Vishwas Makhija is ATOAI Prez

At its AGM and election held virtually, ATOAI elected office bearers and its Executive Committee for the 2021-23 term. The new team has decided to set up a dedicated Women’s Task Force consisting of women entrepreneurs within the membership, in an effort to encourage their participation in manner and in numbers in the adventure tourism industry.

Manas Dwivedi

During its AGM and election held virtually, ATOAI elected new office bearers and EC for the 2021-23 term, and formed a Women’s Task Force. The new team at the helm of the association also held its first Executive Committee meeting after the virtual election and decided that two past Presidents, Tejbir Singh Anand and Ajeet Bajaj, will be co-opted into the Executive Committee. In addition, Capt Swadesh Kumar, immediate past president, has also taken his rightful place in the EC. The new ATOAI team will continue to further the growth of adventure travel in India by taking forward the Association’s aims and helping shape government policy for this sector. Apart from resolving issues impacting adventure tourism in the country, its main objectives would be to bring more adventure tour operators across the country into the mainstream of quality and responsible tourism practices as members, getting all states to adopt ATOAI’s safety guidelines, prioritising operational risk assessment within the membership, conducting skill development & capacity building workshops in association with state tourism departments and local associations, running educational seminars and Fam tours for members, fostering new and innovative adventure tourism products, and creating a pool of trained human resources within the industry. ATOAI also seeks to take measures to reduce the environmental impact on India’s natural resources, check mass-tourism in remote locales, and take active measures to help reduce a rising accident rate as a result of mass-tourism. There are also plans to introduce an ATOAI mobile App showcasing India’s adventure activities.