Tejbir Singh Anand, newly-elected President of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), has made expanding the association’s active membership base and mentoring operators on safety and service standards his key priorities.
The priorities come as the association elected its new managing committee unopposed at its AGM and biennial elections in New Delhi. Anand, who takes over the presidency at a time when adventure tourism is gaining greater traction, said ATOAI needs to bring more credible operators under its fold and ensure that membership translates into higher standards across the sector.
“Membership and mentorship” will be the two principal areas of focus during his tenure, Anand told TravelBiz Monitor. While the association currently has a relatively small active-member base compared to its wider allied membership, he said there is a need to upgrade eligible associate members while simultaneously bringing more credible operators into the association.
However, Anand said membership growth cannot be viewed merely in terms of numbers. ATOAI also needs to mentor its members in areas ranging from marketing and sales to responsible tourism, sustainability, certification and, most importantly, safety and service delivery.
The objective, he said, is to create a larger community of sensitised operators who can learn from each other and collectively improve safety standards, thereby strengthening India’s image as a safe adventure tourism destination.
A new ATOAI recognition framework is expected to support this expansion. Anand said the framework developed by the previous executive committee is ready for rollout and could provide an alternative route for credible operators to become active members, particularly as the Ministry of Tourism’s accreditation process can be lengthy and time-consuming.
“Anyone who is credible enough and fulfills the criteria will be given an active membership,” he said, adding that the initiative would help strengthen both operators and the association.
Safety and emergency preparedness will also remain central to his agenda. Referring to the recent Nepal incident, Anand said the inherent risk associated with adventure travel cannot be eliminated, but better preparedness, risk mitigation and communication systems can significantly reduce the human cost of disasters.
He particularly highlighted the need for reliable communication in remote and mountainous areas, pointing to the absence or limited availability of GPS systems and satellite phones as a longstanding concern for adventure operators in India. He called for greater coordination between the concerned ministries to address the issue.
The other names in the 2026-28 managing committee include: Vaibhav Kala (Sr Vice President): Rony Singh Gulati ( Vice President); Paras Loomba ( Secretary); and Yug Chinmay Dutt (Treasurer). The three EC members in the board are Ajeet Bajaj (Immediate past President); Amit Periwal, and Shekhar Babu.