At the recent national seminar on ‘Adventure Tourism’ by The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Arun Kumar Mehta, additional secretary, ministry of environment, forest and climate change, said that the ministry is ready to review the regulatory framework including the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) to boost sustainable tourism. The event which was supported by the ministry of tourism, Government of India, highlighted India’s need of developments in the sector which could aggregate growth. He quoted the example of relaxations given to the beach shacks in Goa which has given immense opportunity for their business. Mehta affirmed, “We will be looking at all the problems with regard to adventure tourism but I would request everyone to be specific with their recommendations. Any suggestion to MoEFCC should be made with regard to areas, zones or amendments to be made to boost tourism growth.”
At the inaugural ceremony, Satyajeet Rajan, director general, ministry of tourism, Government of India, stated that adventure travel in India will be forced to grow due to increasing demand of the new generation. He said, “The challenges that are hindering this sector’s growth are safety guidelines and skill development. While the safety guidelines are present, they have not been accepted by the state governments and there is not much skilled personnel as majority of this sector is unorganised. But we have set a National Adventure Task Force who is closely looking in the matter. 25 satellite phones will also be added in the next five to six years which shall enable prompt action in safety missions.”
Dipak Haksar, chairman, CII National Committee on Tourism & Hospitality and chief executive ITC Hotels, highlighted the positive effects on adventure tourism. Emphasising on the employment generation in the remotest of areas, he said the PPPs partnerships can give the much needed push to the sector.
Three different case studies from different countries were also presented during the event to see what India can learn from other nations. Peru, South Africa and Thailand had representatives showcasing the numerous initiatives done by the government to assure sustainable growth in tourism. Johan Radcliffe, co-owner and founder, Dirty Boots publishing and African Travel Gateway laid emphasis on guides training. He said, “The guides are trained on field for five years and have to clear exams before being hired for proper excursions. The industry has also self disciplined and created proper measure for the safety of the tourists.”