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The state of Uttarakhand is witnessing a continuous upsurge in the number of tourists ever since the Government has allowed relaxations in the protocols being followed amidst Covid-19 pandemic. The recent announcement on the opening up of adventure tourism in the state has already pumped up the adrenaline among the adventure seekers who have lined up to participate in various adventure sports activities like Rafting, Bungee jumping, Flying Fox etc.
According to the recent data shared by President of Rafting Association, Rishikesh, Mr. Dinesh Bhatt, Rishikesh alone-recorded over 4000 tourist’s inflow since Sep 26,following the reopening of the popular white water river rafting adventure activity in the city. The adventure tour operators who conduct river rafting in Rishikesh, received almost 90% more bookings from places like UP, Delhi and Haryana, which was way above their expectations for the first day itself. Enquiries for advance bookings continue to pour in for the next two weeks.
Dilip Jawalkar, Secretary, Uttarakhand Tourism said “Adventure Tourism contributes to a majority part in the state’s overall tourism industry. I am happy that our step towards resuming the adventure sport activities has heeded the desired results and has attracted large number of adventure seekers in the state. While, we have opened up the activities for the tourists, I also expect full cooperation from all the stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of rules and guidelines to control the spread of COVID-19 in the state. There has been a steady increase in the number of tourists appearing for rafting in the last four years. 68,604 tourists arrived in the year 2017 from September to December, over 3,49,736 in 2018, 3,34,753 in 2019 and 29,932 tourists till March 2020 have enjoyed river rafting. On the other hand, after the commencement of adventure sports activities in Uttarakhand over 19,872 tourists have arrived in the state from October 2nd to 5th.
In order to ensure maximum health safety, the Government of Uttarakhand has also issued guidelines for the tourists as well as the adventure activity operators. As per the guidelines, the owner of the adventure company has to ensure that the employees undergo proper training for the prevention of COVID-19 and ensure the proper implementation of health measures like thermal screening, social distancing, covering of the face by masks, and regular washing of hands.
