MOT techs-up with CHATT

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture, recently launched the Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT) platform to empower the voice of smaller operators in the travel and hospitality ecosystem.

CHATT is the result of combined efforts of Airbnb, EaseMyTrip, OYO and Yatra, who came together to back and enable an industry association. Speaking at the virtual event, Prahlad Singh Patel lauded the efforts of the new-age technology, travel and hospitality companies who joined hands to promote the interest of the smallest and often under-represented operators and to work together with the government.

“I congratulate CHATT founding members who have come together to put India on the global map. CHATT’s formation is a landmark decision to boost India’s robust domestic tourism market and support small hotel partners, homeowners, agents to expand their offerings catering to the needs of tourists. The Tourism Ministry is continuously making efforts to make the data available of hotels and homestays on the unified portal – NIDHI to benefit tourists and CHATT will play a crucial role in it.

The consolidated efforts by CHATT will be highly beneficial for SMEs, MSMEs, hotels, homeowners, partners, and I welcome them to join the various government committees to represent the unified voice of the industry,” he said. Patel also shared that they have sent nine memorandums to UNESCO, out of which six were accepted. Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Government of India, was also present at the event, along with Rakesh Verma, Joint Secretary, MOT and Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, MOT. Singh added, “The efforts of CHATT are highly inclusive and once the impact of second wave subsides – a group like CHATT will present greater economic impact. Technology is at the forefront of many initiatives at the Ministry of Tourism and we look forward to closely working with CHATT to strengthen the sector.”