PROJECT REPORT ON

A study on the Potential of

Adventure Tourism in Mechukha
Valley, Si-Yomi District of
Arunachal Pradesh.

(PTS-06)

Submitted by:-

Ms. Taba Lissi

Enrollment No.: 2109189090

Submitted to:-

Programme Coordinator (Tourism Studies)

School of Social Science, IGNOU
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project report entitled “A Study on the Potential

of Adventure Tourism in Mechukha, Si-Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh”

submitted by me for the partial fulfillment of the Bachelors in Tourism Studies

to Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi is my original

work and has not been submitted earlier to IGNOU or to any other institution for

the fulfillment of the requirement for any course of study. I also declare that no

chapter of this manuscript in whole or in part is lifted and incorporated in this

report from any earlier work done by others or me.

Signature :

Place: Name : Ms. Taba Lissi

Date: Enrollment No. :2109189090
 Programme Code : BTS
Course Code : PTS-06
Enrolment No. : 2109189090
Study Centre Code : 0301
Regional Centre : Itanagar RC

A Study on the Potential of Adventure Tourism in

Mechukha, Si-Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh.
Project Report submitted to the Indira Gandhi National Open University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelors Degree in
Tourism Studies. I hereby declare that this is my original work and has not been
submitted elsewhere.

Signature of the Candidate : ___________________________

Name of the Candidate : MS. TABA LISSI
Email id : ___________________________
Institutional Address, if any : ___________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Year __________________________________________________________

CERTIFICATE
Certified that the Project Report entitled “A Study on the Potential of
Adventure Tourism in Mechukha, Si-Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh”
submitted by Ms. Taba Lissi is his/her own work and has been done under my
supervision.
It is recommended that this Project be placed before the examiner for
evaluation.

Name : Shri. Devadhar Sengdo

Designation : Assistant Professor,
Address : DNGC, Itanagar, A.P.
Study Centre : Dera Natung Govt. College, Itanagar
Regional Centre : Itanagar Regional Centre
Date : _____________
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel indebted to my guide Shri. Devadhar Sengdo, for the completion of

the project report entitled “A Study on the Potential of Adventure Tourism in

Mechukha, Si-Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh”. The present work could be

completed only because of the able guidance and affectionate attitude of my guide

Shri. Devadhar Sengdo.

I am thankful to all respondents and all those who assisted me by supplying

the requisite information towards the completion of the questionnaire thereby

enabling me to collect the relevant data.

Signature :

Name : Ms. Taba Lissi

Enrollment No. :2109189090
 TABEL OF CONTENT

DECLARATION
CERTIFICATE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1
STUDY AREA ..................................................................................................... 8
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY ......................................................................... 13
SCOPE OF THE STUDY .................................................................................. 14
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY ....................................................................... 15
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................................................... 16
FINDING OF THE STUDY .............................................................................. 17
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 24
REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 26
 INTRODUCTION

Today, Adventure Tourism is a vibrant, dynamic, and fast-changing sector

with new variants routinely added to the possible experiences. Individual

companies are often small, owner-operated businesses led by entrepreneurs with

a drive to share their favourite places and passions with others.

Figure 1: 400 years old grand Samten Yangchag Monastery

Adventure tourism offers an opportunity to entrepreneurs in rural areas

around the world to do the same. 69% of overall international travel departures

leave from Europe, North America, and South America, and together these three

regions account for over USD 263 billion in adventure travel expenditures

(ATTA, 2013). Both public and private sector stakeholders understand that

adventure tourism is inextricably linked with human and natural capital.

Protection and promotion of these resources are important, and the continued

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development of this sector must seek to protect these valuable assets

(ATTA,2013).

To date no definition of Adventure Tourism exists in UNWTO literature,

however, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) defines Adventure

Tourism as a trip that includes atleast two of the following three elements:

✓ Physical activity,

✓ Natural environment and

✓ Cultural immersion.

Figure 2: Scenic beauty of Manchukha

Muller and Cleaver (2000) defined adventure tourism as “physically

bracing, adrenalin-driven, somewhat risky, with moments of exhilaration

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punctuated by many opportunities to assess and reassess what has been done or

accomplished”.

An essential component of adventure tourism is travel to unusual, exotic,

and remote wilderness destinations (Millington, Locke, & Locke, 2001).

Activity, experience, environment, motivation, risk, and competence were

identified as primary dimensions that often characterize the traveller’s perception

of adventure travel (Sung, Morrison, & O’Leary, 1997).

The adventure tourism is an outdoor activity, which is a means of income

for adventure tour operators; it needs guidance to indulge in adventure activities

and every activity has its relevant equipment to perform, everything is done for

the excitement of adventure tourists (Buckley4, 2004; Bentley et al.,5 2000).

The adventure tourism can be divided into two categories of adventure

activities:

1) Hard Adventure and

2) Soft Adventure.

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 There is a vigorous debate that often surrounds which activities belong in

each category. The easiest way to identify an adventure trip as a hard or soft

adventure is by its primary activity. The table below indicates activities and their

adventure classification, according to the ATTA:

Figure 3: Gliding adventure sports

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Activity Type Activity Type
Archaeological expedition Soft Horseback riding Soft
Attending local Other Kayaking/Sea/White water Soft
festival/fairs
Backpacking Soft Learning new languages Other
Birdwatching Soft Orienteering Soft
Camping Soft Rafting Soft
Canoening Soft Research expedition Soft
Caving Hard Safaris Soft
Climbing Hard Sailing Soft
(Mountain/Rocks/Ice)
Cruise Other Snorkeling Soft
Cultural activities Other Skiing/Snowboarding Soft
Ecotourism Soft Surfing Soft
Educational Programmes Soft Trekking Hard
Environmentally Soft Walking tours Other
Sustainable activities
Fishing/fly-fishing Soft Visiting friends/family Other
Getting to know the locals Other Visiting historical sites Other
Hiking Soft Volunteer Tourism Soft
Table 1: Adventure Classification

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 For travellers, adventure tourism means an experience-based holiday; it

means added value as they learn and interact with local populations and connect

with their core values. For companies and destinations, adventure travel attracts

visitors outside of peak season, highlights the natural and cultural values of a

destination, thereby promoting its preservation, helps differentiate destinations

against the competition, and creates resilient and committed travelers.

Figure 4: Adventure sports

These are just some of the reasons why it is fundamental for destinations

to understand and work with adventure travel professionals.

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Figure 5: Adventure promoted by Chief Minister and Film Star during Mechukha Adventure Festival.

Finally, from a global perspective, adventure tourism incorporates and

promotes the values of the tourism that we want – tourism that respects cultural

and natural assets and protects the most vulnerable. Indeed, the expansion of

adventure tourism creates immense opportunities for development, particularly

in remote communities where adventure travel fuels the local economy, as well

as generates income and employment (UNWTO, 2014).

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 STUDY AREA

Mechukha also known as Menchukha. Menchukha is comprised of three

separate words, "Men" meaning medicine, "Chu"-Water and "Kha"-Snow in

Memba dialect. It is believed that the village is located in the medicinal snow

water, where sick people can be treated.

Figure 6 Map of Shi-Yomi District

It is a small town located at 28º 36' 18"North latitude 94º 07' 41"East

longitude at an altitude of 6,000 Feet above mean sea level. It is only 29 Km. far

away from the Mac Mohan line. This is situated on the North-Eastern Himalayan

range valleys lies in the central part of the Arunachal Pradesh located in Shi-Yomi

District, bordered by the international boundary of China in the North, West

Siang in the South, and Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh in the West direction.

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 Mechukha is one of the lesser-explored tourism destinations in the country.

With cascading waterfalls and crystal-clear water running on stony river beds, the

exclusivity of this valley holds out a promise of serenity.

Figure 7: Camping adventure

Mechukha is a mountainous region endowed with rich natural resources

and a biodiversity of diverse flora and fauna that further enhances the natural

beauty consists of hilly terrain with narrow serpentine roads and one can get a

great view of snow-covered mountain peaks and snowfall during the winter

season.

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 The mean average temperature during summer and winter is 21.3ºC and

7.0ºC. The undulating grassland slopes surrounding the valley, alongside the high

snow-covered peaks almost in 'touching' distance hide amidst their deep religious

and historical significance.

Figure 8 Memba tribe of Mechukha

Mechukha Valley is the home to the tribes of Memba and Ramos. Other

local tribes include Tagin, Bokar and Libo in small numbers. Historically it is

believed that the Membas have migrated from Tibet (Dutta, 2006). The Membas

belong to the Tibetan-Burma linguistic family of Mongoloid race.

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 They account 91 households with a total population of 663 people with an

average family size of 7 people having sex-ratio of 997 females per thousand

males. They are followers of Lama Cheeji Lengbo who practice the Nyingmapa

sect of Mahayana Buddhism.

The Traditional agro-pastoralism of the Membas is unique in that they

apply intelligent management and sustainable utilization of natural resources for

their livelihood (Lollen and Laskar, 2006).

Figure 9: Tribes of Mechukha

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 The Ramo and Tagin are the followers of the Donyi-Polo. Losar is the main

festival of the Memba tribe and it is celebrated with pomp and gaiety by the local

people. It is considered as the New Year for the Membas which lasts for 3 days.

It is celebrated both individually and at the Community level. The Tagin Tribes

celebrates Si-Donyi from 4th - 6th of January every year for the good quality crops,

good health, and prosperity of the community. The Ramo tribes celebrate the

Podi-Barbi festival for a good harvest and prosperity of the people.

Figure 10 Mechukha

The Samtem Yongcham monastery, situated atop a hill overlooking the

valley, is believed to be more than 400 years old. This, and other tourist sites

including the Siyom River which runs through the valley, make Mechukha a

perfect blend of nature, spirituality, and history- all combined to make one truly

amazing tourist destination.

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 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of this research study is to address such tourism issues as:

✓ To understand the potential of Adventure Tourism in Mechukha Valley.

✓ To identify potential strategies for developing Adventure Tourism in

Mechukha Valley.

Figure 11: Snow covered Mechukha

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 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The present study explores the Adventure Tourism potentiality of

Mechukha Valley, located in the Shi-Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh State.

Mechukha Valley is a worth visiting tourist destination to explore the indigenous

Ramo and Tagin tribe who has a unique tradition of nature conservation and

natural resource management.

As tourism is still in its infancy stage in Mechukha, it is imperative to study

and identify sustainable tourism principles to preserve the inherent ethnicity

thereby making it economically beneficial for the local community. An attempt

has been made in this paper to analyse the potential for adventure tourism in

Mechukha Valley in particular and in Arunachal Pradesh in general.

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 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

One of the limitations of the focus group interview is that it addresses a

very small sample and the chances of such a sample being biased or skewed is

relatively higher. On the other hand, many of the issues, which are qualitative or

subjective to individual perception, cannot be adequately addressed in a

questionnaire survey.

In order to rationalize the research process while at the same time ensure

that the perceptions of the respondents were also recorded a combination of open-

ended questionnaires and focus group interviews were used. The questionnaires

were initially administered to a large sample and based on the willingness of the

respondents to participate in a discussion; smaller focus group interviews were

conducted.

Because of limitations of time, the method of sampling was convenience

and random sampling. Though all efforts have been made to minimize bias, some

amount of bias may still creep.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The present study is a conceptual in nature and the paper is based on

secondary data. The data were collected from various journals, papers,

magazines, internet, the Ministry of Tourism, articles, and newspapers; in

addition to this, the researcher, being a resident of Arunachal Pradesh, is truly

aware of the adventure tourism potentials of Machaka valley.

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 FINDING OF THE STUDY

Achievements of Adventure Tourism in Arunachal Pradesh:

The State Arunachal Pradesh offers an immense opportunity for terrestrial,

aquatic, air based adventure tourism. The fast flowing rivers, valleys and remote

mountainous unconquered virgin forests are attracting travellers. The Department

of Sports and Youth Affairs Adventure Wing is trying hard to promote adventure

sports in the State of Arunachal Pradesh for the last decades.

Figure 12: Menchukha

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 Within a very short period of time, the state has produced renowned

mountaineers with many new records Mr. Tapi Mra, the first Everester from

Arunachal Pradesh conquered Mt. Everest on 21st May 2009.

Figure 13: Mr. Tapi Mra (right) & Ms. Tine Mena (left)

Miss Tine Mena was, first woman from the North-East States and first

woman from Arunachal Pradesh to climb Mount Everest on 9th May 2011.

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Figure 14: Mrs. Anshu Jansenpa

Mrs. Anshu Jansenpa, the first mother climbed Mt. Everest twice in the

span of 10 days on the 12th and 21st of May 2011, and on the 18th of May 2013,

she scaled for the third time. Mr. Nima Lama reached the summit on 21st May

2013.

The first and historic major mountaineering expedition was launched by

State Government in collaboration with Indian Mountaineering Foundation

(IMF) New Delhi at Mt. Gorichen, 6488m height in the Indo-Tibetan border,

under the leadership of Dr. K. Romeo Meetei, Adventure Wing In-charge, where

all the members were summiting the peak with records.

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 Another milestone of the adventure sports in the State is National Institute

of Mountaineering & Allied Sports (NIMAS) at Dirang, West Kameng,

Arunachal Pradesh is only kind of Adventure Institute in India where land, water,

and air base adventure are trained in one institute.

The Directorate of Youth Affairs, Government of Arunachal Pradesh

intend to bring out a Mountaineering Act for exploring the virgin and unknown

snow-clad mountain peaks of Arunachal Pradesh to facilitate the youths of the

state to engage themselves in earning their livelihood through various adventure

activities and extending their services as mountain guides, high altitude staffs,

low altitude support staffs, trekking guides, porter etc. to the expedition team for

future.

A three-day Adventure gala organized every year in the month of

November at Mechukha, Arunachal Pradesh in partnership by Ministry of

Tourism, Govt. of India and Dept. of Tourism, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh to

promote adventure tourism in Arunachal Pradesh, along with Event Partners Sub-

Division Administration Mechukha, District Administration Shi-Yomi & CCRD.

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Constraints / Problems of Adventure Tourism in Mechukha

Despite having huge potential for tourism, Mechukha is still lacking in

overall development of tourism and yet not identified as tourist destination in

Arunachal Pradesh.

There are many problems such as:

➢ Number of tourist inflow is less during Summer (May-August) due

to heavy rainfall that creates problem in road connectivity and

transportation services.

➢ Harsh climatic weather conditions; transportation problems;

accommodation problems.

➢ Lack of awareness amongst local people about tourism particularly

adventure sector is also observed as one of the barriers for the

development of adventure tourism, lack of Information and

Publicity.

➢ Lack of skilled manpower; lack of Policy and implementation etc.,

are some of the limiting factors responsible for the slow

development of tourism in this study area.

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Strategies for the growth of Adventure Tourism

Adventure tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism

sector, attracting high value customers, supporting local economies, and

encouraging sustainable practices.

Thus, the continued growth of this sector creates net positive impacts not

only for tourism, but also for destination economies, their people, and their

environment.

Therefore, it is very important to give special consideration towards the

promotion of adventure tourism in Mechukha valley, following strategies/

suggestions can be fruitful for this:

❖ In Mechukha valley there is bottleneck of infrastructure and

superstructure and connectivity of air and land transportation.

However, the developmental activities of connectivity are in

progress and it need priority attention. Improvement of

infrastructure facilities such as transportation, accommodation, and

other facilities needs to be given priority to boost tourism.

❖ Providing them awareness campaigns for the sustainable

development, Preservation, and Conservation of rich biodiversity

and other natural resources on which tourism.

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 ❖ In Mechuka valley there are shortages of other product for leisure

tourism it needs to develop in a planned way at the tourist place to

attract other forms of tourism demands so that valley could caters all

forms of tourists. Hence, promotion and advertising strategy should

be adopted for tourism marketing.

❖ Government, business owners and community stakeholders must

work cooperatively and strive to provide authentic and meaningful

experiences to tourists that satisfy commercial objectives while also

maintaining the integrity of the cultures, sites, land and wildlife.

❖ Government should support to the undeveloped tourist areas for the

development of infrastructural facilities, and lastly, educational

institutions are required to do more research work on this area to

identify tourist adventure site; to document natural resource

potential and rich traditional culture; to encourage and strengthen

the long-term socio-economic development of local communities

with the help of nature-based tourism in the Mechukha valley.

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 CONCLUSION

Adventure tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism

sector, attracting high value customers, supporting local economies, and

encouraging sustainable practices. Thus, the continued growth of this sector

creates net positive impacts not only for tourism, but also for destination

economies, their people, and their environment. Therefore, it is very important to

give special consideration to the promotion of adventure tourism in Mechukha

Valley, following strategies/ suggestions can be fruitful for this:

In Mechukha Valley there is the bottleneck of infrastructure and

superstructure and connectivity of air and land transportation. However, the

developmental activities of connectivity are in progress and they need priority

attention. Improvement of infrastructure facilities such as transportation,

accommodation, and other facilities needs to be given priority to boost tourism.

Providing them with awareness campaigns for the sustainable

development, Preservation, and Conservation of rich biodiversity and other

natural resources on which tourism.

PTS-06 24
 In Mechuka valley there are shortages of other product for leisure tourism

it needs to develop in a planned way at the tourist place to attract other forms of

tourism demands so that valley could caters all forms of tourists. Hence,

promotion and advertising strategies should be adopted for tourism marketing.

Government, business owners, and community stakeholders must work

cooperatively and strive to provide authentic and meaningful experiences to

tourists that satisfy commercial objectives while also maintaining the integrity of

the cultures, sites, land and wildlife.

Government should support to the undeveloped tourist areas for the

development of infrastructural facilities, and lastly, educational institutions are

required to do more research work on this area to identify tourist adventure site;

to document natural resource potential and rich traditional culture; encourage and

strengthen the long-term socio-economic development of local communities with

the help of nature-based tourism in the Mechukha valley.

PTS-06 25
 REFERENCES

✓ Adventure Travel Trade Association (2013), ATTA Values Statement,

ATTA (online), available at:http://cdn.adventuretravel.biz/wp-

content/uploads/2013/02/Values-Statement-Trade-English.pdf (24-09-

2014).

✓ Millington, Locke, & Locke (2001). Occasional studies: adventure travel:

Travel and Tourism Analyst, 4 (2001), pp. 65–97

✓ Sung, H. H., A. M. Morrison, and J. T. O‟Leary (1997).“Definition of

Ad-venture Travel: Conceptual Framework for Empirical Application

from the Providers‟ Perspective.” Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Re-

search, 1 (2): 47-67.

✓ Buckley, R.C. (2000). NEAT trends: current issues in nature, eco and

adventure tourism.International Journal of Tourism Research 2: 437-444

✓ Bentley, T., S.J. Pageand I.S. LAIRD (2000). Safety in New Zealand's

adventure tourismindustry: the client accident experience of adventure

tourism operators. Journal of Travel Medicine 7: 239-245.

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 ✓ UNTWO (2014), UNTWO Tourism Highlights 2014, UNWTO, Madrid

(online), available at:http: //dtxtq4w6xcpw.cloudfront.net/site6/all/files

pdf/unwto_highlights14_en.pdf (24-09-2014)

✓ Dutta, D.K. (2006). The Membas of Mechukha Valley. Directorate of

Research, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar.

✓ Lollen, M. and Laskar, B.A. (2011). Soil Fertility Management by

Memba Tribe of Mechuka Valley, Arunachal Pradesh. Current Science,

101 (11): 1399.

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