Become a certified member

The concern for professionalism in the adventure and ecotourism sector in Quebec

In order to become a member of the Association, you must demonstrate that your business is safe, professional and meets the Association's accreditation program, which will be given to you in your 2nd step.

To apply as a certified member outdoor company of Aventure Écotourisme Québec, you must :

  • Meet the definition of an adventure tourism business of Aventure Écotourisme Québec.
    That is to say, a physical or moral person who, for a fee, offers adventure and ecotourism activities to the public or to travel intermediaries; that is to say animated and guided or self-guided activities, in contact with nature and the culture of a given site or territory. These activities involve some risk and are not necessarily geared towards wildlife harvesting. The company controls the components of the products it offers and has at its disposal the equipment and personnel to offer and animate its adventure tourism and ecotourism activities. It can also offer its adventure tourism activities as part of animated packages.
  • Be incorporated or registered in Quebec (Registraire des entreprises).
  • Have a minimum of $2 million in civil liability insurance.
    During your enrollment process, you can obtain a quote for our civil liability insurance program at a preferential rate by contacting Romain Fisset, ESSOR assurances, our insurance broker, at 1-877-883-7767 ext.30176 or romain.fisset@essor.ca . Once your accreditation is official, your insurance will become effective.
  • Respect the general rules & regulations of the association.
  • Present the required documents:
    (risk recognition and acceptance form, risk management and emergency measures plan, guide register, first aid...)

How to become a member?

First step : Opening your file & presentation of your organization
  1. Fill out and return to us the form to open a file and present your organization.
  2. Accreditation fees: 500$ + taxes valid for one (1) year.
Second step : Preparation of your file

Once the file opening is received, the AEQ will send you an email giving you access to the "toolbox" that is useful and necessary to obtain the Quality-Safety Certification and become a member.

TOOLBOX :

  • Certification program (book of standards) of the AEQ,
  • Checklist of documents to be completed and returned,
  • File with documents to be completed and sent,
  • Additional tools and templates.

Once the documents in the administrative section of the Checklist have been approved by the AEQ, an certification consultant will be assigned to your organization. This person can offer up to 2 hours of accompaniment to help you complete the documents requested in the visit section of the check list and achieve compliance. This accompaniment can be done remotely or in person.

Third step : Visit & follow-up

Once the documents have been completed, the consultant will conduct a visit of your organization and take part in an activity to assess whether you meet all of the AEQ's Quality-Safety certification standards. To do so, we ask that a person responsible for the organization; manager, owner or director, be available for the entire day (average length of visits: 4 to 6 hours).

The certification consultant will write a report containing an assessment of the standards that are met or not met following the visit.

If certain standards are not met, a follow-up and accompaniment will be carried out if necessary and a correction period will be indicated in order to make the required corrections with a view to obtaining Quality-Safety certification. Depending on the corrective measures to be taken, a second visit with the organization may be necessary.

Step four : Formalization of certification

The Membership Committee of the Association will review your file based on the consultant's recommendations. Once you have successfully completed the four steps, you will be recognized as a professional business and become an "Certified Member" or "Probationary Member - for businesses less than one year old". You will then be able to take advantage of exclusive member privileges including the $5 million liability insurance program.

We look forward to having you as a member very soon!