Q1 What is the role of founding members in the functioning of CHATT as an industry body?
The Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT) represents and safeguards the interests of budget hotels, Bed and Breakfast (BnB) stays, independent lodging partners, homestay owners, online travel aggregators (OTAs), wellness centres, travel operators, agents, guides, and other partners with a focus on small and mid-sized businesses operating in this sector that are at the intersection of technology. It also aims to enable greater collaboration between tourism businesses, irrespective of their scale and size, and leverage technology and entrepreneurship to lead the next growth chapter of the tourism sector. CHATT seeks to translate and operationalize government policies to reach the last-mile service provider using technology. It aims to impact policy and regulatory environment to organize and empower SMEs in the sector and contribute to making India an economic and tourist powerhouse.
Leading tech-based platforms and in hospitality, tourism and online travel aggregators (OTAs) viz., Airbnb, EaseMyTrip, MakeMyTrip, OYO, and Yatra are the five founder members of CHATT. The founding members of CHATT are products of the internet age. A democratic entity, the internet, allowed tech-based platforms and OTAs to discover new models of facilitating hospitality and tourism. The major role of founder members within CHATT is to represent the unified interests of the community, support small businesses and help them thrive through digital transformation. CHATT’s mission is to be the democratic voice in the hospitality and tourism industry more specifically for the micro-entrepreneurs and small entities that form the backbone of the sector.
Q2 What contribution does OTA have to the economy of the country?
Owing to a rapid infrastructure expansion in India, the rail, road and air connectivity is bringing the tourist destinations closer for tourists. With travel set for a full recovery in India in 2023 due to pent-up demand as well as efforts being made at the government level to promote tourism, the role of tech-based platforms and OTAs continue to go up.
The hotel, BnBs, homestays etc are witnessing significant gains as their properties are easily discoverable on online platforms. The tech-based platforms and OTAs have helped bring India closer with easy bookings, payments, and mobile exploration of properties and destinations, making tourism a much more seamless experience. Today, the OTAs have brought together over half a million properties in more than 1500 cities and towns in India on the travel and tourism map. Owing to technological advancements and innovation, OTAs have become frontrunners in India’s digital economy. Their business practices are proving to be beneficial both for the industry as well as the consumers. While hotels receive bookings for stay via OTAs, their customers rely on these tech platforms for travel logistics.
Besides, these players have also been able to catch the fancy of the growing middle class and the millennial travel enthusiasts most of whom plan instant getaways giving a boost to the domestic tourism sector.
The popularity of staycations and workcations, coupled with the rise in the number of multiple short trips, has contributed to the changing landscape of an industry with great promise. The trend of mini vacations might be here to stay. Millennials are lapping up the gig economy for the chance to live the digital nomad life. Tech platforms and OTAs are getting ready to play a more significant role in the growth of total and online travel opportunities in India, and their story ahead is only going to be more exciting.
Q3 How is CHATT planning to be the voice of MSMEs in the tourism sector?
CHATT is working along with micro-entrepreneurs as well as small and medium businesses (SMBs) with an aim to elevate domestic tourism through digital empowerment and the adoption of the latest technologies. CHATT is working on-ground with various stakeholders to push for district-level planning and cluster development by promoting awareness around various government policies, programs and schemes available both at the centre and across states that can be leveraged by small businesses for their growth and development. In the current scenario, promoting tourism offerings and robust online presence is equally important to attract more visitors. CHATT will encourage collaborations, connections, engagements, and exchange of ideas within the hospitality & tourism sector to enable small and medium players to powerfully leverage the experiences of established leaders.
Q4 What other strategies is CHATT planning to support the MSMEs in the tourism sector?
There are four significant interventions that CHATT is already working to undertake in India’s hospitality, tourism, and travel sector:
1. Sustainability – aiming at delivering a triple bottom line, i.e., social, economic, and environmental
2. Technology adoption – enhancing marketing and marketability of the Indian tourism sector worldwide; enhancement of service efficiency and productivity through digitalization
3. UpSkilling – capacity building and livelihood security; productivity and efficiency to achieve higher customer satisfaction leading to recall of tourist destinations across the Indian tourism sector
4. Mainstreaming – Integration of unorganized sector into organized set-up (through access to government policies & schemes) that ensures achievement of the triple bottom line – social, economic, and environmental
To ensure the growth and development of hospitality and tourism MSMEs in the sector through these interventions, CHATT is offering micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses membership at absolutely no cost to help them stand out and provide them with an opportunity to strengthen the collective voice of the community.
Q5 What are the challenges you find that are stopping the tourism sector from reaching its potential?
There are various policies aimed at the growth and development of the sector; however, operationalizing these policies for the last-mile stakeholder remains a concern due to a variety of factors, CHATT stands committed to implementing these policies to the last mile. CHATT is reaching out to the central and state governments to present and discuss how these strategies can be operationalized at the district, state, and national levels. Some of the many other challenges are:
● Infrastructure and Connectivity: Deficiencies in infrastructure and inadequate connectivity hamper tourist visits to some heritage sites and remote destinations.
● For example, many tourist destinations, like Kangchenjunga, are still not easily accessible.
● Tourism segments or circuits: India has various tourist destinations but few circuits. Also, many announced tourist circuits are yet to be implemented.
● Promotion and Marketing: Although marketing related to India’s tourism has been increasing, online marketing/branding remains limited, and campaigns are not very well coordinated.
● Tourist information centres could be better managed, making it easier for domestic and foreign tourists to access information quickly.
● Skill Deficit: The number of adequately trained individuals in the tourism and hospitality sector is a crucial challenge to giving visitors a world-class experience.
● A limited number of multilingual trained guides and the little local awareness and understanding of the benefits and responsibilities associated with the tourism industry act as constraints on the sector’s growth.
● Tourism destination development: Lack of new tourism spots, poor upkeep of existing destinations as well as the absence of destination marketing like hiking, trekking, adventure sports, nature & rural/eco-tourism etc. is another key challenge.
Q6 Are the policies/ government intervention for the tourism sector enough and what are the gaps that you think that need to be filled?
As a key stakeholder in the hospitality and tourism sector, CHATT seeks to translate and operationalize government policies to reach the last-mile service provider using technology. It aims to impact policy and regulatory environment to organize and empower SMEs in the sector and contribute to making India an economic and tourist powerhouse. While we have various policies aimed at the growth and development of the sector, operationalizing these policies for the last-mile stakeholder has been a concern, it is our endeavour at CHATT to work with all stakeholders to get these policies and schemes implemented in the right earnest.
Q7 Any trend you think will gain momentum in 2023 since India will host the G20 summit in India next year?
India will assume the G20 presidency for one year from the start of next month and hold more than 200 meetings during this period. This presents a unique opportunity for our country to showcase and position the domestic hospitality, tourism, and travel sector globally. For a country like ours, tourism and travel are a vehicle for economic growth and development, job creation, and poverty reduction. Our government very much recognizes the sector’s importance. It will soon be coming up with a new tourism policy to address the core issues of digitalization, mainstreaming micro-entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the sector, sustainability and upskilling.
