- Gujarat Tourism rolls out the ‘Green Carpet’ for the adventure tourism convention attendees, ATOAI commits to work closely with the Govt. of Gujarat to make it a preferred adventure destination in the country.
- “In our country we have a huge potential for adventure tourism, but we are still not able to harness our potential” – Chief Minister of Arunachal. Invites ATOAI to organize its 16th Annual Convention in Arunachal Pradesh.
- “Tourism in India can be a 24*7 round-the-year activity, depending on where you want to be or which part. India is listed as 7th most beautiful country by Forbes, but India is possibly the most beautiful country in the world” – Lt. Gen. Rakesh Kapoor, Deputy Chief of Army Staff
- “Our mission is to have India ranked in amongst the 10 best adventure destinations in the world in the next ten years” – President, ATOAI
- Govt. of India agrees with ATOAI to set up the Western Himalayan Mega Trail and the Ganga Nature and Heritage Trail, expected to be the game-changer for the country.
- President ATOAI highlights 3 G’s for risk mitigation – Guidelines, Guides, and Gear. Working with the Bureau of Standards to standardize adventure equipment for adventure sports in the country.
Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) in association with Tourism Corporation of Gujarat, utters the message of responsible adventure louder by hosting its 15th Annual Convention in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat with a thoughtful theme, a carbon-neutral extravaganza. Paving the way for Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024, the convention aims to enhance collaborations and foster opportunities in the domain of adventure tourism.
On the inaugural day, Ajeet Bajaj, President, ATOAI thanked Gujarat Tourism for rolling out the ‘Green Carpet’ for the convention attendees. Sharing his vision, Bajaj mentions, “Just before pandemic, according to global projections, adventure tourism was estimated to be a trillion-dollar industry by 2024. And we feel our country India has everything, with 73% of the Himalayan range, 7000 km coastline, we are one of world’s biodiversity hotspots with every conceivable geographical terrain, and we have the potential of 50 Switzerlands in India itself. The World Economic Forum ranks our natural heritage as amongst the 10 best in the world. Our mission is to have India ranked in amongst the 10 best adventure destinations in the world in the next ten years.
He further thanked the Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India, for the support and setting up a National Board for Adventure Tourism. Thanking Mr. Arvind Singh, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India, Bajaj addresses the present team at the Ministry as a dream team. “We are working very closely on issues like a model law for adventure tourism, adventure rescue centers, satellite phones for operators, insurance and more.”
Mentioning the latest progress, Bajaj announces “We are pleased to announce that the Govt. of India has agreed to our proposal of setting up two mega trails, the Western Himalayan Mega Trail, which will start from Jammu and pass through Kashmir, Ladakh, Spiti, Himachal, Garhwal and Kumaon, ending in the Tri-junction area. We also now got a Ganga Nature and Heritage Trail, starting from Gaumukh, from where Ganga begins her descent down, and go all the way along the river for 2700 km to Ganga Sagar in the Bay of Bengal. These two initiatives are going to be a game changer for adventure tourism and the country as well.”
In Gujarat, India has 1200 km coastline with the potential of many adventure activities, and ATOAI is going to work closely with the Govt. of Gujarat to make it an attractive adventure destination in the country. Bajaj encourages the adventure tour operators, to work harder as a lot need to be done with the government, and state governments.
Bajaj also highlights 3 G’s of for risk mitigation – Guidelines, Guides, and Gear. ATOAI has safety guidelines covering 31 verticals of adventure sports, and the guidelines are framed to work as a guiding light. “Our guides are our ambassadors, who not only have to be skilled to perfection in their area of operations, but also have to be perfect in their communication skills including first-aid, CPR, etc and they have to be our rockstars of the industry. Also, we are working with the Bureau of Standards to standardize adventure equipment for adventure sports in the country. And most importantly, we have to be the custodians for our Mother Nature, for the wilderness areas that we are blessed with. And all of us have to pledge to be moral wardens to the strict ‘Leave no Trace’ ethos”, concluded Bajaj.
During his address, Pema Khandu, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh encourages the participants mentioning, “In our country we have a huge potential for adventure tourism, but we are still not able to harness our potential. I appreciate the vision of ATOAI, and also invite ATOAI to organize its 16th Annual Convention in the breathtaking landscapes of Arunachal Pradesh. During this three-days convention, I think this is going to be a good platform with all the experts gathered, where you are going to discuss very important topics, wherein the State and Union governments can come and handhold a good vision for adventure tourism prospects of the country.”
He further adds, “If we want to promote good tourism, we need to have good infrastructure and strong communication. Travelers are now conscious about time and our Hon’ble PM is trying his best to put infrastructure right in place to save time and promote more flow of tourists to the Northeast. ATOAI has brought adventure tour operators today to this platform and you can now guide us and the respective State boards with your suggestions on how to utilize the facilities better, and we can take them forward.
On the same lines, Lt. Gen. Rakesh Kapoor, Deputy Chief of Army Staff mentions “Tourism in India can be a 24*7 round-the-year activity, depending on where you want to be or which part. According to the Forbes list, India is the 7th most beautiful country, I think they are wrong. India is possibly the most beautiful country in the world. And if we are the most beautiful country in this world, we need to increase the percentage of what adventure and tourism contribute to the GDP. Today we are at 4.6%, collectively all of us need to increase the contribution towards the GDP. If we are the 22nd ranked country visited across the world, there is huge scope to increase our contribution of foreign earnings from tourism.”
Emphasizing the need to fuel up border area tourism, Kapoor mentions “The border areas of our country offer us battlefield tourism, allowing the young generation to understand the rich history of the country. The border areas also offer adventure and a huge understanding of the ecology of this country. Besides, border areas also offer spiritual and cultural tourism as well, as the culture of every State has its own distinct character, and you get a flavor and a taste of different cultures obtained by the country. And the army is keen to associate with all agencies and Govt. of India to develop border area tourism, as with the growth of this segment of tourism there comes significant development to that region, improvement in infrastructure, more facilities, more capacities to operate and more security as well.”
