The state tourism department has readied a draft policy to promote adventure tourism with a focus on variety and safety.

The 10 page draft policy — to be sent to experts for comments before the final government seal — expresses kee¬nness on land, air and waterbased adventure sports that include trekking, paragliding and scuba diving.

Areas earmarked for them include hills and forests of north Bengal, Ayodhya hills, the Sunderbans and beaches of Bay of Bengal. An important aspect in the policy is the safety of tourists.“Adventure tourism can pose risk of physical harm.... That is why, all safety parameters have to be met. The draft policy states that the district administration will monitor all activities regularly. A quick response team would be formed in each district for aid when needed,” a source said.

The policy states that the tourism department will create a database of institutions in India that offer courses on adventure activities.“There is a plan to sign MoUs with such institutions so that youths of our state who intend to build their careers as instructors or facilitators of adventure tourism activities can be trained and made aware of the latest technological developments in their fields of interest. The department will also encourage statebased tourism institutes to offer such courses,” said a source in the department.

Also, workshops would be held for service providers and travel operators for tourists to enjoy a hasslefree trip to the state.For the adventure tourism operators (ATOs), the policy contains detailed information on steps to follow to set up a facility in any location of Bengal where tourists can enjoy the activities.

The policy also mentions that for any adventure tourism activity, the cost levied per person must include an accident insurance with minimum insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh.

“Those running the facilities have to confirm that participating tourists are aged between 18 years to 60 years,” the source added.

Over the past few months, the Mamata Banerjee government has recast its focus on the tourism industry, a sector which the chief minister believes can generate jobs in the state. Earlier this year, the state formed a task force headed by the chief secretary to promote tourism and develop related infrastructure across Bengal.

A few weeks back, the department formed subcommittees with government officials and stakeholders to work on various sectors of tourism under the task force. Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network (HHTDN), who is a member of the subcommittee of adventure tourism, said that the state is focusing on various sectors of tourism such as heritage tourism, cultural tourism, adventure tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions).

“It is good that the state has quickly come up with a draft policy for adventure tourism with huge potential in north Bengal as well as in the forests and beaches in the southern part of the state. A laid down policy also makes it easy for those interested to come up with facilities for adventure tourism,” he said.