Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said that development of the India’s North East region is of prime importance for the overall inclusive growth of India, and tourism development has always been one of the key focus areas of the Union government.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, was present at the signing of the four memorandum of understanding (MoUs) under the aegis of his Ministry on Monday.
He said these MoUs with Airbnb are a step towards achieving our aim of doubling tourist growth rate in the next three years, by creating more sustainable accommodation options and enhancing the hospitality service standards in the region.
The MoUs were signed on behalf of the North Eastern Council (NEC), the North East Tourism Development Council (NETDC) and two key livelihood initiatives, North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) and North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP).
The MoUs aim at creating hospitality micro-entrepreneurs across key destinations in the North East of India.
Kum Hong Siew, Regional Director, Airbnb Asia Pacific signed the MoUs on behalf of Airbnb, one of the world’s leading community-driven hospitality companies.
According to a government release, under the MoUs, the NEC, NETDC and Airbnb have agrees to:
• Expand tourism in the North East of India through Airbnb’s global platform
• Improve the quality of homestay facilities and unique properties in the North East of India
• Provide and promote outstanding tourism resources in the North East of India, and
• Cooperate to improve the regulatory environment for home sharing in the North East of India
MoUs were also signed for strategic partnerships between NERLP and NERCORMP and Airbnb to generate technology-enabled livelihood opportunities in tourism and hospitality for micro-entrepreneurs in the North East of India, and to help low-income families monetize their existing assets through home sharing.
Under these agreements, Airbnb will provide training to core teams of the NERLP and NERCORMP, which will further train existing and potential hosts on home sharing, responsible hosting, hospitality standards, hygiene and basic amenities, the release said.
Another MoU was signed between NERCORMP and HESCO (Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization) for leveraging of community resources and appropriate local resources based technology for development.
