There was a time when vacationing meant taking a leisurely holiday and relaxing in the sun. Now, adventure travel is the new trend among backpackers across the globe, and Indians are active participants, too. According to research by Thrillophilla.com in October 2018, more and more people in India are moving towards unconventional traveling. The survey revealed that adventure tourism and activity travel market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.4% from 2017 to 2023 in India. Over the past three years, there was a 42% increase in the popularity of high-altitude regions among adventure travelers.
Interestingly, 27% of people saidhat they were interested in traveling to the Himalayas for an offbeat experience. The number of solo travelers also increased by 18%. The study revealed that adventure travel is more popular among people below 35, while most people over 35 still prefer conventional traveling. As much thrill as adventure travel brings, there is always risk involved. This is where travel insurance comes into play and can provide much-needed financial security.
Heena J Akhtar, Co-Founder of TripXOXO, told Zee Business Online that Indian travelers, especially solo travelers and millennials, are opting for thrilling adventure trips, and to avoid uncertain situations on their journeys, some are opting for Travel Insurance. This type of insurance helps deal with many unwanted problems like flight delays, loss of documents, and accidents.
“The concept of travel insurance will assist in getting the benefits on various things like flight delays, baggage loss, loss of important documents, and hospitalization. As summer vacation is just around the corner patrons are looking for best deals on things to do activities across the world like Bungee Jumping, Kayaking, River Rafting, Banana Boat ride to beat off the heat,” Akhtar added. Subramanyam Brahmajosyula, Head of Underwriting and Reinsurance at SBI General Insurance, further explained that medical emergencies can strike at the least expected time.
“The situation becomes even more stressful when such emergencies happen when you are overseas. The high medical treatment cost and unfamiliarity with health care systems and facilities in other countries are added hurdles. SBI General’s travel insurance policy is available, which will take care of the cost of medical treatment overseas but other losses such as loss of passport, checked-in baggage, and trip cancellation or curtailment. As Indians increasingly travel more both within the country and abroad, we have witnessed a significant increase in interest levels for this product,” Brahmajosyula added.
