Four MoUs with Airbnb were signed in New Delhi on Monday under the aegis of the DoNER Ministry in an effort to further bolster the tourism potential of Northeast.
It was signed in the presence of the DoNER minister Dr Jitendra Singh and senior officials of Ministry of DoNER, NEC and various other organizations.
After signing the agreements Dr Singh said that the development of the North East Region is of prime importance for the overall inclusive growth of India and tourism development has always been one of our key focus areas keeping in mind the North East’s natural beauty and cultural heritage.
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.
Under the MoUs, the NEC, NETDC and Airbnb agree to expand tourism in the North East of India through Airbnb’s global platform. They have also agreed to improve the quality of homestay facilities and unique properties in the North East of India.
MoUs were also signed for strategic partnerships by the NERLP and NERCORMP with 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.