Indian Government to lift ban on satellite phones for adventure tourists

In a move that would enhance India as a destination for adventure enthusiasts, the Indian Government is set to lift its ban on use of satellite phones for tourism purposes.

The result would enable tourists trekking in wilderness areas in India's north-east or skiing in the upper reaches of Himalayas where there is no mobile telephone connectivity to use satellite phones in emergencies.

India currently bans satellite phone services due to security fears, with India's intelligence agencies worrying the difficult of keeping track of these phones.

However, there has been a long-standing demand from adventure tour operators after deaths in accidents and life-threatening situations because of the lack of communication.

Explaining current concerns among adventure tourism operators Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) President Akshay Kumar told the Times of India "about 80% of our trips are in the wilderness where there is no connectivity.

"In such situations, we require sat phones when tourists suffer from ill health like high altitude sickness or accidents.

"Every minute counts but there have been times when we have had to wait for 24 hours before we could inform the Air Force to send us a chopper."

Kumar, who is Chief Executive of Mercury Himalayan Explorations Ltd, added that the industry suffered from deaths that could easily be avoided, explaining "keeping these issues in view we had suggested that a government department be authorised to buy sat phones and these be rented out to only registered tour operators to ensure that it was used for tourism purposes only,"

For several years international luxury tour operators have avoided adventure tourism in India because of the lack of communication facilities.

Kumar concludes "big travel companies want to assure their clients that they can be evacuated at a moment's notice.

"But our lack of communication facilities not only acted as a deterrent but also was a disincentive for insurance companies who refused to provide insurance for travelers."

According to estimates, India draws 200,000 foreign tourists for adventure tourism annually with domestic tourists accounting for much more.