BIS for quality systems management in adventure tourism

BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS WILL ASSOCIATE WITH ATOAI, TOURISM INDIA & KITTS FOR STANDARDISATION

ureau of Indian Standards (BIS) the National Standards Body of India engaged in Standardization activity in various fields’ will joints hands with Adventure Tour Operators Association of India, Kerala Institute of Travel & Tourism Management (KITTS) Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) and Tourism India in the field Adventure Tourism safety and security guidelines.

As a part of this, a statelevel Workshop for the Adventure Tourism Stakeholders was organized by 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 B

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

Mr. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Kerala inauguratoing the workshop by lighting the traditional lamp in the presence of Mr. Varghese Joy, Deputy Director-General, BIS, Mr. Ravisankar, Managing Editor, Tourism India, Mrs. Surina Rajan IAS, Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards, Mrs.Rani George IAS, Secretary,Kerala Tourism, Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, President, Accredited Tour Operators of India, Mr. C.S. Vinod, President, Association of Tourism Trade Organization of India and Mr. Manesh Bhaskar, CEO of Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society

Mr. P. Bala Kiran IAS, Director of Kerala Tourism, Mr. Pradeep Murthy, National Executive Council member of Adventure Tour Operators of India, Mr. Sanjay Vij, Head of Kerala & Tamil Nadu BIS, Mr. Rupesh Kumar, State Coordinator, Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission with delegates

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.

The first time the state is set to roll out its own set of guidelines in the adventure and activity-based tourism sector after consultation with various stakeholders including various government departments such as Forest, Police, Fire & Safety, Ports, Minor irrigation, Health, and Sports & Youth Affairs. Kerala Tourism department is expecting to bring out a solid vision document in the field of adventure and activity based tourism development in Kerala. The quality standards implementation with the support of Bureau of Indian Standards will give more boost to these segments and give better outreach among trade, said Kerala Tourism Secretary, Mrs. Rani George.

According to Mr. P. Bala Kiran IAS, Director of Kerala Tourism, “Implementing strict safety and security standards for adventure and activities in the state tourism sector is the need of the hour. If an accident occurs in the state due to negligence from the providers or facilitators would earn a black mark for the entire state’s tourism sector. By implementing the Safety & Security guidelines, Kerala Tourism is also expecting to instil confidence among tourists and also attract established and genuine players in Adventure and Activity-based tourism segment”

Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, President, Accredited Tour Operators of India, Mr. C.S. Vinod, President, Association of Tourism Trade Organization of India, Mr. Ravisankar, Managing Editor, Tourism India, and Mr. Varghese Joy, Deputy Director-General, BIS have also attended the inaugural session. Mr. Pradeep Murthy, National Executive Council member of Adventure Tour Operators of India has lead with Safety and security procedures in the adventure tourism activities and Mr. Sanjay Vij, Head of Kerala & Tamil Nadu BIS explained the BIS certification formalities. Mr. Manesh Bhaskar, CEO of Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society has presented the current scenario and future plans of the Adventure Tourism sector in the state. Dr. Rajashree Ajith, Director KITTS moderated the technical session and more than 100 adventure tourism service providers and tour operators attended the workshop.