Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) the National Standards Body of India engaged in Standardization activity in various fields’ will joints hands with Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) in the field Adventure Tourism safety and security guidelines.
As a part of this, a state-level Workshop for the Adventure Tourism Stakeholders was organized by BIS , KAPTS and Tourism India at UdayacSamudra Leisure Beach Hotel Kovalam in May 2019.
BIS has decided to launch a new certification scheme on Adventure Tourism – Safety management Systems against the above standard and Kerala will be the first state in India to implement this certification. This will help the Kerala Tourism industry in demonstrating compliance to standards thus increasing consumer confidence and safety of visiting tourists. It is perceived that BIS certification would also ensure compliance with Government regulations/guidelines.
All adventure activities involve inherent risk of harm and providers have to manage those risks. The degree of risk varies among activities and locations. It is important that adventure activity providers take necessary steps to manage the risks and deliver adventure activities safely while keeping alive the sense of adventure and excitement. The consequences of not doing so can be catastrophic.
To promote a more systematic approach to managing safety in adventure tourism, BIS has published IS 16311/ISO 21101:2014 Adventure tourism — Safety management systems-Requirements. The Standard sets out the requirements for a safety management system (SMS) that can be used by all types and sizes of providers, operating in different geographic, cultural and social environments
Kerala Tourism has already conducted a state level industry brainstorming workshop to implement safety and security measures in the Adventure and Activity segments in the state and the draft guideline is already prepared. The final safety and security guidelines are all set to bring out along with a proper plan and strategy to develop, Adventure and Activity (AA) based Tourism products with new benchmarks in quality, traditional and modern adventure and activities, resource map for the AA in Kerala, stringent guidelines for the license, etc.
While addressing the stakeholders of Adventure tourism sector in Kerala, Mr. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Kerala, said “The State Tourism Policy 2017, have already highlighted the importance of adventure and activity-based tourism for the growth of tourism in a big way. The change in strategy is aimed at attracting more New Gen visitors and adrenaline seekers to the state.
Mrs. Surina Rajan IAS, Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards, Government of India said, “ The Kerala Tourism along with Indian tourism industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth and a significant employment generator among the services sector in India. In recent times, Adventure Tourism has been increasing steadily with Kerala and other parts of India, especially offering exciting adventure activities in some beautiful locations in Kerala- God’s Own Country. Many of these adventure activities including Mountain Bike Challenges, Bamboo rafting and trekking are offered to international and domestic visitors by professionally managed adventure tour operators of Kerala.
Tourism India, India’s Travel & Tourism Magazine.
