Ministry of Tourism organized the National Conference on Adventure Tourism from 18th to 19th December 2023 at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat with the theme ‘Viksit Bharat@2047: Making India a GLobal Adventure Tourism Hub’. The aim of the conference was for providing a platform to deliberate and devise strategies and initiatives to make India a Global Adventure Tourism Hub.

The natural attractions in India are almost unrivaled in the world, ranging from pristine forests, snow-clad Himalayas, montane grasslands, golden and silver desserts, rivers, lakes, wetlands, mangroves, beaches, volcanoes and corals, housing tremendous biodiversity. Besides, we have the mega- fauna consisting of iconic species such as tigers, lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards, wild buffaloes, Indian bison (gaur), etc. and more than 1200 species of birds.

India has significant geographical advantage owing to its rich natural & eco-tourism resources:

●    70 percent of the Himalayas

●    7,000 kms of coastline

●    Among the one of the three countries in the world with both hot and cold deserts

●    Ranks 10th in total area under forest cover

●    Ranks 6th in terms of number of recognized UNESCO Natural Heritage sites

Despite natural wealth and potential, India ranks quite low in global adventure tourism. India holds great potential to become a global marketplace for adventure activities and sports. India has tremendous potential to attract adventure tourists from different parts of the World. From North to South and East to West, the geographical conditions of the country provide a competitive edge regarding the development of adventure tourism opportunities.

In order to provide impetus to the development of adventure tourism in the Country, Ministry of Tourism has formulated the National Strategy for adventure tourism. The Ministry has further notified Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management as Central Nodal Agency for Adventure Tourism to provide technical support to the Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has also set up a National Board for Adventure Tourism under Secretary (Tourism) and comprising Central Ministries, States and Industry Stakeholders to provide guidance for the development of the sector.

Following strategic pillars have been identified for development of sustainable tourism, adventure tourism and ecotourism:

(i). State assessment, ranking and strategy

(ii). Skills, capacity building and certification

(iii). Marketing and promotion

(iv). Strengthening adventure tourism safety management framework

(v). National and state level rescue and communication grid

(vi). Destination and product Development

(vii). Governance and Institutional Framework

India has set an ambitious target of USD 3 Trillion tourism economy by 2047. It envisages adventure tourism contributing to USD 800 Billion with India becoming one of the top ten adventure tourism destinations in the world.

This will require 20 million FTAs and 80 million FTV for adventure tourism in India, which will yield USD 90 Billion foreign exchange. This will be supplemented by 4 Bn domestic visits for adventure tourism in the country. This journey from 96th position to 10th position globally will need a joint strategic roadmap by the Central Government in partnership with States and Industry.

Director Niche Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Smt. Radha Katyal Narang, during her welcome address, congratulated State Government of Gujarat and Adventure Tour Operator Association of India (ATOAI) for the success of ATOAI’s 15th Annual Convention & Pre-Vibrant Gujarat Event organized from 16th-19th December 2023 at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat with the theme of ‘Exploring New Frontiers’. The Director acknowledged the progress made in promotion of Adventure Tourism and highlighted the ongoing efforts of the Ministry for promotion and development of Adventure Tourism with focus on sustainability in the country.

A presentation was made on the National Strategy for Adventure Tourism by the Additional Secretary (Tourism), Sh. Rakesh Kumar Verma. Additional Secretary (Tourism) emphasized on capacity building, marketing & promotion and need of collaboration among Central, States and industry stakeholders.

The conference saw International perspective on Adventure Tourism by Mike Druce, Coach at Slalomcoach, followed by Industry insights from Padma Shree Awardee Shri. Ajeet Bajaj, President ATOAI.

The Ministry of Tourism launched ‘Adventure Tourism India Website’ and ‘Best Adventure Tourism Destination Competition 2024’.

The second session - ‘Propelling States for Adventure Tourism’ saw presentation from States cover the following:

(i) Adventure Tourism assets, (ii) Destination and product development, (iii) Skill Development and Capacity Building, (iv) Marketing and promotion, (v) Safety and Risk Mitigation, and (vi) Synergy with national policies, strategies and digital platforms

The following States made the presentations during the conference:

1. Shri Sachin Kurve, Secretary, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB)
2. Shri Swapnil Naik, Secretary (Tourism), Arunachal Pradesh
3. Sh. Hareet Shukla, Secretary (Tourism), Gujarat
4. Mr. Kaushlendra Vikram Singh IAS, MD MP Tourism corporation
5. Smt. Kunzes Angmo, Director (Tourism), UT Ladakh
6. Shri P.B. Nooh, Director (Tourism), Kerala
7. Shri. C.S.Rao, Principal Secretary, Sikkim Tourism
8. Mrs. Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, Pr. Secretary, Punjab

On the second day, the third session - ‘Destination Planning, Development and Management’ saw Best Practices and Experience Sharing with two cases, 1. Developing Ekta Nagar as a green field tourism destination, and 2.  Developing A Sustainable and Responsible Tourist Destination under Swadesh Darshan 2.0.

The fourth session included status update on various other initiatives of Ministry of Tourism including:

Incredible India Portal, Meet in India campaign, Wed in India campaign, Travel for LiFE Campaign, Travel for LiFE: Tourism for Tomorrow Competition, and Best Tourism Village and Best Rural Homestays Competition.

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