A key panellist at the Adventure Tourism Meet in Shillong, Sanjay Sharma runs Eco Glamp, India’s most luxurious glamping retreat at Kanatal, two hours from Rishikesh, in Uttarakhand. This was a post-Covid development when secluded destinations offering a luxury experience so a rise in demand. He also develops adventure tourism parks across India and the world. He spoke about the rising popularity of glamping all across the world, including India. He thanked Indian Express for organising the Adventure Tourism Meet in Shillong, from which he returned with numerous insights.
In a separate email interview, he shared some more insights on adventure tourism in Uttarakhand with FinancialExpress.com. Excerpts from the interview:
Uttarakhand is widely recognized for its adventure tourism potential, with iconic activities such as trekking in the Himalayas, paragliding, and river rafting in Rishikesh. How do you envision positioning the state as a leading adventure tourism destination, both within India and globally?
Uttarakhand being a hub of Adventure Tourism in India is well aware of its potential. Hence it encourages private sector participation in developing adventure tourism activities and circuits for trekking, white water rafting, paragliding, etc along with soft adventures. Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) has created a few international adventure events like Para Jumping / Para Gliding Festival, Kayaking Festival in Tehri to attract hardcore adventure lovers from around the globe. Marketing and hosting more of such big festivals and reaching the adventure enthusiasts through social media campaigning will definitely position the state as an international adventure destination.
What specific areas or destinations do you believe have the greatest potential for further development, allowing Uttarakhand to attract even more adventure tourists?
Tehri Region in Garhwal and Om Parvat in the Kumaon region have great potential to attract adventure tourists.
Safety in adventure tourism is paramount, given the inherent risks associated with activities like mountaineering and rafting. How is the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board working to ensure the safety of tourists participating in these high-adrenaline pursuits?
Creating guidelines and rules for the safety and regulation of adventure tourism activities along with setting up a Rescue Co-ordination Committee is in the priority of UTDB. The need will be for upgrading its system with the latest technology to reach out to the rescue operations.
Given the remote and often challenging terrain where many adventure activities take place, rapid emergency response is critical. Could you share how the state has developed its rescue and communication grid to handle emergencies during adventure activities?
The National/State Rescue and Communication Grid is a system that helps with rescue and evacuation of adventure tourists in India. The grid includes live maps that pinpoint adventure sites, which helps emergency response teams respond quickly and accurately. The grid also coordinates efforts between ground, water, and air rescue teams.
Sustainability is also a crucial element in adventure tourism, particularly in a state like Uttarakhand where delicate ecosystems are both an asset and a challenge. How does the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board strike a balance between promoting adventure tourism and protecting the environment?
Sustainability will be a very crucial element in Adventure Tourism to safeguard the ecosystem. The private industry and the local community together will have to work on developing the sustainable practices and the state government (UTDB) should encourage this with incentives given to the private players for developing and implementing such systems.
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