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TheSignificanceofAdventureTourism Paper8
TheSignificanceofAdventureTourism Paper8
TheSignificanceofAdventureTourism Paper8
The socio-economic benefits to the rural economy by adventure travel has been a
constant feature of the sector, irrespective of the political and economic conditions. During
the post-independence period, the frequency of adventure travel lost some impetus and was
restrained to the province of prosperous adventurers owing to the heavy cost of travel and the
complexities involved in travelling to remote regions. The Government too, in the initial
years, put emphasis upon up-grading the nation’s economy through the primary and
secondary sectors, and major emphasis was put upon in promoting the historical and cultural
heritage of India. The thriving in the adventure tourism sector can in part be accredited to the
economic growth post, especially around the new millennium based on the rapid
augmentation of the information technology sector (Off the Beaten Trail, 2013).
As economic growth implied that the travellers, especially the youth segment, who are
more drawn into such activities and have a higher travel inclination, had more disposable
income, and could afford the moderately higher costs involved in adventure and nature based
products. Adventure tourism infrastructure also has a major role to play in religious tourism,
as a considerable number of the popular religious sites like the Char Dhams in Uttarakhand
are located in remote locations, and require a high level of technical expertise to deal with the
large amount of pilgrims in ecologically sensitive environments. Not only this, inbound as
well as adventure travellers have a strong tendency to make an addition of socio-cultural or
historical extensions to their core adventure itinerary, and thereby, complementing other
niches as well (Off the Beaten Trail, 2013).
Government Initiatives
The Ministry of Tourism also documented the potential of the niche, especially since
the adventure tourism would take within its folds the emerging forms of maintainable,
supportable and responsible tourism. By the nature of the product, adventure tourism puts
emphasis upon minimizing the influence upon the socio-cultural as well as the natural
environment. It involves a high ratio of local labour force, thereby taking a community-based
approach, and encourages interaction between the tourists and the environment. As per the
policy for the variation of tourism product of India, special attention is being paid towards the
development of adventure tourism within the country. The Ministry of Tourism has also
issued guidelines for approval of adventure tour operators, which is a voluntary scheme, open
to all bona-fide adventure tour operators (Off the Beaten Trail, 2013).
Central financial assistance is being provided to various state governments and union
territory administration for development of tourism infrastructure within the destinations
including, adventure tourism destinations. These include facilities for trekking, rock
climbing, mountaineering, aero-sports, winter and water related sports, trekker huts, wildlife
viewing facilities and so forth. Financial assistance for purchase of water sports equipment
consisting of kayaks, canoes, paddle boats, fibre glass boats, hovercrafts, water scooters, etc.
are also provided to the state governments up to 25 percent of the cost of equipment. The
Governments have also established training institutes throughout the country, making
provision of certificate courses and programs in adventure sports (Off the Beaten Trail,
2013). In higher educational institutions, within India, as well as in other countries, such as
United States of America, there are programs and courses related to adventure tourism, and
sports science. Individuals are required to develop an interest in these areas in order to pursue
these courses and programs.
The report of the working group on tourism, which has representation from policy
makers as well as stakeholders from the industry, has generally identified the following areas
of concern that needs to be addressed during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17). In order to
completely acquire the adventure tourism potential that the diverse features in the geography
of the country has to provide, there are certain aspects, which need to be taken into
consideration. These are, improvement of infrastructure and eminent adventure equipment,
acknowledgement and development of new adventure destinations, restraints on use of
satellite phones, and trekking contour maps, reinforcement of facilities for safety and
protection of adventure tourists, antagonistic marketing of adventure tourism and brand
“Indian Himalaya” to disregard the Indian tourism off-season, making the country an year-
round destination, restricted marketing material and insufficient publicity of adventure events
and familiarisation tours, co-ordination between various inter-ministerial policies,
cumbersome visa issue system and multiple taxation issues in certain states (Off the Beaten
Trail, 2013).
From the policy perspective, the Ministry of Tourism has the place for certificate
guidelines, which put emphasis upon the delivery of services and focus upon the safety
guidelines and the issues related to the conservation of the environment. The application and
the approval mechanisms are easily accessible and the approved list of the operators can be
found in the public domain (Off the Beaten Trail, 2013). When an individual or a group of
individuals are involved in different types of adventure tourism activities, then it is vital to
ensure that they are aware of certain rules and guidelines. Appropriately following the rules is
an essential requirement, for not only leading to safety and protection of the individuals
involved, but also in making sure that the activities that they are being engaged in, are
implemented in a well-organized manner.
Opportunities and Challenges
Within the growth of adventure tourism, there are opportunities and certain challenges
experienced, which need to be overcome. These have been stated as follows: (Off the Beaten
Trail, 2013).
Opportunities
Bibliography
Adventure Tourism Market Study in India. (2016). Ministry of Tourism. Government of
India. Retrieved October 15, 2018 from
http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/Other/
Adventure_Tourism_Final_Report_revise_on_26-10-2016_%282%29.PDF
Dutta, D.M., & Dutta, A. (2013). A Study on Adventure Tourism as an Emergent Sector in
West Bengal. University of Burdwan. Retrieved October 15, 2018 from
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/121619/2/02_synopsis.pdf
Indian Adventure Tourism Guidelines. (2017). Adventure Tour Operators Association of
Off the Beaten Trail. Adventure Tourism in India Opportunities and Challenges. (2013).
Adventure Tour Operators Association of India. Retrieved October 16, 2018 from
http://www.yesinstitute.in/reports/travel/ATOAI%20-%20Off%20the%20Beaten
%20Trail%20%20Adventure%20Tourism%20in%20India.pdf
Singh, K.A., & Singh, R. (n.d.). A Study of Preferences and Travel Pattern of Adventure
Tourists in India. Retrieved October 16, 2018 from http://accman.in/gyanpj14/7.pdf