India’s Efforts to Boost Adventure Tourism — India Report

24.07.2024 - 03:25 / skift.com / Nirmala Sitharaman / Bulbul Dhawan

The Indian government is exploring adventure tourism as an avenue of promoting destinations across the country. For instance, earlier this month, the newly appointed minister of tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat went skydiving in Haryana on World Skydiving Day. 

It may or may not have been effective in promoting the sport in India, but he took the opportunity to share that the government was focusing on developing Goa and Madhya Pradesh as skydiving hubs. 

This week, in the Indian Parliament, Shekhawat said that the government is promoting adventure tourism as part of its efforts to promote Indian destinations and has also formulated National Strategies for Adventure Tourism. 

Adventure Tourism in India: While still a lesser explored avenue, adventure tourism in India is gaining significance. 

The government is also focusing on Ladakh as an adventure tourism destination, with activities such as mountain biking, trekking, river rafting, ice trekking, bactrian camel ride, mountain climbing, and camping. 

Funding to Develop Tourism Circuits: India is developing tourism circuits in Northeast India and Jammu and Kashmir, and is including adventure tourism destinations such as Tawang, Ladakh, Darjeeling, and Sikkim in these circuits. 

Between 2014 and 2019, the government of India allocated a cumulative amount of INR 8.16 billion ($97.5 million) for development of tourism circuits in Northeast India, of which INR 7.83 billion ($93.5 million) has been released. 

For the development of tourism circuits in Jammu and Kashmir, INR 5.88 billion ($70.2 million) were sanctioned by the government. An amount of INR 5.18 billion ($61.9 million) has been released out of this allocation. 

The government of India announced the full Budget for the 2024-25 financial year on Tuesday. While the hopes of travel executives were not met, the government announced its plans to establish a Vishnupad Temple at Gaya, and Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar to boost spiritual tourism. 

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said that a comprehensive development initiative will be taken to develop Rajgir — a key religious destination in the state of Bihar. 

The government is also focusing on developing Odisha as a major tourist destination by developing and promoting its temples, monuments, wildlife sanctuaries, natural landscapes, and beaches. 

Data from Airbnb showed that bookings in Thailand from Indian guests increased by 60%, with the surge largely driven by young travelers: Gen Z and Millennials account for 80% of the Airbnb bookings by Indian guests. 

India is among the largest source markets for Thailand, and the Southeast Asian nation is hoping to attract 1.7 million Indian visitors this year. Through May this year, over