Due Diligence Isn't a Tick-Box Exercise. It Can Be the Difference Between Life and Death.
The recent legal action following the tragic death of 15-year-old Jenna Chan during a school expedition in the Maldives has once again brought the safety of overseas educational travel into sharp focus. According to reports, her parents have commenced legal proceedings alleging failures in planning, supervision and operational safety during the expedition. The allegations remain to be determined by the courts, but they raise important questions that every school, university, expedition provider and educational travel organiser should be asking.
As someone who has spent decades designing, auditing and managing adventure programmes around the world, my immediate reaction is not to speculate on the circumstances of this particular incident. Instead, it is to ask a more fundamental question:
How thoroughly was the operator assessed before they were entrusted with the safety of young people?
Selecting an operator should never be based on price or reputation alone
Many schools spend months assessing curriculum, accommodation and travel logistics. Yet the organisation actually responsible for taking students into remote environments is sometimes selected based on recommendations, marketing material or previous relationships.
That simply isn't enough.
Adventure activities, marine programmes, expeditions and conservation projects expose participants to dynamic and often unforgiving environments. Boats, rivers, mountains, wildlife, remote roads and changing weather all introduce risks that require professional management.
A polished website or attractive brochure tells you very little about an operator's actual safety culture.
Due diligence goes far beyond asking for insurance certificates
Professional due diligence should examine whether an operator genuinely manages risk—not whether they simply possess documentation.
Questions every school should be asking include:
- Does the organisation have a documented Safety Management System?
- Are written risk assessments specific to the activities and locations?
- Have emergency response plans been tested through exercises?
- How are guides recruited, trained and assessed?
- What qualifications and experience do instructors actually hold?
- Are boats, vehicles and technical equipment independently inspected?
- What are the guide-to-student supervision ratios?
- How are subcontractors selected and monitored?
- What medical capability exists if something goes wrong?
- How long would evacuation realistically take?
- Who has authority to stop activities if conditions deteriorate?
- Has the operator experienced previous serious incidents, and what lessons were implemented?
These are not administrative questions.
They are questions that may ultimately determine whether an incident is prevented—or whether a minor emergency becomes a fatal one.
Paper compliance is not operational competence
One of the biggest misconceptions in adventure travel is that certification automatically equals safety.
It doesn't.
An operator may possess certifications, memberships and impressive credentials while still demonstrating poor operational discipline in the field.
The only reliable way to assess competence is through professional auditing.
That means observing operations, interviewing staff, reviewing procedures, inspecting equipment, validating training records and understanding how decisions are actually made under pressure.
Overseas doesn't mean lower standards
Many schools understandably become excited by opportunities to take students to incredible destinations—whether marine conservation projects, mountain expeditions, cultural exchanges or environmental research.
The educational value can be enormous.
But geographical distance should never become an excuse for accepting lower standards than would be expected at home.
If anything, overseas programmes require even greater scrutiny because they often involve:
- Different legal systems
- Different emergency medical capabilities
- Different regulatory oversight
- Language barriers
- Variable infrastructure
- Greater reliance on local subcontractors
Every additional layer increases the importance of robust pre-engagement due diligence.
Independent verification provides confidence
Schools are experts in education.
They are not necessarily experts in maritime operations, mountaineering, technical rescue, expedition medicine or adventure risk management.
That is why many organisations now commission independent specialists to undertake operator assessments before contracts are signed.
An independent audit can verify whether an operator's documented systems genuinely reflect what happens in practice.
It also provides governors, trustees, insurers and parents with confidence that decisions have been based on objective evidence rather than assumptions.
The question every school should ask
When something goes wrong, investigations often focus on what happened on the day.
Equally important is what happened months earlier—during procurement.
Was the operator independently assessed?
Were safety systems professionally reviewed?
Was operational competence verified?
Or was everyone reassured simply because the organisation looked professional?
A responsibility that extends beyond compliance
Every organisation taking young people overseas accepts an enormous responsibility.
Most expedition providers are highly professional and work tirelessly to keep participants safe. Unfortunately, tragedies remind us that assumptions can never replace verification.
Professional due diligence should not be viewed as an administrative hurdle or procurement exercise.
It is an investment in safeguarding.
Because the true measure of due diligence is not whether it satisfies a policy. It is whether it prevents the next tragedy.
My thoughts are with Jenna's family, her friends and everyone affected by this heartbreaking event. I hope that, regardless of the outcome of the legal proceedings, the lessons identified lead to stronger standards, greater transparency and safer educational travel for young people everywhere.