Most of the “adventure tourism” incidents are related to illegal tours

The teacher and guide of adventure tourism said: the government should carefully monitor who has the authority to design and implement adventure tourism, because most of the incidents in this type of tourism are related to illegal tours.

According to the correspondent of the cultural group, adventure tourism is a very broad concept and has different levels and degrees; From jumping in a Wingsuit and skiing on unspoiled snow to drinking tea by the fire in the desert is part of adventure tourism and has its own definitions. There has been a lot of research in this field and there are different definitions. Some emphasize its dangerousness and some its remoteness, but as defined by the World Adventure Tourism Association (ATTA), “adventure tourism is a type of tourism that involves accepted (and possibly risked) exploration or travel.” “It is real and requires special skills and physical activity.”

Adventure tourism is any type of tourism that two of these three include physical activity, cultural exchange or interaction, and dealing with nature. This definition emphasizes that in adventure tourism, a person goes to the heart of nature to explore, while accepting the existence of risk and the possibility of danger, and undoubtedly when participating in adventure activities, he must be physically prepared and sufficiently skilled for that activity. .

The development of adventure tourism is the product of a team effort

In an interview with IRNA, Kianoosh Mehrabi said about the development of adventure tourism: “One of the most important features of adventure tourism is that it is not done alone.” On the other hand, all the infrastructure work required for its development is a team effort, and all stakeholders from the government and the private sector to the local community have specific responsibilities in this regard. Providing infrastructure, identifying, creating and cutting off people’s access to a natural place for tourism, banning and fencing areas, securing and standardizing these places are among the powers and duties of the government.

It is the responsibility of the government to coordinate and educate local communities on the subject of adventure tourism; Locals are better at accepting government officials’ words, rules, and restrictions than advice from a private tourism company or a non-native tour guide about not swimming in a dangerous river or sea area, not hunting, or not approaching the edge. Abyss recommends.

The teacher and adventure tourism guide said: Of course, the government is alone and oppressed in many issues related to natural and adventure tourism; The relationship between the government and professionals and specialists in the private sector should be improved and strengthened, and together with each other, the infrastructure and infrastructure of adventure tourism should be created and developed.

Guidance, safety and skills are among the necessities of a professional and standard tour

Mehrabi emphasized: The government and specifically the Ministry of Heritage, Culture, Tourism and Handicrafts, as the main authority for issuing activity licenses, should closely monitor what people are qualified to design and implement adventure tourism. Unfortunately, there is less supervision and strictness in the field of adventure tourism. It is seen and usually happens in the same unlicensed tours that do not have qualifications and expertise.

The chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee of the International Rafting Federation said: “Adventure travel companies must comply with the executive standards and regulations of the country.” What is related to the cultural, moral, and religious issues of the individual and society and the behavior of the local communities, or what is related to the number of people touring or performing time, should be of interest to the guide and tourists. The other part is related to technical and specialized issues for equipment, guide selection, safety, security and skills to improve the quality of tourism, which is a necessity for a professional and standard tour.

In adventure tourism, the tourist guide is very important and in addition to knowledge and skills, it must have the best safety equipment. When boating on the river, the best equipment should be accompanied by a tour guide. A guide who is safe can make a safe journey for others. An adventurous tourist guide should be a role model for tourists so that others understand that safety, skill, and professionalism are important.

Mehrabi stressed that participants in adventure tourism activities should be able to distinguish a professional executive team from a non-professional one. Unfortunately, there is no index, standard or criterion for identifying licensed and professional performers in adventure tourism in Iran. There are a large number of illegal and unprofessional tourism teachers in schools; No grading is applied to tourism instructors, the output of these courses will be a large number of guides without expertise and skills.

The training system for tour guides needs to be reviewed and improved. Some institutions prefer to use ads with well-known Instagram influencers to choose a teacher. Unfortunately, in many cases, virtual networks are misleading and enthusiasts go the wrong way.

The group adventure tourism guide emphasized: The development of adventure tourism depends on the teamwork of the public sector, the private sector, the local community and all the stakeholders of the tourism industry; If any of these components are not enabled in this development process, this system will not work properly.

The professional tourist knows what to do in which climate

Distinguishing between hard and comfortable adventure tourism, Mehrabi said: “What is enjoyable for a professional flight hero from adventure in the sky and altitude is different from an 80-year-old non-professional tourist.” A skilled skier who jumps down from a helicopter and skis down the mountain on steep slopes where there is a possibility of avalanches, has certainly seen training courses in various fields and has the experience of performing such an activity in different parts of the world.

The head of the Sustainable Development Committee of the International Group Rafting Federation stated: “Professional tourists do not need advice on respecting the environment and not throwing garbage in nature or training in basic skiing skills.” These adventure tourists have a specific purpose and demand hard adventure tourism, while in soft adventure tourism, any interested person with a little physical fitness can engage in a comfortable adventure activity such as camping, hiking in nature, Birdwatching and… participate.

He said: “Designers, performers and professional tourists themselves know exactly what activities they do in which climate, with what coordinates and specifications, with what dangers, what equipment and tools are needed, what skills they need to strengthen, but in adventure tourism it is easy.” The first step is to even teach tourists how to behave in nature.

Mehrabi added: “Although there are very few warning signs in Iran and restrictions on passing and entering high-risk areas, sometimes many tourists are ignored when warned.” Some time ago, Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy, was activated, only the rope was pulled and banned, no one was crossing, I hope one day we will see such behaviors among nature tourists in Iran.

Teaching general tourism culture from childhood

Mehrabi said: “Many Iranian tourists are not professionals and should be educated.” The general culture of tourism should be taught from childhood, such cultures as traffic laws and respect for the environment all over the world are cultured and taught from childhood.

“Many of the problems that happen to beach and sea tourists are due to fear of water, because these people either experienced drowning as children or witnessed someone drowning, and therefore do not dare to take sides,” the tourism instructor said. They go to the water and if they enter the aquatic environment, they get into trouble because of the same fear.

He added: “Some people are constantly afraid of water because of these wrong ways of teaching swimming, such as the misconception that” swimming should start from a great depth “, or for skiing, this wrong way of doing the same session. First they give the skis and say “you fall so low that you can learn”; The course of this type of training is over.

The guide should not allow a non-professional to travel on an adventure tour

Mehrabi said that adventure tourism, in addition to equipment and facilities, requires skills and preparation, adding that some applicants for adventure tourism are not professionals. Even one does not know whether to go on such a trip or not, for example, for professional mountaineering, which is considered a difficult adventure tourism, one day before the start of the tour and with a simple compliment and without preparation and skill, you can not enter a professional tourism group and work with them. The journey is gone. Most importantly, the tour guide should not allow such a person to join the group because an unprofessional can ruin the whole adventure tourism program and may even endanger his or her own life and the lives of others.

Non-professionals in adventure tourism are a nuisance to all groups. It can easily become a problem for oneself and others if the tourist does not know how to climb and descend in rock climbing, or does not know how to jump into water in valley climbing, or is afraid of water. An error in any of these can lead to injury and even death of the tourist.

The Chairman of the Committee for Sustainable Development of the International Rafting Federation emphasized: In choosing a tourist, one should be very careful before the trip and during the planning. They need training appropriate to the program, time and place of its implementation.