Thiruvananthapuram: The adventure sports sector in the state is gearing up to promote air, water and land-based activities by involving entrepreneurs in the private and cooperative spheres in a big way.
A beginning was made on May 16 when Ministry of tourism and the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) organised a summit and a workshop for adventure sports entrepreneurs at Kovalam. It was declared that adventure tourism must have proper certification from the government and BIS for obtaining licence. This was to ensure the safety of domestic and foreign tourists who wish to take part in adventure sports.
Private entrepreneurs interested to invest in adventure tourism for foreign and domestic customers have to apply first at KATPS. A technical team then analyses if the concerned entity meets all the required criteria. The licence will then be provided by a committee which includes KATPS, Ministry of Tourism, BIS etc.
Though coastal adventure sports has huge potential, not much has been done to tap these possibilities. The backwaters and the waterfalls which attract tourists from across the world are yet to become adventure sports tourism destination. Barring Nehru trophy boat race which arguably is one of the biggest water sports events, there are not many events that attract domestic and foreign tourists on a big scale.
Several plans were formulated under the KATPS which began its operations in 2013, but nothing much has happened on the ground.
'The Malabar River Festival' and the 'Chaliyar River Challenge' are among the extreme kayaking events in south India. Competitors from across the globe take part in these events which have earned the reputation of international adventure sports events. However, potential projects from tourism department and the District Tourism Promotion Councils (DTPC) could not take off due to various reasons.
Alappuzha which is known as The 'Venice of East', has great potential for water sports. But the district has its own set of problems. ``We had organised a 'paramotoring' event on the Alappuzha beach. It was a big success. But we couldn't continue it. There was objection from a section of people especially those who earn their livelihood selling stuff on the beach. Then fishermen too had a problem with motoring in the area," said Alappuzha DTPC secretary Maheen
Kollam DTPC secretary Mr.Santhosh says there are many who want to invest in adventure tourism. But they have no idea how to go about. "We will have to start right from basics. From obtaining licence to safety measures, we need to explain everything to the potential investors," he said.
Jackson Peter, MD of Bond Ocean Safari, Kovalam, shared the hurdles that he had to face while starting his venture four years ago. "It's a tedious process to obtain various permissions from government agencies. There is lack of transparency. For the past six months I am trying to obtain licence of a speed boat to be used for scuba diving. But it has not materialised yet. I hope these issues will be sorted out soon," he added.
According to him, 9 lakh foreign tourists and 70 lakh domestic tourists visit Goa annually. In Kerala's case it is 10 lakh foreign and 1.6 crore domestic.
But when it comes to income generated through adventure sports like scuba-diving, surfing, etc., the difference is huge. Goa earns around Rs 107 crores and Kerala just the half of this amount. This indicates the how miserably we have failed to tap the potential of adventure sports.
