Government has prepared atlas of adventure tourism activities: Official

The government has prepared an atlas of places where water, land and air based adventure tourism activities can be performed in the country, a senior official said on Sunday.

The atlas of water-based adventure tourism activities has already been notified while preparations are in final stages for land and air based activities, the senior official of the tourism ministry said.

"We have prepared and notified one atlas for 21 water-based activities.... For example, we have identified all the places where kayaking is being practised in 20 states and UTs. For each activity, we have a map. An atlas for water sport activities has been notified while those for air and land based adventure tourism are in the final stages of notification, he told PTI.

He said the atlas in one glance will give whole information about water sports in an area.

"Its uniqueness is if you open an atlas and look for river rafting, in one glance you can see in which part of the country it is being offered, he said.

The atlas would be geo-linked with geographical coordinates so that it becomes much more location specific.

The atlas will also be digitalised. "When you look at Khajuraho, what kinds of adventure activities are there, when you say Rishikesh what kind of activity is there...we are going to digitise it and geo-link it with geographical coordinates so that it becomes much more location specific, activity specific," he said.

The government will come out within a fortnight a website making it a single-point access to all information related to adventure tourism, the official said.

"A website to look for everything there is to adventure tourism -- all important documents, locations in all states... when you click on West Bengal, a list will display all activities offered there," he said.

The website is ready and is expected to be launched in the next 15 days.

The government is giving a major push to adventure tourism and promoting it at the second G20 Tourism Working Group meeting here.

Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said India's topography provides for an ideal destination for sustainable adventure tourism.

"We have a 7,000-km coastline, 70 per cent of the Himalayas, about 700 kilometres of rivers, sand desert and cold desert in Ladakh...all of which provide opportunities for a variety of adventure activities for both domestic and foreign tourists," Reddy said on Saturday.

"India is looking to explore the full potential of adventure tourism keeping in mind sustainability and opportunities for livelihood for local communities," he added.

He made the comments during the second Tourism Working Group meeting that is being held in Darjeeling and Siliguri from April 1 to 3.