Safety

Our Program Instructors and Local Guides

All our Program Instructors are highly experienced in the outdoor industry, with the relevant qualifications and soft skills required to lead programs and expeditions to a world class standard. We are thrilled to partner with local experts as In-Country Guides on specific programs. In-Country Guides are renowned for being experts in their fields and provide us with invaluable regional and technical knowledge which guides us on both the planning and delivery of the syllabus.

24/7 support

The team in Queenstown provide 24/7 phone support to all teams on the ground. Should there be any change in plans or a challenge that requires additional support, our team are there to assist our Program Instructors and the group they're leading.

Insurance

Each of our companies have both public liability and professional indemnity insurance, it is the participants responsibility to organise their own personal travel insurance. All participants are required to provide us proof of their own travel insurance prior to departure, and to make this easy for our clients we have partnered with a full-service travel agency that we recommend they use.

Medical and security assistance

We retain a medical and security assistance company who provide specialist advise prior to our departures regarding all aspects of our travel itineraries as well as on the ground support in the event of an emergency.

Assessing political safety

We closely monitor developments in countries in which we run programs, and if we perceive an increase of risk in an area, our teams will re-route, curtail, postpone, or cancel the program. Our extensive and longstanding relationships with community partners support us in keeping student safety and well-being at the fore-front of our work.

Group sizes

We maintain low ratios of Program Instructors on all our programs and these ratios are based on the type of program, activity and country. We base these ratious on the best practice standards, ensuring we can provide all participants with a personal level of support.

Training

All participants are given comprehensive training during orientation, which is specific to the country and culture. Having accommodated over 3500 participants on worldwide programs, we're confident that we not only deliver quality training which covers a wide range of subjects and scenarios, but that we're able to answer any outstanding questions asked.

Assessments and accreditations

ETHOS has safety management systems assessed and accredited by the US Gap Year Association, the UK's Year Out Group and AdventureMark, which is New Zealand's largest adventure certification body. We continue to work alongside these partners, and regularly update our systems as scenarios and requirements evolve.