Task force for adventure tourism promotion & development

At the behest of Adventure Travel Operators Association of India (ATOAI), Vinod Zutshi, Secretary Tourism, Government of India, announced the formation of National Task Force on Adventure Tourism for the development and promotion of adventure tourism in India. The National Task Force will be chaired by the Secretary Tourism while the team will comprise Joint Secretary Tourism as the convener, Joint Secretaries of MHA, MEA, Ministry of Civil Aviation, MoEF, MOD, Ministry of Sports, Director- Indian Mountaineering Foundation, Principal- IISM, Gulmarg, Director – National Institute of Water Sports, Goa, President of ATOAI, Representative of ATOAI, secretaries of all states concerned with Adventure Tourism and Dy. Director General (Niche Tourism). The task force also aims to resolve the issues related to the segment which includes safety and security of adventure tourists, accessibility, products and promotion, among others. “Adventure travel is facing challenges on multiple fronts, across almost every region in India. Safety, accessibility, licensing and standards are the four pillars of any adventure travel destination and we have to deal with multiple ministries and offices to address these issues. The formation of the National Task Force on Adventure Travel will not only attempt to address these challenges, but at the same time, will be able to highlight our vast plethora of natural assets to international markets – which have till now been ignored,” said Akshay Kumar, President, ATOAI.  “It will allow the great geographical features of India and the adventure tourism opportunities there to become a focus for development and promotion throughout the global markets. This in turn will make the field grow tremendously in revenues, helping Indian tourism to potentially double the number of international tourist arrivals in India,” said Sanjay Basu, Senior Vice President, ATOAI.