Keywords

Adventure Tourism, Indian Tourism, Tourism Challenges, Impact of Covid-19, Recreational Activities, Eco-Tourism.

Introduction

India is a country with diversity. It is the gift of nature wherein different rivers, mountains, hill stations, forts, caves, and historical places are in the country. It is the social, cultural, religious, and geographical diversity. All these conditions are favorable for travel, tourism, and hospitality in India. The young generation, use of technology, expert guidance, and safety tools have paved the way to adventure tourism not only in India but also in the world. Adventure tourism is a niche form of tourism which includes deep exploration and extensive traveling to far-flung areas (Buckley, 2007). It is based on the principle of ‘expect the unexpected’. This is because it is closely associated with greater risk as compared to other kinds of tourism. Some of the best examples could be rock climbing, mountaineering expeditions, trekking, river rafting, Scuba diving etc. The present study is a review article which examines the different trends, challenges, opportunities, and prospects of adventure tourism in India. The systematic literature review method is applied in this regard. The author has used “Indian Tourism”, “Adventure Tourism'', “Adventure Sports”, “Soft and Hard Adventure”, “Factors”, “Tourist motivation”, “Mountaineering” and other relevant keywords to search the existing literature. The study covers the period from 2000 to 2022 as selection criteria. It is applicable for the Indian region. The impact of COVID-19 on adventure tourism is also taken into consideration. The study is unique and significant as it deals with the regional balance, eco-tourism, sustainable development etc. It has historical, cultural, geographical, socio-economic importance from national and international perspectives.

Scope and Significance of Study

Tourism is a global phenomenon. The various research studies have shown that India proved to be a land of opportunities for adventure tourism attracting many visitors from time to time (Dieckmann et al., 2009). There are certain favourable conditions such as a healthy environment, the government policies and framework, support from local communities, well connectivity with leading cities, the rising awareness towards adventure tourism etc. (Buckley, 2004). This field has the potential to create multiple job opportunities. However, India has a long way to excel in the field of adventure tourism as compared to other countries in the world. The hilly and mountain areas, coastal places, the Himalayan states, Rajasthan desert, Forts in India, Water bodies, National parks as well as sanctuaries have potential for extending the scope within the context of adventure tourism. In short, India can be transformed from a ‘culture tourist destination’ to ‘adventure tourist destination’. Land-based, air-based, and water-based are three major forms of adventure tourism. India is a blessed country where in all these three forms are available.

Objectives of Study

The present article has the following objectives:

1. To examine the present scenario of adventure tourism in India and the world.

2. To analyze the various activites of adventure tourism in India and the world.

3. To identify the major factors influencing adventure tourism in India and the world.

Problem Statement

India has potential to optimize and mobilize resources towards adventure tourism. One hand there is plenty of opportunities available for land, air and water-based adventure tourism. On the other hand, India could not make satisfactory progress in spite of having favourable conditions (Chen et al., 2017). The small countries like Nepal have shown remarkable development through meticulous planning and execution (Hasan & Neela, 2021). However, India needs thought-provoking, innovative solutions towards adventure tourism. Hence, the present study seeks the answer to the research questions: “What is the scope for adventure tourism in India? Which factors influence the most for adventure tourism in terms of satisfaction, well-being of tourists”?

Literature Review

The researchers have applied ‘the Systematic Literature Review (SLR)’ research methodology in the present study. The literature review is the detrimental and integral part of any research activity. The systematic literature review is a scientific process through which existing and published literature is searched and evaluated (Xiao & Watson, 2019).

The researchers define the certain selection criteria based on duration, databases, keywords, discipline of study, types of studies, publishers etc. The authors started literature search with keywords “Adventure tourism”, ''Tourism in India”, “Indian Tourism”, “Tourist Well-Being”, “Hard-Soft Adventure Tourism”, “Land-Water-Air Based Adventure Tourism”, “Factors Influencing Adventure Tourism” etc. The preliminary relevance was determined by title for each manuscript. From the title, if the content seemed to discuss the methodology of the literature review process, we obtained its full reference, including author, year, title, and abstract, for further evaluation. All the studies published from 2000 to 2022 are considered for the present study. The research articles, cases, and other resources are referred from international databases of Elsevier, Sage, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis and others Tables 1 & 2.

Table 1 Adventure Tourism
S. No.	Author & Publication Year	Title	Type of Study	Takeaways
1	(Hodgson & Berry, 2011)	Adventure Education: An Introduction	Book	Need for raising awareness, training, and education to the masses for Adventure Tourism.
2	(Lee et al., 2015)	Risk-Taking Attitude and Behavior of Adventure Recreationists: A Review	Research Article	Theory of planned behavior; a structural relationship between risk-taking attitude and adventure behavior.
3	(Saha et al., 2018)	Adventure Tourism in Meghalaya	Research Article	Survey conducted; 88% respondents prefer 'adventure tourism.'
4	(Wengel, 2020)	The micro-trends of emerging adventure tourism activities in Nepal	Research Article	International certifications, skill development, corporate social responsibility; cultural & eco-tourism.
5	(Gross & Sand, 2019)	Adventure tourism: a perspective paper	Research Article	Current trends: micro adventures; hard and soft adventure; tourism associated with health and well-being.
6	(Jin et al., 2019)	Motivation and involvement in adventure tourism activities: a Chinese tourists' perspective	Research Article	A Survey of 252 respondents in China; Better services, greater safety & security, good facilities motivate tourists more; overseas destinations preferred.
7	(Potgieter et al., 2019)	Sustainable indicators for adventure tourism destinations: A case of Waterval Boven	A Case Study	A Survey of 462 respondents (employees, residents, tourists & business owners) for sustainable tourism; Reducing pollution, preserving resources, and conserving eco-system important.
8	(Hansen et al., 2020)	From finance to adventure: Using ERM as a framework in adventure tourism	A Case Study	Enterprise Risk Management- As a framework for Adventure Tourism; IERM can provide comprehensive and holistic approach.
9	(Mackenzie et al., 2021)	How does adventure sport tourism enhance wellbeing? A conceptual model	Research Article	Sport Tourim- Competitive Surfing and Mountaineer Biking more popular; Autonomy, Competence & Relatedness influence the behavior of tourists.
10	(McKay, 2018)	An analysis of the South African adventure tourism industry	Research Article	Soft and Hard Adventure activities; sectoral analysis.
11	(Gardiner & Kwek, 2017)	Chinese Participation in Adventure Tourism: A Study of Generation Y International Students’ Perceptions	Research Article	The perceptions of Chinese Y Generations towards adventure tourism; Freedom, self-development and self-efficacy preferred more.
12	(Hasan & Neela, 2021)	Adventure tourists’ electronic wordof-mouth (e-WOM) intention: The effect of water-based adventure experience, grandiose narcissism, and self-presentation	Research Article	Effects of tourist experiences on electronic word-of-mouth and self-presentation water based adventure tourism.
13	(Padmanabhan, 2018)	A Scope for Adventure Tourism in India – A Review	Research Article	Linking travel, tourism, and hospitality for sustainable sectoral growth.

Table 2 Adventure Tourism: Conceptual Framework and Matrix
		Land-Based		Water-Based	Air-Based
		Mountaineering
	Trekking	Mountain	Climbing
Established		Peak Climbing	Rock Climbing	White Water Rafting	Paragliding
		Jungle Safari		Kayaking	Sky Diving
		Skiing		Canyoning	Zip-flying
Emerging		Mountain Biking		Stand-Up-Paddle Boarding	Bungee Jumping

Sustainable tourism emphasizes three major areas: reducing pollution, preserving resources and conserving eco-system in particular. The governments, communities, business owners and other stakeholders should work together for boosting sustainable tourism activities taking care of people, planet, and profits (Williams & Soutar, 2009) Tables 3-5.

Table 3 Soft vs. Hard Adventure Tourism (Risk-Level / Potential)
S. No.	Soft Adventure Tourism	Risk Factor	Hard Adventure Tourism	Risk-Factor
1	Camping	Low Risk	River Rafting	Risk to Life
2	Biking	Moderate Risk	Snowboarding	Risk to Life
3	Bird Watching	Low Risk	Bungee Jumping	Risk to Life
4	Fishing	Moderate Risk	Mountaineering	Risk to Life
5	Animal Safaris	Moderate Risk	SCUBA diving	Risk to Life
6	Cycling	Low Risk	Surfing	Risk to Life
7	Jeep Safari	Low Risk	Paragliding	Risk to Limb/Life

Table 4 Linking Adventure with Sustainable Tourism (Indicators)
Baseline issue	Baseline indicators
Local satisfaction with tourism	Level of local satisfaction with tourism
Effects of tourism on communities	Ratio of tourists to locals Percentage of locals who believe tourism has brought new services or infrastructure Percentage of available social services that are attributed to tourism
Sustaining tourist satisfaction	Level of satisfaction among visitors Perception of value for money Percentage of return visitors
Tourism seasonality	Tourist arrivals by month or quarter Occupancy rates for licenced accommodation by month Percentage of business establishments open all year Number and percentage of tourist industry jobs that are permanent or full-year
Economic benefits of tourism	Number of local people employed in tourism Revenue generated by tourism as percentage of total revenue generated by the local community
Energy management	Per capita consumption of energy from all sources by tourist sector Percentage of businesses participating in energy conservation programmes Percentage of energy consumption from renewable sources
Water availability and conservation	Water use Water saving
Drinking water quality	Percentage of tourism establishments with water treated to international potable standards Frequency of waterborne diseases
Sewage treatment	Waste volumes produced by destinations Volume of waste recycled Quantity of waste strewn in public areas
Development control	Existence of land use or development planning processes, including tourism Percentage of area subject to control
Controlling use intensity	Total number of tourist arrivals Number of tourists per square metre of the site

Table 5 Factors Responsible for Satisfaction of Adventure Tourism
S.No	Factors	Satisfaction of Tourists
1	Relax	High Satisfaction
2	Recognition	Low Satisfaction
3	Challenge	High Satisfaction
4	Socializing	High Satisfaction
5	Creativity	Low Satisfaction
6	Discovery	Moderate Satisfaction

Findings of Study

1. The adventure tourism has gained the momentum in India and the world slowly and steadily.

2. Land and water-based activities are more preferred to air-based activities by the tourists.

3. The soft and hard adventure activities are visible. However, due to risk potential, women, adults opt for soft adventure such as cycling, jeep safaris, fishing, camping etc. The youngsters prefer hard adventure activities such as mountaineering, surfing.

4. The awareness is rising towards adventure tourism due to eco-friendly approach.

5. India has great potential to extend the scope for adventure tourism. The Western Ghat, Rivers, Forts, National Parks, Sea Beaches are the hotspots in this regard.

6. The safety and security concerns, limited budget, lack of vision, poor government policies, lack of training, pollution, impact of COVID-19 found to be the major setback for overall boost of adventure tourism activities.

7. The most of tourists prefer adventure tourism for relaxation, develop endurance capacity, socialization reasons. These factors make them satisfied and keep them motivated in life.

Conclusion

Human beings love to visit different places and explore the beauty of nature. The adventure tourism serves the purpose of life in this regard. There are various soft and hard adventure activities covered depending on the risk associated with them. Water, air and land-based activities reflect the diversity. The nature resources can be utilized without compromising conservation, preservation of environment for adventure tourism not only in India but in different countries of the world. It will contribute to employment generation, community development, better access, regional balance, well-being of tourists attracting more visits, revenues for government and business owners as well. Together, it can create win-win situations for various stakeholders.

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Received: 08-Feb-2022, Manuscript No. AMSJ-22-11478; Editor assigned: 10-Feb-2022, PreQC No. AMSJ-22-11478(PQ); Reviewed: 22-Feb-2022, QC No. AMSJ-22-11478; Revised: 24-Feb-2022, Manuscript No. AMSJ-22-11478(R); Published: 28-Feb-2022