A delegation of the founding members of the Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT) recently met with G Kishan Reddy, minister for tourism and culture and offered their strong support to the Ministry’s work to revive tourism as the country opens up and travel and tourism picks up.

The delegation apprised the tourism minister about how CHATT can play an important role in making the tourism ecosystem more robust and resilient through digital interventions. He evinced strong interest in the use of technology and innovation to revive domestic tourism.

CHATT delegation in its representation offered to work with the Tourism ministry under its NIDHI and SAATHI projects to ensure that small entrepreneurs in the tourism industry who have SAATHI and NIDHI registration are also recognised for receiving financial assistance under different schemes of MSME and have access to funds which they would otherwise not get. Currently, if anyone from the tourism sector needs financial assistance, they need to register as an SME or register under various other schemes.

Given that the restart of tourism is essential for India’s economic growth and recovery, a five-year roadmap for sustainable and responsible tourism with technology as one of the key drivers for enhancing tourism in India was also proposed at the meeting. It was suggested by the delegation that technology platforms should be included in the various policy roadmaps that the Ministry has created and that CHATT will work with the Ministry to enhance those aspects in the policy document. The body has also offered to work closely with the Ministry to promote offbeat tourist locations which have immense tourism potential.

One of the major asks of the delegation was to recognise tourism as an industry and for a need for ease of rules and a more conducive regulatory environment, especially at the State level where industry faces several niggling issues.