adventure tour operators association of india

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Association of Adventure Tour Operators in India (ATOAI)

ATOAI represents adventure travel in India. As a reliable resource for adventure enthusiasts, ATOAI members offer safe and exhilarating activities nationwide. Explore India's diverse landscapes with certified ATOAI operators.

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India Statue of Unity

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About the Event:  The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) is the national representative body of Indian Adventure Tour Operators and was founded in 1994 by a close group of Travel Trade Adventurers, who envisioned ATOAI to be a strong support group that led to both group and individual profits by establishing adventure as one of the main tourism attractions to India. ATOAI works closely with the industry and the Governments at the Central and State levels to advocate policies, study trends, and create a safe environment for guests to participate in adventures across 31 verticals.

Invitation to join ATOAI at its 15th Annual Convention at the Statue of Unity, Gujarat Dec 16-18, 2023 ! We are pleased to invite you to attend the ATOAI 15th Annual Convention. The theme of the convention this year is – Indian Adventure Travel: Exploring New Frontiers.

It envisions conducting a 'carbon-negative' event, where the convention's carbon footprint will be calculated and offset through a tree-planting initiative during the convention,  sending a powerful message of sustainability to all stakeholders. The convention is committed to being a single-use plastic-free event.

For more updates, you can visit the Website:  https://atoai.org/

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Gujarat Tourism's pre-Vibrant Summit focuses to make India amongst top adventure tourism destinations

The summit, which lasted from december 16 to 18, has set the direction for india to be amongst the top 10 global destinations for adventure tourism..

As a precursor to the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, the association of adventure tour operators in India has held its 15th annual convention at the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya. (Also Read | 2024 Long Weekends: Best places to travel in India on your long weekends in 2024. See detailed itinerary )

The three-day event of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India convened on December 16-18 was supported by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat. The convention has set the direction for India to be amongst the top 10 global destinations for Adventure Tourism .

The three-day convention brought together over 300 adventure tour operators, adventure enthusiasts, travellers and industry leaders from across India.

To keep the commitment to promote sustainable tourism and reduce carbon emissions, a charter was drawn to calculate the carbon emissions for the entire three-day event. To successfully offset the emission, various key sustainable initiatives were implemented.

More than 68 per cent reduction in energy usage was observed by hosting this conference in winter which reduced cooling load as well as diesel consumption. Additionally, the delegates were encouraged to minimize their carbon footprint wherever possible for their in-room consumption.

It was recognised that approximately 4,700 bottles of water per day would be utilized during the event, to eliminate the same a Zero Plastic Waste policy was implemented, which resulted in eliminating 15,000 plastic bottles.

(Also Read | Iran, Thailand allow visa-free entry to Indian passport holders; list of places to travel without visa in holiday season )

The delegates were encouraged to drink from glass or reusable bottles. Water dispensers were installed at various locations during three days.

To avoid plastic on the badges and tags, about 400 seed papers for badges and luggage tags were provided as a sustainable alternative. Participants were also encouraged to plant their badges.

By going 'Paperless' in printing informational material and Itinerary, over 2,000 sheets of paper were estimated to have been saved.

The convention also emphasized reducing food wastage by displaying the amount of food wasted after each meal and encouraging participants to minimize food waste during meals, thus promoting conscious consumption. Further to promote sustainable dining practices during the convention plastic sachets for butter, jam, and sugar were eliminated.

Moreover, in addition to implementing sustainable practices, the tour operators and Gujarat Tourism also focused on knowledge sharing with convention attendees about the importance of sustainable event management. The convention served as a platform to exchange information on eco-friendly practices and their impact on the adventure tourism industry through multiple sessions led by practitioners.

Furthermore, to offset emissions, the adventure tour operators association with Gujarat Tourism and the Forest Department of Gujarat is planting 200 saplings near the event area which will be maintained by the forest department of the region for 15 years.

The tenth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is scheduled from January 10 to January 12, 2024. The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was conceptualised in 2003 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

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ATOAI Charts the Course for Adventure Tourism in India, Aspires India to Be in Top 10 Globally

• 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 7 th 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 15 th 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 7 th 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 22 nd 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.”

• 15th Annual Convention
• 3 G's for risk mitigation
• Adventure Tour Operators Association of India
• carbon-neutral event
• Deputy Chief of Army Staff
• Forbes India
• Ganga Nature and Heritage Trail
• Govt. of India
• green carpet
• Hon’ble Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
• Lt. Gen. Rakesh Kapoor
• Ministry of Tourism
• Pema Khandu
• Tourism Corporation of Gujarat
• Western Himalayan Mega Trail

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ATOAI 15th Annual Convention 2023 in Gujarat concludes

The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) held its 15th Annual Adventure Tourism Convention 2023, at the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar from December 16–18, 2023. The event, supported by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat, and attended by close to 300 delegates, was a precursor to the forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January 2024.

– Debabrata Ray

The inauguration ceremony saw the presence of esteemed dignitaries, including Pema Khandu, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Mulubhai Bera, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism, Government of Gujarat, Sourabh Pardhi, Managing Director and Commissioner of Gujarat Tourism, Hareet Shukla, Secretary of Tourism, Government of Gujarat, Khayati Nayak, Manager, Niche Tourism Gujarat, Anil Oraw, Regional Director, North East, Ministry of Tourism, Lt. Gen. Rakesh Kapoor, VSM Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Padmashree Ajeet Bajaj, President, ATOAI, Vaibhav Kala, Convention Chairman and Vice President, ATOAI and Tejbir Singh Anand, Sr. Vice President, ATOAI. Various central and state officials and government representatives also attended the convention. Ajeet Bajaj, welcomed the attendees and highlighted ATOAI’s collaboration with tourism bureaus to enhance adventure tourism guidelines nationwide.

Throughout the day, the convention featured keynote addresses, panel discussions, and experience-sharing sessions on adventure tourism and industry growth. Pema Khandu emphasised the rich potential of the state and the Northeastern region for adventure tourism. He commended the efforts of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi in driving tourism through initiatives like ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ and expressed the goal of developing vibrant villages for sustainable tourism.

Mulubhai Bera discussed the transformation of Gujarat into a leading adventure destination under the leadership of PM Modi. He credited initiatives launched during Prime Minister Modi’s tenure, resulting in accolades like the ‘Best Tourism Village’ Award from UNWTO for Dhordo and UNESCO declaring Garba as ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.’ He highlighted the state’s diverse attractions and the significant role of adventure tourism in the economy. Hareet Shukla spoke about Gujarat’s leading position as a tourist destination and its efforts to accelerate the tourism sector.

Fitness enthusiast and actor Milind Soman delivered a special address, emphasising the importance of adventure tourism in the country. The convention also featured a panel discussion on ‘The Adventure Trilogy: Mega Trails, Border Tourism, and Vibrant Villages,’ moderated by Lt. Rakesh Kapoor. Various presentations on Gujarat tourism, Punjab tourism, and adventure tourism in Jammu and Kashmir were made during the event,

As a part of the initiative to boost tourism in the state, several Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed in preparation for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January 2024. These MoUs, totaling Rs. 770 crores, were focused on knowledge-sharing for adventure tourism, film shooting, and infrastructure development. The upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is anticipated to witness the fruition of these efforts, propelling the state’s tourism industry to new heights.

Amidst the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Statue of Unity, more than just an exploration of thrilling adventures, this convention also stood as a beacon of sustainability, setting a benchmark by committing to be a carbon-negative and single-use plastic-free event. Pema Khandu, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh has also invited ATOAI to organise its 16th Annual Convention in the breathtaking landscapes of Arunachal Pradesh.

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Association Embrace the thrill, ATOAI urges industry

August 14, 2023 ASSOCIATIONS , In-the-Issue

The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) wants more travel agents to start selling adventure travel packages, particularly soft adventure, and expand their business. Ajeet Bajaj, the association’s President, ensures that they will handhold and connect them with good adventure operators.

Encouraging travel agents to expand their business and start selling adventure tourism, Ajeet Bajaj, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), says, “Almost 80 per cent of the market today is soft adventure travel and we want to network with travel agents and tour operators in Mumbai and other cities to discuss responsible adventure tourism, best practices, as well as how to select and start working with good adventure tour operators across the country. The Maharashtra travel trade is a mature body, and I would like to encourage them to start selling soft adventure travel to their clients. There are a lot of fantastic adventure operators in India who use excellent equipment and have highly skilled adventure guides.”

Soft adventure includes activities such as rafting, trekking, and zip-lining that anyone with a little bit of training can do. On the other hand, for hard adventure one needs a greater amount of training and physical fitness.

The ATOAI conducted its first regional event post-pandemic in Mumbai recently. It started with a seminar, followed by an adventure tourism roadshow during which 13 sellers met with more than 160 buyers from Mumbai. The seminar focused on key topics, such as best practices in adventure, safety and insurance in adventure travel.

Bajaj says, “We want to spread the message of safe and responsible adventure tourism in India. We set the ball rolling by organising training for the adventure guides in Mumbai in Wilderness First Aid and CPR. We also conducted a course on responsible adventure tourism. The guides also took a pledge that not only will they do the right thing as far as safety is concerned and preserve the environment, but will also serve as honorary wardens and ensure that everyone follows the ATOAI safety guidelines.”

The idea behind the seminar was to educate travel agents and tour operators about responsible adventure tourism and best practices. A lot of members from other national associations, such as TAFI, ADTOI, IATO, as well as the Maharashtra Adventure Council were also present. ATOAI will conduct similar events in other cities, including Hyderabad, Kolkata, Guwahati, Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune.

Mega trails a great product

Sharing some statistics, Bajaj says, “Globally, adventure tourism was a US$ 683 billion industry in 2017 growing at a compound annual rate of 22 per cent. As per the pre-pandemic projections, adventure tourism was to be a trillion dollar industry by 2024. We are waiting for the 2022 report, but we are hoping that adventure tourism will bounce back quickly to the pre-pandemic levels. Adventure tourism is on a mission mode in our country. We now have a national strategy for it. There is also a national board for adventure tourism. We have had four meetings so far. There is also a national board for sustainable tourism. We have a lot of work in progress for adventure tourism such as the model law.”

Adventure was also part of the G20 meet that happened in Darjeeling, where Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy announced the launch of two mega adventure tourism trails.

Addressing a session at the G20 tourism working group meeting, Reddy said the trails are expected to be launched this year: the Ganga trail (2,700 kms) and northwestern Himalayan trail (1,200 kms).

“This is going to be a game-changer for adventure tourism in India. Travellers can walk the entire trail or do sections of it. The idea is to make these mega trails to be the finest examples of sustainable tourism. We have been working on this – the MoT, ATOAI and the state governments – and we will come up with a great product,” Bajaj says.

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What is the Future of Adventure Travel in India?

The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) recently held its 14th annual convention in a remote valley in (south) eastern India, we were there to listen and learn.

ATOAI is a representative body of adventure tour operators of India. It acts as a mediator between the government and tour operators, recommending the government on best practices for conducting adventure tourism in the country. In September last year, it led a risk mitigation committee to suggest changes to preserve India’s outdoor heritage in a better way. It also published a handbook of guideline on best practices for adventure tour operators to follow.

The ATOAI event was held in Araku Valley, situated in the Eastern Ghats of India, in Andhra Pradesh, is known for its deep forests, ancient caves, coffee beans and most recently, hot air balloons. The region held its first ballooning festival, coinciding with the convention.

[gallery size="full" type="rectangular" ids="11538,11539,11535"]

The Outdoor Journal attended some heated panel discussions during the convention and spoke to a number of established tour operators. Here is what we gleaned;

Adventure Travel is Gaining Prominence in India

“Adventure tourism is $0.5 trillion, and it is growing at a rate of 18% per year.”

In a presentation during the convention, Ashish Gupta, consulting CEO of Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) explained that the travel industry today is a $3 trillion direct business globally. That makes it one-tenth of the world economy. That also makes it bigger than the agricultural and manufacturing industries. “Out of this,” he said, “adventure tourism is $0.5 trillion, and it is growing at a rate of 18% per year.” The 2017 reports from ATTA suggest a growing trend as well .

In India, the adventure travel industry is gaining prominence. The ministry of tourism declared 2018 as the “year of adventure”. Adventure Travel and Trade Association (ATTA), a global body of adventure tour operators brought their annual AdventureNext event to India for the first time last December. The upcoming Pacific Asia Travel Association event in Uttarakhand in February has “adventure” as its theme. Needless to say, government bodies of the country are recognising the industry’s potential. However, ironically enough, the same state government also banned camping in certain regions of Uttarakhand, citing mass tourism as the problem, and rafting camps are no longer permitted along the Ganges. 2018 also witnessed a number of deaths, right from the forests of south India to the high passes of the Indian Himalaya. At least 40 were cited during presentations.

Some of the teething issues that came into the limelight were mass tourism, lack of entry barriers into the profession of adventure tourism, lack of access control into the outdoor spaces, an inability to cater to independent travellers, lack of women in the industry, lack of communication and general education about the outdoors to a growing young population, price wars…

Read about a ban on rafting and the poor governance in uttarakhand here ., lack of entry barriers into the profession, a.k.a, “anyone can become an adventure tour operator”.

“Currently there are no entry barriers. and that is our biggest problem"

Tourism is an unorganised sector in India. All one needs to start an outfit is a certificate of incorporation from the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Although the Ministry of Tourism and ATOAI have a screening process for recognising adventure outfits (ATOAI has a rigorous screening process for its “active” membership), one does not necessarily need to be recognised by either to run an adventure tour company.

A state government can, however, take measures to regulate the functioning of tourism in its region.

“Tourism is a state subject. So even the central ministry cannot force the state government to have checks and balances in place,” says Akshay Kumar of Mercury Himalayan Exploration, an adventure tour operator that has been in the business for over 35 years. “Currently there are no entry barriers. and that is our biggest problem. We need to feel proud of the sport we are in. My point is any company can’t get up and say I want to start an adventure company. You can’t be a banker one day and go on a couple of hikes and say let's start a trekking company. That is something that needs to stop, and that is something that can only be controlled by a state government. All we are asking the state governments is to only allow companies that have qualifications, and who have, some level of financial backing to invest in the right equipment.” “You need to have some kind of a pre-qualification for you take people into India’s national heritage,” fumed Vaibhav Kala, who runs Aquaterra. “That's the way we all view it. And that PQ is important because it basically it is giving you parameters and guidelines. There are so many people dying in the outdoors, nobody talks about it.”

In 2018 alone, at least 40 deaths were recorded by the media, a presentation explained. The deaths ranged from trekking in South India all the way up to Himalaya, and tour operators say that most were preventable, if the right precautions were taken.

Defining Mass Tourism in the adventure industry Mass tourism is often accused of lowering the quality of experience, degrading the environment, and a general lack of safety protocols. The guide-to-client ratio is skewed, and leave-no-trace-principles are not followed. Vaibhav Kala is one of the most vocal voices against mass tourism in adventure travel in India.

“You have these conveyor belt sort of operations,” he scoffs. “Take the Chadar trek for example—Jan 1st to 12th, 12th to 24th and so on…I remember taking note of one company running 1441 trekkers…it has become a circus. And then there is a lack of consequence. When is it going to end!?”

[gallery type="rectangular" size="full" ids="10649,10651,10648,10650"]

How does one define mass tourism? Is there a particular limit in the number of people occupying a space beyond which it becomes a problem?

“I don’t think there is a magic number,” says Kala. “But once tourism starts degrading a place, it is mass tourism. Back-to-back departures is one sure shot way of degrading a place.”

“There shouldn’t be any fixed camps,” says Ravi Kumar of NOLS. “You pack it in, and pack it out.”

One of the suggestions given was to regulate the areas by creating entry barriers and a set of mandatory guidelines. “We can have entry check points, where a minimum protocol needs to be followed, for example hiring a local guide, a certain client-to-guide ratio etc” said Kala.

“You don’t let just anyone enter the Taj Mahal, why should you do that for your outdoor heritage?” he asked.

Read Uttarakhand Trekking Ban: The Adventure Tourism Industry Reacts here .

The Independent Adventure Traveller

Last year, ATOAI released a handbook defining a set of best practice guidelines for each adventure sport in the country. However, it does not take into account a growing crop of independent outdoor travellers and clubs, that often take groups of people outdoors.

Sohan Pavuluri of Gipfel Climbing Equipment pointed this out at a panel discussion on risk mitigation. “The ATOAI guidelines do not have anything defined for independent outdoor travellers, putting them further in a grey area. They need to have guidelines for them.”

Huw Kingston , travel writer and adventurer based in Australia has been travelling independently for over 35 years. He first came to India in 1984 at the age of 22, travelling around Zanskar. His last adventure visit was in 2008, also in the Himalayas. When asked about his views on independent vs organised travel in India, he said, “Organised travel takes a lot of focus in India. Now thats one side of the travel industry. And the other side is the independent travellers, who come with their skis and kayaks and they just do things. They are still tourists and are still contributing to the country in which they are travelling, but they don’t need a big infrastructure of the tents and porters. I think ATOAI needs to recognise that more independent adventurers exist, and add some sort of measurement for independent travellers contributing to the economy.”

Lack of Women in the Adventure Travel Industry

“It is a male-dominated space,”

In a panel on women in adventure travel, senior police official Radhika GR, who has climbed six of the seven summits, including Everest spoke candidly about her experience as a female mountaineer. “It is a male-dominated space,” she said to the audience. “Once in Nepal, I had my period, and I just couldn’t ask anyone for a sanitary pad! Finally, I came across a woman in a small cafe and she helped me.”

There is a distinct lack of women guides and tour operators in the country today. Bohemian Adventures is a four-year-old adventure tour operator based in Uttarakhand. It is run by three enterprising women - Guneet Puri, Anusha Subramaniam and Shashi Bahuguna. It caters to a “one and all” policy and takes a number of women solo trekkers, senior citizens, and persons with disability on their journeys. At the panel discussion, they spoke about how they were not taken seriously as a company, because they were women. “People used to ask us to join them when we would want to collaborate. Clients would offer to drive OUR vehicles in the mountains because we are women,” said Shashi. “We have a number of good, strong women, successfully completing their course at Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. Do you know what they do after it? They go back home. Because they don’t know there are opportunities. Why can’t tour operators hire them?!” exclaimed Guneet.

Environmental Degradation

When Vinayak Koul of Snowlion Expeditions led a trek up to Stok Kangri in Ladakh last summer, he was in for a lot of work. He was leading a journey, part of a clean-up drive under Ministry of Tourism’s Adopt a Heritage program. “We pushed to adopt outdoor spaces as our natural heritage and led two clean-up drives, one to Stok Kangri and the other to a source of the Ganges. I led the Stok Kangri trek.”He came back with 2,100 kilos of garbage, mostly plastic and tin. “We were shocked to see so much garbage. And will be doing more clean-up drives. Our mountains do not deserve this. Huw Kingston has passionately campaigned against the plastic bottle in his journeys and managed to make the Australian town of Bundadoon bottled water free. He said that people are refusing to visit the most desirable places because of garbage pollution. And it's a global problem. One of the ways to mitigate this, as was suggested during the panel discussion, was to keep small group sizes, so that lesser impact is created. Another suggestion revolved around creating barriers at entry points to a space, and education.

The Budget Traveller

An important, growing market in India is that of the young 20-30-year-old budget traveller. This traveller has not been exposed to the outdoors much but is enamoured by mountains and rivers thanks to social media. H/She has a budgeted disposable income to travel but is not educated enough to do it independently. This is where the new crop of tour operators come in. Ashish Bhangdiya is a 26-year-old entrepreneur based in Pune. He gave up his profession as a charted accountant to start an adventure aggregator company, that brings together adventure travel outfits in India on one platform. “Honestly speaking, I did not know about many of these tour operators before coming to the convention. I only knew Aquaterra, and I have been trekking regularly with IndiaHikes, Trek the Himalaya, and other operators in Pune,” he said.“Before going for any trek, I make it a point to check a YouTube video of IndiaHikes. It gives me a complete picture, and get me excited as well,” he said.“Honestly speaking, as an adventure aggregator, I would like to know more about the price breakdown. How do you expect me to compare a INR 10k trek experience of one tour operator to a INR 45K trekking experience of another tour operator, when both treks are the same?” he asks.“Its 2019, there is no way that you can be selling a trek for INR 8 to 9000 when your forest fee is about INR 2400 per person,” says Vaibhav Kala. “There are also safety protocols to follow.”“We often get young college grads in our journeys,” says Guneet Puri of Bohemian Adventures. “And honestly they don’t mind slumming it.”

“There is definitely a lack of awareness amongst the youth,”

“We remove the frills, and we try to bring it down to their budget as much as possible. But we can never compete with the single digit margins,” says Anusha. “The highest cost goes to ponies and porters, and we don’t usually encourage our travellers to carry their own bags, because they usually don’t know enough and then we end up carrying their luggage in the end,” says Guneet.“We can never compromise on safety, on the client-to-guide ratio, and have to maintain a small group size. These things cost money,” says Shashi.

“There is definitely a lack of awareness amongst the youth,” says Dilshad Master Kumar of MHE . Dilshad comes from a media and entertainment background, who ran her own digital marketing agency and helped launch and manage television channels such as Star TV, National Geographic and UTV. She joined MHE full time as Director five years ago. “And there are a lot of companies that have cropped up in the last five to seven years that are very very high on technology and they are using their back-end tech to run their business and the older, more entrenched players in the business are feeling the pinch. Because they are not being able to cope with the technology, cope with the new social media spaces, and thats telling on business results. That is something that has to be looked into,” she said. MHE runs a blog called MHEStories.com , with sections such as “Bust the Myth”, “Expert Opinions” and other explainers on outdoors. “We need more such entrenched players to come out and educate the masses in this manner,” she said.

So, What is Adventure? And What is the Future of Adventure Travel in India?

"We probably need an act. An Adventure Travel Act in the country.”

Andreas Hilmar is a German travel agent who has been bringing groups of German-speaking travellers to India for the last 15 years. “My groups like visiting Sikkim, we do Ladakh, Assam, Nagaland, travel by the Ganga river. So from our point of view, and a number of travel agents in Europe, adventure tourism is not just sport adventure. We see adventure as going to areas to understand the culture, travel overland, or go on the river where there is not so much and takes long, or even to take trains in India. So this is for us an adventure of a lifetime because you get to see the culture of a place and its people,” he said.

“The industry is going to keep growing. We need to find more places,” says Pradeep Murthy of Muddy Boots, based in Kerala.  “And the same places will not work. Creating a database of places that are less explored, advising the govt to incentivise lesser known places. Shutting down areas, and allow them to recover and then alternately open other places, these are things that have a potential to work.” “I think finally the ministry is seeing the value that adventure tourism brings to the table,” says Akshay Kumar. “There is data to prove that for example in adventure travel, 60% of the income is retained within the country as compared to only 20% in leisure travel. Adventure travel retains a lot more income within the community and within the country. And I think the government is seeing the value and supporting our endeavours in a big way, which is a great sign.”

“Signs for India are great, but it is also deemed to be a country where there are 15000 adventure tour operators and only like 40-70 odd active companies recognised by the Government of India,” says Vaibhav Kala. “That is not good. That is a very poor signature for India, a supposedly big market. Its a big market because there are many small players, seasonal players. I was over the Parang la in July and this company behind us, and this guy just died on day 3. The guy was tired, there was no back up. And who is going to be responsible for his death? No one! And nothing is going to be done about it. And that pisses me off! They would say he died of a cardiac arrest. Yes his heart did stop, at the end of the day our hearts stop and we all die. But someone has to say that is not good enough. He was near collapse the day before. We probably need an act. An Adventure Travel Act in the country.”

Hon Hon Hon! French Gang Twirl Their Moustaches While Climbing Nuptse South Face

First (solo) ascent of nangpai gosum ii by jost kobusch, eoft is back with 7 of the year’s best adventure films.

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• Leaders Speak
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• Adventure tourism gathers momentum in Delhi as ATOAI organises its 3rd Seminar & roadshow

• Online Bureau ,
• ETTravelWorld
• Published On Sep 23, 2023 at 11:01 AM IST

Get ready to pay 30% more for rafting in Rishikesh this year

Tourists visiting Rishikesh for white-water rafting adventures along the Ganga should expect a potential increase in fares this season, with prices expected to rise by 20% to 30%, marking the first hike in five years. Rafting companies intend to revise the current fares, citing inflation as a pressing concern. The local rafting industry plays a crucial role in the tourism sector, contributing to job creation.

• By Online Bureau ,
• Updated On Sep 23, 2023 at 11:01 AM IST

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January 1st, 2021 New Delhi

The new  team  at the helm of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India held its first  Executive   Committee  meeting yesterday. Two past Presidents, Mr. Tejbir Singh Anand and Mr. Ajeet Bajaj, have been co-opted into the  executive   committee . In addition, Capt Swadesh Kumar, the immediate past president, took his rightful place in the  Executive   committee .  ATOAI  regrets the unintended omission of Capt Swadesh Kumar’s name from the previously published list of EC members.  All three doyens of the industry bring with them a wealth of experience, and will work alongside the rest of the management  team  to continue to take forward adventure tourism in India.

The updated list of  Office   Bearers  &  Executive   Committee   team  of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India ( ATOAI )  is as follows and will hold  office  for the next two years.

Office  Bearer’s: –

PRESIDENT –  Mr. Vishwas Makhija, Managing Director – M/s India Insight Tours Pvt. Ltd. SR. VICE PRESIDENT –  Mr. Rajesh Ojha, Managing Director – M/s Banjara Camps Pvt. Ltd VICE PRESIDENT –  Mr. Vaibhav Kala, Managing Director – M/s Aquaterra Adventures India Pvt. Ltd HON. SECRETARY –  Mr. Vinayak Koul, Director – M/s Snowlion Expeditions Pvt Ltd. HON. TREASURER –  Mr. Pradeep Murthy, Director M/s – Muddy Boots Vacations LLP

Executive   committee  member’s: –

• Capt. Swadesh Kumar – Shikhar Travels Pvt. Ltd
• Commander Sam T Samuel – Kalypso Adventures Pvt. Ltd.
• Ronny Singh Gulati – Youreka Campouts Pvt. Ltd.
• Nirat Bhatt – Nidus Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
• Nadeem Sheikh – Sea & Sky Travel (India) Pvt. Ltd.
• Arvind Bhardwaj – Red Chilli Adventure Sports Pvt. Ltd.
• Milind Bhide – Countryside Adventure Holidays Pvt. Ltd.
• Mr. Tejbir Singh Anand – Holiday Moods Adventures Pvt. Ltd.
• Mr. Ajeet Bajaj- Snow Leopard Adventures Pvt. Ltd 

ABOUT  ATOAI ATOAI  is ‘the “Adventure Tour Operators Association of India”. We are the recognized nodal body for promoting adventure tourism in India. We work with Central and State governments to drive policy and set standards for safe and sustainable adventure travel in India. We also work with domestic and international travel associations to promote adventure travel and the natural heritage of India. Conceptualized in 1994 for the adventure travel industry,  ATOAI  evolved from a strong support group that led to establishing adventure tourism as one of the main tourism attractions to India, its mountains, rivers, lakes, hills, forests, deserts, beaches and its wildlife.   ATOAI  today is a body of over  475+  adventure travel professionals who are not only passionate adventurers themselves, but also promote adventure tourism with the same passion.

For any further information, please write to our Admin Head, Ms. Sonam Bhutia at: atoai [email protected]  or  [email protected]

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1) Firm name /Registered Address/ Mobile no/ Email-I. D/ Landline no. 2) Company Registration Certificate 3) Pan card / Proprietor / Company 4) GST Number 5) I.D proof 6) Recognition from the Ministry of Tourism Centre or State Government as an Adventure Tour Operator or Tour Operator or hold a valid license issued by the State Govt for conducting adventure tourism activities 7) Recommendation from two Active member 8) Company Profile 9) Company establishment must be three years old 10) Business turnover from Adventure Tourism is at least Rs. 10 lacs per financial year and a certified document from a chartered account is mandatory 11) List of Equipment 12) List of adventure-qualified employees 13) The documents must be self-attested (Stamp & Signature)

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