't think the tour operator was anywhere near rolling drunk, but the proposition is that he should have maintained 100% sobriety in order to perform his duties accountably. I have never been on a tag-a-long tour but this scenario raises a number of questions which I hope operators and participants may be able to help me with;
What is acceptable with regard to the sobriety of a tour operator?
Is there any mention of conditional responsibilities in the tour operators' contracts?
Do the operators have a moral obligation to maintain zero alcohol impairment?
"Drinks around the campfire" is something which the majority of Australians enjoy, but is the tour leader unable to participate?
And finally, are these parents being unreasonable in their expectations of the tour company?
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