“Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure tourism.” A emerging career option.
Have you ever taken any adventure sports? Did you think that you could have been doing that for the whole of your life?
Advancements in the tourism industry has brought us opportunities that we could have never thought of considering a full-time job. Adventure tourism is one such career that has developed in the past 5 years and has converted to full-time job that includes lots of technicalities as well as knowledge. Let’s dig deeper to understand what all is required to excel in this adventurous career.
If you want to consider this as your career, you would first want to know what exactly is adventure tourism?
Adventure tourism is considered to be a leisure activity that is mostly undertaken in exotic and remote regions and mostly comprises of some kind of physical activity. It includes wildlife tourism, trekking, paragliding, zorbing, biking, scuba diving, bungee jumping, mountain climbing, cliff jumping, parasailing, archaeological expedition, attending local festivals, birdwatching, backpacking etc. One can opt for the jobs named as- Adventure tour operator, Safari guide, Adventure sports photographer, Adventure Sports Trainer, Tour guide, travel Consultant and similar.
What will be my day like while on the job?
You will be handling different tasks parallelly. Job of adventure tourism requires courage, passion and a fearless personality but along with that, it also requires good management and handling clients on a daily basis. Major daily tasks will include the following:
- Researching and planning treks/ adventure trips
- Understanding safety measures that are required for any trip and ensuring their working ability
- Regularly analysing the new sites for adventure planning
- Managing clients (travellers), answering their questions related to the site, helping them to do the adventure activity
- In some entrepreneurial jobs, you might be handling sales and marketing.
What skills does this job require? Am I the right person for the job?
Soft skills
You can see if you fall in the shaded area segment of soft skills
Job specific Skills
- Safety- Knows how to perform CPR and provide emergency medical aid. A medical certificate is a plus
- Knowledge- Knows the culture of the site being visited, history of the place, significance of the place.
- Flora and fauna- In some adventure activities. It is important that the guide knows what flora and fauna exist and if it is a danger to the travellers
- Fitness- An adventure guide should be physically fit and be able to handle adverse situations
- Training- Knows basic life essential skills- swimming, climbing, running fast etc.
I am still interested but who will hire me?
| Hotel Industry – Tour Advisors, Adventure Tour planners | |
| Tourism Industry- Sales Representative, Tour Executive, Business Development, Travel Consultant | |
| Holiday Resort- tour Advisor, Tour Planner, Adventure Tour Manager | |
| Athletic Clubs- Tour Organiser | |
| Adventure Sports Industry- Entrepreneur, Travel consultant, Adventure Tour Guide, Adventure Sport Trainer |
If not an entrepreneur, can you give me some examples of real companies in India?
- Adventure Nation- www.adventurenation.com.
- Countryside- www.countrysideindia.com.
- Flying fox- www.flyingfox.asia
- Help Tourism- www.helptourism.com
- Inme- www.inme.in.
- Mercury Himalayan Explorations- www.mheadventures.com
- Orca Dive Club- www.orcadiveclub.in.
- Snow Leopard Adventures- www.snowleopardadventures.com.
- Thrillophillia- www.thrillophilia.com
- White Magic Adventure Travel- www.whitemagicadventure.com
It’s a new career but how can I be sure that it will still be in demand when I graduate?
“In the past five or six years, the industry has doubled in size, thanks to the ceaseless initiatives and promotion of adventure tourism. According to Tejbir Singh Anand, managing director, Holiday Moods Adventures, the most important shift has been the willingness of Indians to look beyond the usual holidays for new experiences. This, in turn, has been backed by upgradation of tourist infrastructure at popular places such as Rishikesh, Ladakh and Uttarakhand. “As people have become more comfortable with the idea of adventure travel, newer options have opened up.” – MediaIndia.eu
Based on the data collected during the study, adventure tourism and activity travel market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.4% from 2017 to 2023 in India.- thrillophillia
I am ready to proceed; how can I enter the field?
- Drivers Licence. Operator should have held a full motorcycle licence for a minimum of 5 years, and have adequate experience of riding in all types of terrains in India – Himalayas, Coastal, Deserts, National parks etc
- Should preferably have completed a basic safety course from a recognised Institute.
- Should have valid first aid and CPR certification
- Have adequate computer skills and ability to handle/ operate a GPS.
- Map reading skills
- Possess adequate know how of traffic rules and general rules and regulations of area of operations.
Academic Qualifications are of less value, but the person should be able to communicate properly.
Can I do graduation in the field?
Yes, and the following are the Indian Universities:
- Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling,
- Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi,
- Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering, Batote, J&K,
- Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali,
- Regional Mountaineering Centre, McLeodganj,
- Winter Sports Skiing Centre, Kulu,
- High Altitude Trekking & Skiing Centre, Narkanda,
- Mountaineering Sub-Centres, Bharmour and Jispa,
- Water Sports Centre, Bilaspur,
- Regional Water Sports Centre, Pong Dam,
- Adventure Sports Centre, Hatkoti,
- Balloon Club of India, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi,
- Tenzing Norgay Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Jawahar Parbat, Darjeeling and
- The National Institute of Water Sports in Panjim, Goa.
- Himalayan Adventure Institute, Mussorie.
- India Outdoors, H20, National Education Foundation (NEF), Pune
- The Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering
- Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and co-Tourism (IHCAE)
How much salary can I expect?
In the beginning, you can expect anything between INR 7,000-INR 12,000 per month. As your skills grow, you may earn up to INR 1 Lakh per month or more.
Are there any entrepreneurs in this field I can look up to for inspiration?
Yes, there are and you can read their stories and be sure that they have already created a path for you!
Piya Bose, Founder, Girls on the Go Club
Chitra Gurnani Daga, CEO, Thrillophilia
