Rishikesh to host PATA adventure travel conference next year

More than 300 foreign delegates are expected to participate in the PATA adventure travel conference, which will be held in Rishikesh in February 2019, a senior official said.

PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2019 (ATRTCM) would be hosted by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board.

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a non-profit association working for responsible development of travel and tourism within the Asia Pacific region.

"Uttarakhand won bid this time. It is a prestigious travel mart of Asia. This is a better way of showcasing the state to international clients," Uttarakhand Tourism Secretary Dilip Jawalkar told PTI.

The event, that brings together public and private sector players involved in the adventure tourism, would be held from February 13 to 15 next year.

According to him, more than 300 overseas delegates are expected to participate in the three-day conference.

Responding to a query on whether there was any financial bidding for hosting the event, he replied in the negative. "No, one has to commit tourist facilities for visiting travel agents like accommodation, transportation, site seeing...," he added.

This year, the conference was held in Abu Dhabi.