There's no demand for safety in India's adventure industry. Tourists should ask questions

The Print

5 hours ago

Though safety guidelines, licensing norms, and SOPs exist and many operators follow them, the sheer scale of the industry, combined with cutthroat competition, often overwhelms even the best-intentioned systems.
The recent accident in Manali, where a 12-year-old girl from Nagpur fell into a gorge after her zip line's harness rope broke, is just the latest in a string of mishaps. A similar incident in Bhor, Pune, had raised alarms only weeks earlier. But the warnings go unheeded. And here we are again.
Every time tragedy strikes in Indian adventure tourism, the pattern is predictable: Public outrage, media frenzy, finger-pointing and then silence, until the next time.
Even after multiple fatal accidents this year, most participants, especially parents of young thrill-seekers, fail to ask critical questions about operator registrations, licenses and certifications. In the battle between adrenaline and awareness, adrenaline still wins.
Also read: Adventure tourism is not accessible for women—sexual harassment, safety risks
Illusion of safety
Adventure will never be risk-free; it's about managing risk. Yet a culture of impulsive thrill-seeking is on the rise. Participants often arrive at a destination and jump into zip-lining, rafting, or trekking with little idea of what's at stake.
The mindset is simple: If it's available and everyone's doing it, it must be safe. A helmet goes on, a rope is clipped, and no one asks about safety checks, certifications, or instructor training. Blind trust replaces basic caution.
Social media only adds to the illusion. Adventure is sold as picture-perfect reels, showing the fun but not the fitness, training, or safety protocols behind it. For young minds still learning to weigh risk, it creates a dangerously false sense of effort-free thrill.
The silent crisis
This is the hard truth: Safety is the last thing on people's minds. For those who conduct activities, safety should be the priority and not an afterthought, irrespective of whether there is one participant or there are 50 participants. But safety isn't just the responsibility of operators. Most people don't ask important questions such as
Does the operator have the license to operate?
When was the equipment last checked?
Do I or my child have the skill, strength, or sense to take this on?
And that is where the crisis lies. For adventure tourism to operate safely, RAMS (Risk Assessment and Management Systems) need to be in place. Think of it as a safety blueprint, anticipating what could go wrong and planning how to prevent or handle it.
Following RAMS makes adventure safe, not sorry. In adventure sports, where speed, height, water, terrain, and weather intersect, RAMS isn't just paperwork. It's essential to safety.
Good RAMS includes:
Hazard identification (e.g., rockfall, fatigue, gear failure)
Likelihood and impact analysis
Preventive steps (route checks, equipment inspection, skill-based grouping)
Emergency response plans
Clear roles for staff and guides
Adventure will always involve risk, but RAMS ensures it's a calculated challenge, not a careless gamble.
RAMS is standard in countries like New Zealand, the UK, and Canada, where the sector is tightly regulated. In India, it's still not an industry norm, a serious gap in our safety culture.
Without RAMS:
Altitude sickness may go unnoticed
Equipment may be unchecked
Participants may not know emergency procedures
Weather alerts may be ignored
This isn't just carelessness, it's a recipe for disaster. To professionalise India's adventure tourism, we must build a culture of safety through training, licensing, regulation, and public awareness. If demand for safety grows, responsible supply will follow.
Also read: Everyone should learn wilderness first aid. It's more than just dressing wounds
What needs to be done now
Back in 2018, the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) submitted a comprehensive set of Adventure Tourism Guidelines to the Ministry of Tourism. These weren't mere suggestions; they were detailed safety protocols, risk assessment models (including RAMS), and SOPs for land, air, and water-based activities.
The guidelines emphasised operator training, participant briefing, and environmental responsibility. Yet in most states, these guidelines lie dormant. There is an urgent need for stakeholders to work alongside the government towards ensuring the enforcement of these guidelines.
This means building a National Adventure and Outdoor Activity Policy Framework that brings together the Ministries of Tourism, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Environment & Forests, and industry stakeholders. This national scaffold can guide state governments to adapt and implement safety and inclusion standards based on local needs. The goal isn't central control but a shared vision: safety, skill, and sustainability embedded in every adventure offering, from Himachal to Goa to the Southern states.
Why convergence matters
India's adventure potential is vast, but the sector is fragmented.
The sector relies too much on informal skills. A standardised training ecosystem—via NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) aligned programmes and Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) can formalise adventure careers, especially for local and marginalised communities.
From trekking and rafting to aero-sports and jungle safaris, each activity falls under different jurisdictions. A unified framework can ensure terrain-specific regulation while upholding national safety and inclusion norms.
All activities must follow core operational standards:
RAMS (Risk Assessment & Management Systems)
Guide-to-participant ratios
Seasonal access & ecological protocols
Equipment and infrastructure standards
Waste management & Leave No Trace policy
Inclusive design (e.g., gender-sensitive, accessible spaces)
The Ministry of Tourism can anchor this by linking licensing to compliance and safety audits.
Participant education is of the utmost importance. It can be done by launching awareness campaigns that encourage asking questions and integrating safety modules in schools and NCC/NSS programmes. Another key aspect is to reframe safety checks as smart, not sceptical.
Done right, adventure builds confidence and connection. Done wrong, it invites trauma and loss. India's adventure sector is growing fast. But to earn global respect, we must lead not just in thrill, but in standards, responsibility, and safety.
Anusha Subramanian is an independent journalist, mountaineer, and entrepreneur who has been writing specifically about adventure and mountaineering for over a decade. She posts under @sanushas. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)