Foreword

With more people traveling each year for work and leisure to a wide variety of destinations, wherever they choose to go, travelers expect all accommodation services and related services to be safe. Whether for leisure or business travel, the safety and well-being of individuals should be a priority for travel service providers, tourism accommodation service providers, and the authorities at the destination.

ABTA – The Travel Association has worked for many years in partnership with members, accommodation service providers, overseas transport, and other tourism services to improve health and safety standards for the benefit of travelers, tourism accommodation staff, and local communities. We continue to collaborate with the tourism sector on key issues such as infrastructure, health, safety, security, accessibility, and sustainability.

In collaboration with our members and a team of health, safety, and security experts, as part of our ongoing commitment to support development in the tourism accommodation sector, this guide has been revised and updated to replace the Tourism Accommodation Health and Safety Technical Guide published in 2017.

Local standards and regulations relating to safety, health, hygiene, and security vary from country to country and even region to region, and compliance with local laws and regulations is a prerequisite for every tourism accommodation provider. The guidance in this book is not intended to replace or supersede the standards required by local laws and regulations. The information is provided to support and assist governments of target countries and tourism accommodation providers with a pragmatic approach to safety management processes.

Users of this guide will be able to identify key safety considerations that can be taken into account in tourism accommodation planning and management. We offer this guide as a tool to accommodation providers, tourism boards, hotel associations, and government agencies to support improvements in health, safety, and security in the target country.

The guidance information here can be used alongside local, regional, and national safety legislation compliance programs to help accommodation providers develop their own safety and risk management programs. We cannot advise on individual compliance programs; therefore, these guidelines are provided in good faith but without any legal obligation. Accommodation service providers should determine their own competence regarding legal compliance and contractual compliance with travel service providers and other partners.

ABTA – The Travel Association March 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this technical guide may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of ABTA. © ABTA – The Travel Association 2023.

Contents

  • Section One: Health and Safety Risk Management
  • Section Two: Fire Safety
  • Section Three: Food Hygiene and Safety
  • Section Four: Pool Safety
  • Section Five: General Security
  • Section Six: Pest Control Management
  • Section Seven: Fuel and Energy
  • Section Eight: Water Safety Management
  • Section Nine: Child Facilities
  • Section Ten: Security
  • Section Eleven: Transportation
  • Section Twelve: Water Parks
  • Section Thirteen: Beach and Water Sports
  • Section Fourteen: Prevention of Infection Spread
  • Section Fifteen: Legionnaires' Disease
  • Section Sixteen: Incident Management and Investigation
  • Section Seventeen: Natural Disasters
  • Section Eighteen: Villa Security

Any tourism accommodation service provider needing assistance with health, safety, and security procedures at their facilities should ensure they benefit from reputable consultancy services. Local and international suppliers can provide consultancy services, but references should be checked before continuing to use their services.

ABTA – The Travel Association thanks the international team of experts and health, safety, and security consultancy companies for their contributions to the preparation of this technical guide; their expertise has been invaluable.

Contributors

  • BeSafe Ltd - Barbara Evans (barbara@besafelimited.co.uk)
  • Biolinea Int. - Dr Sebastian Crespi (screspi@biolinea.com)
  • CORGI - John Gregory (jgregory@corgitechnical.com)
  • IGI Ltd - Ian Greaves (iangreaves@igint.co.uk)
  • International Protect and Prepare (IPP) - www.protectuk.police.uk
  • Intertek/Cristal - Jason Burnett (jason.burnett@intertek.com)
  • Moonlight Environmental Ltd. - Belinda Stuart-Moonlight (office@me-ltd.biz)
  • Peregrine Risk Management - James Lawrence (jlawrence@peregrine-rm.com)
  • Preverisk - Dr Esteban Delgado (edelgado@preverisk.com)
  • Tetra Consulting - Barry Hilton (barry.hilton@tetraconsulting.co.uk)
  • The Fun Lab - Javier Salvador (javier@thefunlab.es)
  • Wayman Experts - Oggs Wayman (oggsw@waymanexperts.com)

Section One: Health and Safety Risk Management

Introduction

The purpose of the Health and Safety Risk Management section of this technical guide is to support tourism accommodation providers and other relevant providers in effectively identifying and managing health and safety risks.

The benefit of having an appropriate health and safety risk management process is that it provides a consistent and proportionate approach to:

  • Identifying and reporting hazards
  • Determining and documenting existing controls and their effectiveness
  • Identifying any additional actions that may be necessary to reduce risk to an acceptable level

An effective health and safety risk management process can help reduce accidents and injuries related to the facility. All users of this technical guide should seek support from a competent person in areas not fully understood.

Competence can be defined as the combination of a person's education, skills, experience, and knowledge, and the ability to assess whether a task is performed safely. Other factors such as attitudes and physical fitness can also affect a person's competence.

Management Responsibility

While the day-to-day management of health and safety at the facility can be delegated to other staff, the accommodation owner and facility manager are responsible for the safe provision of facility services and amenities and must follow risk management procedures to ensure they operate correctly.

It is recommended that the hazard identification process and the accepted risk reduction actions are regularly monitored to ensure they are implemented and achieve the desired results.

Accommodation owners and managers must ensure that the risk management process they use is documented, communicated, accessible to staff, and that staff receive appropriate training to effectively perform their duties and responsibilities.

Duty of Care

Accommodation owners and tourism accommodation managers are responsible for complying with local standards regarding the health, safety, and welfare of their staff, customers, third-party suppliers, and other visitors within the facility. This duty may also cover activities and processes carried out by the accommodation provider outside the facility boundaries or under their responsibility (such as transportation or excursions).

In most countries, this duty is a legal requirement; however, caring for the health and well-being of employees and customers should not be seen merely as a legal obligation. Demonstrating commitment to the health and well-being of everyone staying, working, or visiting the facility should be the purpose of the accommodation business.

Risk Management

An effective health and safety management system provides a logical and systematic framework to help a business identify hazards within the facility boundaries, reduce or eliminate them, and determine any additional controls required.

Additionally, regular monitoring of the risk management system will also provide assurance regarding the effectiveness of established control measures.

Definitions

Hazard: Defined as elements that can cause potential harm or adverse health effects to one or more persons.

Risk: The likelihood that a person exposed to a hazard will suffer harm or an adverse health effect. Risk can be effectively assessed by determining the following:

  • The probability of harm occurring
  • How serious the harm could be (severity)
  • The number of people who may be affected
  • Existing controls

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is carried out to understand hazards, the likelihood of accidents, and what can be done about them. It is a careful examination of what could cause harm to customers, employees, and other visitors, including activities inside the facility and, in some cases, activities outside the facility.

It then determines whether sufficient measures/controls are in place to prevent harm or reduce the risk of harm, or what more needs to be done. Risk assessments should be conducted by a competent person. However, the assessor should also involve a sufficient number of people (i.e., staff, regular visitors to the facility) to carry out a full assessment and ensure the assessment is collectively accepted. Risk assessments must be documented.

Five-Step Risk Assessment

  1. Identify Hazards: Identifying potential hazards is a very important part of risk management. Walk around the facility to observe structures, activities, processes, and substances that could cause injury or health damage. Review manufacturer instructions, accident and illness records, routine and non-routine activities.
  2. Identify Who Might Be Harmed and How: Talk to employees to detect hidden hazards. Consider groups with special needs such as children, disabled persons, and new or temporary staff.
  3. Evaluate the Risk: Assess the likelihood that hazards will cause harm. "Reasonably practicable" measures should be taken to protect people from serious harm or injury. Review existing controls and explore ways to reduce risk. Local legal requirements and industry best practices should be considered.
  4. Record Findings: Document hazards, types of harm, and existing controls. Records should be simple and clear, showing the controls and measures taken. Risks should be prioritized and addressed accordingly.
  5. Review the Risk Assessment: Risk assessments should be regularly reviewed, especially after accidents or incidents, legal changes, new activities, changes in customer profiles, and new equipment use. Daily or weekly facility inspections should be conducted, checklists used, and records maintained.

Other Considerations

Accident and incident reporting is important for identifying trends and preventing recurring issues. Employees should be encouraged to report safety concerns. Reported issues should be investigated, resolved, and recorded.

Staff health and safety training should be provided at the start of employment, regularly repeated, and documented.

Record Keeping

To support the risk management system, documents should be securely stored and easily accessible. Documents can be in printed or digital form. Documents to be kept include (but are not limited to):

  • Risk assessments
  • Safety checklists
  • Employee training records and competency certificates
  • Accident or incident report forms
  • Safety correspondence
  • Safety meeting minutes
  • Maintenance and service records