re: Then the marine volcano went boom, tourists missing New Zealand

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That being said, people (tourists and tour operators) should also be able to make choices on their own rather than being told what is and isn't safe by the government.

However, a line needs to be drawn somewhere about what can be permissible and what represents such a high danger than allowing underprepared (and potentially oblivious) tourists into an area. New Zealand definitely leans towards the side of letting people make this decision . . ..

For the White Island tours, people are given protective equipment like gas masks and helmets, but if even a small phreatic (steam-driven) explosion were to happen when a group was in the crater, the consequences could be catastrophic. Will it take a half dozen deaths at White Island to change the culture, or is that merely the cost of being adventurous? It is hard to say.

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