Search Results for: “tourism”

Summary of State Agritourism Statutes

By Doyice Cotten

In recent years, many states have added statutes providing liability protection for landowners making their agricultural land available for the purposes of agritourism. Currently (June, 2016), the author has found agritourism statutes in 22 states. The statutes vary considerably among states, as can be seen from examining the following table.

Interpreting the Table

First, the column headed Limits Liability for … (column 3) shows that almost all specify protection for injuries resulting from the inherent risks.

Texas Agritourism Act (and How It Relates to Waivers)

Editors Note: Thanks go to Tiffany Dowell Lashmet for permission to run this excellent article on the Texas Agritourism Act. Tiffany is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist specializing in Agricultural Law with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. Many, if not most, states now have agritourism acts that help to provide liability protection for owners of agricultural land who allow its use for educational or recreational activities. Be careful to note the requirement of waivers of liability. This article was originally published in the Texas Agricultural Law Blog.

Agritourism Liability: A Question in Georgia

By Doyice Cotten

Recently I stopped at an operation in South Georgia in which the operator charges one dollar each for patrons to enter a fenced area.  There patrons can view an assortment of animals including a horse, a donkey, a bison, a water buffalo, goats, and a few more animals. After I paid the admission, my wife and I took my grandson in. At the entry, a sign was posted. I was familiar with equine and other sport liability statutes,

A Few Risks in Travel to Namibia

By Doyice Cotten

Those of you who have traveled to third world countries may have noticed that safety is not usually the top concern. Here are a few examples from Namibia that reinforce that idea! In Namibia, we found that the danger from wild animals in a reserve were not the only risks encountered.

Photos 2 and 3 show some transportation risks when the travel company tries to put too many bags into a van carrying people.

Resort and Tour Disclaimers Are Usually Upheld

By Doyice Cotten

Disclaimers on tickets or signs usually are not enforced as waivers of liability. The same, however, is not true of disclaimers in contracts used by resorts or tour operators. This post addresses a disclaimer used by Unique Vacations and SRI (Sandals Resorts) and another disclaimer used by Vantage Travel Service. The first applied to a resort vacation in St. Lucia and the second to a tour Europe.

In Santora v.

Costa Rica Bike Tour Waiver Fails to Protect Colorado Tour Company

By Doyice Cotten

Sandra Steinfield fell from her bicycle and was injured during a bicycle tour vacation in Costa Rica. She and her husband filed suit in their home state of Pennsylvania; the case was moved to Colorado for trial under Colorado law (Steinfield v. EmPG Int’l, LLC, 2015).

The major issue in the case was whether a waiver and release signed by Steinfield barred the claims by Steinfield. The waiver was in two forms.

Safety on Children’s Playgrounds – In America and in Thailand

By Doyice Cotten

Children’s playgrounds are always a good source of controversy. Some peop;e seem to want to eliminate every tiny bit of possible danger or risk. These proponents seemingly want to sanitize the playground. If a piece of equipment contains any perceived risk, we must eliminate that risk or even eliminate that type of equipment. Swings have been eliminated from many playgrounds; others have only lowered them, changed the seat, or other modifications. Many playgrounds have removed Jungle Jim type climbers;

Not Much Risk Management in Mandalay (Burma)

By Doyice Cotten

While readers saw in last week’s post that risk management in Thailand is alive and well, this is not the case in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city.

As in many countries, city sidewalks present somewhat of an adventure. In Myanmar, holes and irregularities of surface present a major problem for pedestrians. See photos 1, 2, 3. Photo 11 shows that you need to look ahead as well as down—the sign is safe only if you are extremely short.

Approaches to Risk Management in Thailand

By Doyice Cotten

 

Click on Photo to enlarge!

As regular readers know by now, risks faced by locals and tourists in foreign countries abound. Hazards that you would never (or at least seldom) see in the US are both common and dangerous. I guess there just aren’t as many lawyers in those countries. Sometimes, however, we see where authorities have also spotted these hazards and have taken action.

Some hazards we spotted at popular tourist attractions in Thailand are pictured below.

Interesting Safety Signage Around the World

By Doyice Cotten

Americans traveling in other countries have the opportunity to see some interesting, and often, unique signage. A few are presented in this post. Some, like the first one, are not usually seen in the United States. The meaning, however, should be obvious.

Some of the signs warn of unique dangers. Others illustrate the difficulty in translating from another language to English. This is particularly true in the Chinese signs. Notice that several of the signs do not depend on translation or reading ability.