The knowledge session which brought the Goa International Travel Mart 2011 to a successful end addressed the need for developing adventure zones in India to increase the flow of adventure tourists. Tejbir Singh Anand, President, ATOAI and MD, Holiday Moods; Akshay Kumar, CEO, Mercury Himalayan Explorations; Ravi Goel, Founder and Director, Ecomantra; and Atish Fernandes, Director (operations), First Class Holidays formed the panel with Achal Dhruva, Assistant Editor, TravelBiz Monitor acting as moderator.
Anand described Adventure Tourism as a sector born out of passion. He went on to give a brief insight on the growth of the sector since the 70s when it was introduced in India. He said, “Adventure Tourism is seen as more than a holiday. Simple experiences like camping and trekking have picked up, especially among families, corporate travellers and even schools. Domestic travel alone makes up 80 per cent of this segment. This has come hand-in-hand with an increased demand in the level of service. Adventure zone development is therefore the need of the hour. Via ferrata, para gliding, zip lines and luges can be easily introduced if we have proper infrastructure and adhere to safety standards.”
Kumar agreed with the fact that the basics are available, but there is still a need to leverage on them and develop more activities and destinations. He added that canopy walkways, sky diving, canyoning, caving, caravan tourism, F1 driving, dirt biking, fitness boot camps and adventure racing, are some of the avenues we should tap in India. “Lack of awareness among both customers and government officials responsible for permissions; inter-ministerial issues, and lack of infrastructure, equipment and trained manpower is what has made this sector tough to sell. Research and training, high levels of safety and quality, and set systems and Standard Operating Procedures are the way forward,” he opined.
Goel spoke about the importance of hospitality and adventure activities going hand in hand. “We would rather our clients finish their activities with us and come and rest peacefully in comfortable hotel rooms. By 2015, our sector will hopefully lose the niche tag and for that we need to work together, provide better facilities and draw in more tourists,” he said.
Fernandes spoke of the untapped potential of adventure activities in Goa. He stated that there is immense potential in Goa owing to the large volumes of repeat clientele, especially youth, who always demand more from their holidays. “Tour operators, hoteliers and the government need to get together to tap this sector completely. A marina is the need of the hour. Tenders have been floated out and we are hopeful of introducing yachting soon. Goa is uniquely positioned in the global circuit to attract high spenders who will all be drawn in by this activity. Protecting diving and snorkeling sites should also be given importance. If the government and stakeholders get together, they can make Goa a great adventure destination,” he added.