Weekend Tourists Drive Adventure Tourism in India

New Delhi: Rafting in the rapids of the Ganga at Rishikesh and ending the course with a leap of faith into swirling green waters from a 25-foot-high cliff face. For Rishabh Sharma, his birthday couldn't have been more exciting.

And he is not an adventure freak. Usually, birthdays have involved partying with friends in a nearby discotheque. But this time, the 24-year-old software engineer took the road less travelled.

"This was a fabulous experience. I had not thought I would enjoy so much," a visibly exhausted but cheery Sharma told IANS of his weekend getaway.

"I used to think that adventure was only for people who had trained for years. But this was not so difficult. And so much fun," he added.

Noted adventurer and vice-president of Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) Mandip Singh Soin said that both adventure tourism and the general acceptance for adventure sports are growing in the country, especially over the weekends.

"Adventure sports facilities are mushrooming all over the country and in many adventure activities, like bungee, the tourist doesn't need any training or skills and can just enjoy as a passenger. This allows even a weekend traveller to get an adrenaline rush," Soin told IANS.

According to Soin, while traditional adventure activities like trekking or mountaineering remain the bedrock of Indian adventure tourism, new, "passenger" activities are fueling growth in this sector.

"Newer adventure activities such as hot-air ballooning, canyon swinging and ziplining cater to the larger section of unskilled adventure tourists, fuelling the rise of adventure tourism," he said.

Olivier Baudouin agrees that skill is no longer a barrier for the people who want to feel the thrill of adventure. A French national, he is the dive station incharge at Andaman-based Barefoot Scuba.

"We even have a course for people who do not know how to swim," Baudouin told IANS. "In the four years since I came here, the number of tourists has increased very rapidly," he added.

Even the high cost, which was once the main consideration, is no longer a barrier with youngsters having higher disposable incomes, according to S. Swami of Team4Adventure, a trans-Himalayan adventure tour operator.

"We run a 14-day rafting expedition in the Brahmaputra river in Arunachal Pradesh. This expedition costs 1 lakh per participant, but the number of Indians taking it is increasing," he said.

However, even these adventure activities have an inherent quota of risk. And even the most experienced adventure enthusiasts can make a mistake, as was evident from a recent incident where a professional stuntman died in a rappelling accident at a mall's inauguration in Greater Noida.

According to Soin, ATOAI had revised security guidelines after the incident and sent the suggestions to the Ministry of Tourism and hoped that the new, upgraded guidelines would in effect within a couple of months.

"We will be publicising the safety guidelines so that adventure tourists can check if the facility they are using is safe or not. Similarly, the new guidelines will make it mandatory for the operators of these facilities to install the required safety measures in order to get a licence," he added.

Claiming that often the safety guidelines set up by the central government are diluted by state governments, Soin said ATOAI was also in dialogue with states on the matter, besides proposing installation of rescue stations with medical facilities, satellite phones and airlift facilities.

Even the risk doesn't stop the adrenaline junkies, claimed Eric Menezes who runs a motorised paragliding operation at Pune.

"The motors power the paragliders to as high as 2,000 feet, but that doesn't stop the enthusiasts," Menezes claimed.

"The numbers have increased dramatically. The general awareness about adventure sports is a big reason behind the increase. The channels such as Discovery are huge motivators," said Menezes.