Adventure travel to India climbs by 178%

In a recent survey conducted by Thrillophilia, India's largest experiential travel booking platform, it was revealed that there's a growing demand for adventure and active travel in India, with numbers that have grown by 178 per cent during the past three years.

Ten thousand travellers and 1,800 travel partners were surveyed.

The experiential travel segment is enlarging rapidly, with more and more people indulging in offbeat experiences. You can read the full report here.

According to the study, adventure tourism is rapidly gaining popularity among people aged above 35 also, with 36 per cent people preferring offbeat travel experiences.

Twenty-eight people claim that on an average, they indulge in at least five adventure trips in a year and 16 per cent people are comfortable travelling solo.

"This shift in travel trends is great news for the Tourism Industry; we had bet on this in 2010 when we started Thrillophilia," said Abhishek Daga, co-founder, Thrillophilia. "The Indian Subcontinent has great potential to grow as an important experiential travel destination in the world, thanks to the geography of India and its neighbouring countries that offer a never-ending list of adventure landscapes...on the basis of the data we have studied, we are confident that experiential travel is going to dominate the Indian subcontinent's tourism industry in the coming years."

The survey reveals that trekking has gained popularity in India, and is the most popular activity at 26 per cent, and water sports being the second favourite at 25 per cent.

Thirty-two per cent of people claim that the content on social networking sites, especially Instagram, is one of the major factors that contributes to an interest in experiential travel.

The report shows that travellers are spending more money on their trips, as the average expenditure per person per trip has risen by 13 per cent between 2015-2017.

Twenty-seven per cent of travellers believe the Himalayas to be the best destination in India for adventure activities.

Abhishek also added, "The increase in demand for experiential travel in India can be largely attributed to the efforts made by the government bodies like ATOAI, Ministry of Tourism and Indian Mountaineering Foundation to promote adventure tourism in India. Some landmark steps have been taken by the government which include granting funds to improve infrastructure in remote areas and giving security clearance for the opening of 104 additional peaks in Leh area of Jammu & Kashmir."

For more information on travel to India, visit www.incredibleindia.org.