Date: 12th August 2022, New Delhi 

ATOAI is happy to announce the first Himalayan Mountaineering and Adventure Tourism Meet to be held in New Delhi from 31st January – 2nd February 2023.

According to Capt. Swadesh Kumar, the Founding President of ATOAI who now heads the Climbing Expeditions Promotion Committee, the Himalayan Mountaineering meet was started in the 1970’s with an objective to promote climbing expeditions in the country. This initiative was taken by Air India and the adventure tour operators at that time. Air India initiated it with the support of MOT with Indian Mountaineering Foundation actively involved. The meet was opened to international and national mountaineers.

“There is a dire need to aggressively promote the Indian Himalayas. Over the past century Mountaineering as an activity has been the birthing bed of other adventure sports like trekking, rafting, skiing and camping to name a few”, said Capt. Kumar.

Vaibhav Kala, the Officiating President of ATOAI says that states like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh & Sikkim etc are already on the world map for mountaineering in India. However, the Northeast has vast potential, many destinations are still unexplored, especially for outdoor and adventure activities. Arunachal has, for example, the unexplored Gorichen (6,858m) and Kangto (7,060m) peaks. These can be promoted with world-class safety measures and guidelines in place.

Vinayak Koul, the Honorary Secretary of ATOAI is upbeat about reviving the meet, he says “we at ATOAI would like to revive the Indian Himalayan Mountaineering Meet which first started in the 70’s as an initiative by Air India, MOT, IMF and a handful of Adventure Tour Operators to promote climbing expeditions in India’. We hope to see the industry benefiting from this event and the exposure it will get in the national and international markets.

The mountaineering and climbing experts feel sad to see the international mountaineering community selecting other countries like Nepal, Bhutan, China and Pakistan over India. “We would like to bring in some of the top mountaineers from across the globe, international journalists covering adventure tourism and national players on the same platform in India in order to showcase our expertise and potential”, says Capt. Kumar.

 Objective of the Meet

The main objective of the Mountaineering Meet 2023 is to showcase the year-round potential of the Indian Himalaya.

Event Schedule

It would be a three days event with 250-300 national delegates which will include famous Indian Mountaineers who have contributed immensely to the growth of adventure tourism in this country. ATOAI also plans to invite 100 International delegates including adventure travel journalists, photographers, Mountaineers through their partners and alpine clubs, however it will be open to mountaineering, tour operators, equipment manufacturers and all others who have interest in the adventure tourism from around the world as delegates.

 Right time to hold the Mountaineering Meet

Tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, impacting economies, livelihoods, public services and opportunities on all continents. All parts of its vast value-chain have been affected. As countries gradually lift travel restrictions and tourism slowly restarts in many parts of the world, it is the right time to promote Indian adventure tourism to the rest of the world.

Adventure Tourism and its Potential

“Adventure tourism is what tourism should be today and definitely what tourism will be tomorrow”- UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai

Adventure travel is a $683 billion industry globally showing a 21 per cent Compound Annual Growth rate since 2012. Given our huge potential vis-a-vis adventure and sustainable tourism, we can easily double our inbound figures, presently at 10 million tourists (UNWTO) in the next three years (post-Covid) through adventure tourism alone.

Tourism supports one in 10 jobs and provides livelihoods for many millions more in both developing and developed economies. As a matter of fact, Adventure Tourism is one of the backbones of the tourism industry as this segment reaches to the remotest of places in India and provides livelihood to locals through its various activities.

For further industry inputs, please get in touch with the below:

Capt. Swadesh Kumar – Chairman, Climbing Expeditions Promotion Committee, ATOAI- +91 9810024642

Ms. Sonam Bhutia- Manager, ATOAI – +91 9560559993

 ABOUT ATOAI

The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) is the national representative body of Indian Adventure Tour Operators and was founded in 1994 by a close group of Travel Trade Adventurers, who envisioned ATOAI to be a strong support group that led to both group and individual profits by establishing adventure as one of the main tourism attractions to India.

 ATOAI works closely with the industry and the Governments both at the Central and State levels to advocate policies, study trends, and create a safe environment for guests to participate in adventures across 31 verticals.

ATOAI Members are Committed to:

1. a) Strictly follow environmental practices b) Promote employment of the local community c) Promote social responsibility

Mission Statement:

“To facilitate the delivery of responsible and sustainable adventure travel experiences; fostering growth and partnerships amongst members.”

Our Vision Statement:

– To help India become the best and the largest adventure travel destination in the world

– To be inclusive and grow membership to 1000 responsible members by 2025

– To help India become a 12-month tourism destination through adventure travel – To help members operate in all 7 continents by 2025

Our Core Values:

Exploration | Safety | Challenge | Passion | Excellence | Transparency | Responsible Tourism | Knowledge | Innovation | Conservation | Inclusiveness | Sustainable Growth