This blog post might not be for the faint of heart!
After relying successfully on promoting its beaches, Goa is now trying to expand its tourism portfolio to other kinds of tourism including heritage tourism and now adventure tourism. The Goa Tourism Department has now turned to adventure sports like hang-gliding, white water rafting and hot air ballooning to attract the more active minded tourists to Goa.
“Adventure tourism is an emerging trend across the country. We are trying it to diversify our tourism portfolio,” says Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar. As Mr Parulekar rightly notes, adventure tourism is a huge emerging trend, not only in India but all across the world. While people today spend more and more time sitting at their desks in front of a computer or screen, they are looking to be a bit more active and adventurous when they are on holiday. “We are now considering other adventure sports as well, such as hot air ballooning and setting up a hang-glider base,” Parulekar said.
And for those who find hand gliding or wind surfing too strenuous, there is also a plan to combine adventure tourism and Heritage tourism by offering a ride in a hot air balloon that would provide a birds-eye view of the historic old Goa church complex (a UNESCO Heritage Zone) as well as Fontainhas, the Latin quarter of Panjim.
So if you do find yourselves in a hot air balloon over my Mitaroy Heritage Homestay in Fontainhas, don’t forget to wave !
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