How the safety scheme works

The LATA Travel Safety Scheme allows you to search our database for the following types of travel provider:

• Accommodation
• DMCs (Destination Management Companies)
• Transport
• Activities & Excursions
• Aviation & Marine

For each supplier on the database, you can:

• Check the supplier’s safety grade;
  Select the ones you work with;
  Create your own custom list.
  Once linked, you will then be able to monitor the supplier and will be updated of any changes to the status via email.

If any of the changes require urgent action, they will be highlighted at the top right of your screen in the ‘My Safety Area’ widget.
 

WHICH SUPPLIERS SHOULD I MONITOR?

Accommodation

We would recommend that members audit any property, no matter how little it is used.

DMCs / Transport / Activities & Excursions / Aviation & Marine

We would recommend that members audit any property, no matter how little it is used. We recommend you audit any supplier whose services you are planning to feature, or where you already have bookings confirmed. There is no minimum number of room nights or bookings requirement. 

You do not need to assess minimal risk activities such as walking tours, museum visits, cookery classes etc. or any iconic sites. Also, we do not assess airlines that sit in the IOSA or ISSA registry, any large international ocean-going cruise lines, rail/train operators or cable cars, gondolas, or chairlift operations.

Please note:

Hotel-provided transfers (road/boat/air)
Where clients must take a hotel-provided transfer (included as part of the room rate) to get to the destination/property, this transport will be audited as part of the hotel/property audit and does not require a separate transport audit.

Hotels and Lodges that include tours and activities
If you work directly with a hotel which operates a significant number of tours which you prebook for your clients (or which are included in the packages you buy), and the number of passengers you expect to send reaches the above guideline, then you should consider adding them.

If you use a ground agent to book the lodge/hotel then you should add the contact details of the ground agent and not the hotel.

SUPPLIER GRADING

All supplier grading is based on a simple traffic light code (n.b. DMC grades differ slightly – see below).

GREEN – There are no safety concerns; sell without restraint.

ORANGE – Can be sold, but please take note of restrictions detailed in notes.

RED – Serious safety issue. Sales should be suspended until appropriate action has been taken.

DMC assessments only

The colours are the same, but the grading explanations are more detailed and an Orange grade may require you to take additional action.

GREEN – There are no safety concerns; sell without restraint.

• Safety Management System (SMS) and an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) are in place.
• Documented safety checks are carried out on their sub-contracted suppliers.

ORANGE – Can be sold, but please take note of restrictions detailed in notes and note that some additional action may be required.

• Only some, or no elements of a SMS and an ERP.
• Some checks carried out on some suppliers but may not all be documented.
• Reliance on local legislation without carrying out any checks.
• Other issues need attention.
• Depending on severity of findings, it is advisable to carry out individual sample assessments on the suppliers of the DMC.

RED – Serious safety issue. Sales should be suspended until appropriate action has been taken.

• No SMS or ERP
• No documented safety checks.
• Sales should be suspended until appropriate action has been taken.

What to do if a supplier you use is graded Red.

While we cannot give you definitive advice, since every member’s policy will be different and the LATA scheme is only intended as a part of your overall risk management, your options could include:

• Contact the supplier to resolve the issue if there is a reasonable chance that it can be done before the client travels
• Find an alternative for existing bookings and stop new sales.

MORE INFORMATION ON GRADING

WHAT TO DO IF SUPPLIERS DON’T REACH REQUIREMENTS

ACCOMMODATION

If the accommodation you are using falls below our minimum requirement (more than one booking in one year), we strongly advise you to use an alternative property for your clients.

If you expect to use the accommodation for significantly more than 30 room nights per year, we recommend implementing your own safety audit on the property.

DMC/ TRANSPORT/ ACTIVTIES & EXCURSIONS/ AVIATION & MARINE

If a directly contracted supplier falls below our minimum requirement (you send less than 10 passengers per year or less than 5% of your annual passengers to Latin America) then you should send them a document based on the LATA Safety Guidelines for Small Transport Providers. Review and re-submit the guidelines on a regular basis (we suggest at least annually). These providers should not be added to the LATA system for self-audit, unless:
a) you believe their operation poses an above-normal risk
b) there have been previous incidents where the cause has not been addressed

If you expect to use the supplier for more than 90% of your annual passengers, you should consider operating your own risk management scheme and not solely rely on LATA’s self-audit if you depend entirely on one provider.