Ziplines are not new, though the fun, commercial aspect is a modern endeavour!

The first recreational zipline is said to have been made by Dr. Donald Perry, who developed this technology to study the ecosystem in the canopy of the rainforests in Costa Rica.
In Columbia there are children that take a zipline across a canyon to get to school!

In China ziplines were used to cross rivers, and to transport goods in mountainous areas.
Australians used ziplines to deliver foods, cigarettes, and other supplies to folks working on the other side of an obstacle.