I'm not sure there's any particular reason to think that this is an extraordinarily dangerous activity relative to things like mountain climbing--even on many less extreme peaks.
Those things work right up to the moment that they do not, this stuff is at the cutting edge of technology and tourists simply have absolutely no place there. The only reason those rich folks tend to do stuff like this is because they like to brag about such stuff, not because they're interested in the science behind it (if they were they likely wouldn't go). The Titanic is less accessible than space.
Across history, for every 4 people who have summitted K2, 1 person has died trying.