Missing submarine: see other high-risk tours – 06/21/2023 – Tourism

The disappearance of five people on a submarine that was going to explore the wreckage of the Titanic has highlighted a very specific tourist branch: very expensive and high-risk tours, ranging from bungee-jumping over an active volcano to space travel.

Companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin charge tens of millions of dollars to send tourists to space, far more than the $250,000 (R$ 1.2 million) that OceanGate Expeditions receives from each person who joins the his expeditions to see the remains of the ship that sank in 1912.

Like everything that involves big risks and huge amounts, customers need to sign liability waivers before embarking on adventures.

In a report for the American TV channel CBS, shown in November 2022, journalist David Pogue participated in an OceanGate tour.

He had to sign a waiver saying the “experimental submersible vessel has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body and could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death”.

Space travel

Until today, there were few (and very wealthy) people who were able to tour the space. Because they are short, these trips are low risk, and so far there has been no record of accidents on excursions of this type.

But, according to the president of the Commercial Space Flight Federation, Karina Drees, in an interview with the Space.com website, companies are required to disclose their safety history before customers sign the liability waiver.

Currently, spacewalks involve zero-gravity flights and travel aboard a spacecraft bound for the International Space Station. In the future, some companies hope to offer packages to the Moon and Mars.

Bungee-jumping over an active volcano

Between 2016 and 2020, the company Bungee.com offered an excursion that included bungee-jumping from a helicopter over an active volcano, Villarrica, in Chile.

The tour, which left tourists about 250 meters from the hot lava, was part of a package that cost US$ 16,000 per person (almost R$ 77,000 at current prices).

The last question in the FAQ about the tour was “can I die?”. The company, which makes the funny line, replied: “Yes. You can. But you’ll sign a disclaimer, so we’re covered.