Mumbai: Planning your next vacation? Looking for more than a conventional holiday? Want to pack it with a little adventure? Thinking of the places, processes, possibilities, packages and plans?

Answers to these and a lot of other questions could be had between 7 to 9 February 2003 at Nehru Centre, Mumbai, which will play host to India’s first-ever Adventure Holidays Expo.

S S Singh, president, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India, says: “An initiative of this nature is expected to give a fillip to the concept of adventure holidays in general and the industry in particular. India, with its plethora of destinations and the promise of variety, provides a kind of magnetism for the adventure-seeker that few destinations can match.”

The adventure holiday segment’s market size is estimated at around Rs 300 crore and is growing at the rate of 20 per cent every year.

Adventure Holiday Expo 2003 will serve as a unique and exclusive platform for the trade and service providers across the country to directly interact with leading corporates and customers at the event. The promoters expect to take this concept to at least three cities across India. The future exhibitions will also be designed as an end-user-focused event.

Adventure Holiday Expo 2003 will bring together NGOs, adventure tourism companies, state tourism promotion boards, hotels and tour operators, adventure travel gear and equipment companies and industry experts.

These groups will showcase information on the latest and the hottest adventure destinations, guided trips and travel packages, adventure and eco-tourism, wildlife sanctuaries, cultural and religious tours, locations for white water rafting, trekking, safaris, special interest and study tours, tailor-made holidays, camping, biking, backpacking, hiking, sailing and more.