Renewed adventure calendar

With 2018 being declared the ‘Year of Adventure’ by the Ministry of Tourism, ATOAI plans to host events throughout the year to support this and boost inbound tourism segment in the country

TT BUREAU

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) has got a new push and direction since the announcement of the ‘Year of Adventure’ and plans to take full advantage of this opportunity, informs the association’s President Swadesh Kumar. He says, “The association has planned to host events or workshops every month in different states to bring together the stakeholders of this industry, share best practices and do business. We have a mega event planned for April, called the India Adventure Summit. We are also going to conduct the PATA Adventure Travel Mart at Guwahati in February 2019. The ATOAI Annual Convention is expected to take place in Andhra Pradesh, though the dates are not fixed yet. Through these events we aim to grow the adventure tourism business in India; make tourism responsible, sustainable and also hope to offer employment opportunities to the local communities as well.”

Tejbir Singh Anand, Vice President, ATOAI, believes that adventure tourism is the answer to grow inbound tourist numbers to India since adventure travel is not seasonal; one only has to change the destination and the activities and it remains a year-round segment. Elaborating further on the association’s event schedule for the year, Anand informs that they kick-started the year with a workshop aimed at first-aid advanced course and wilderness responder in Delhi where 30 members from various companies conducted the skill set spread over 16 hours in two days. “The association has seven other such workshops planned throughout the year in various cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chandigarh, etc. Along with these workshops we are conducting our threeday adventure roadshows pan-India. ATTA’s Adventure NEXT in Madhya Pradesh from December 10-12 will be an inbound show where international buyers will come together to understand India as an adventure travel hub,” he adds.