CHATT Sets Up Secretariat To Empower MSMEs in Tourism Sector

The Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry (CHATT) has set up a secretariat to empower the voice of micro entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality tourism and travel sector. It has appointed Anwar Shirpurwala as secretary general of the secretariat to boost leadership. CHATT plans to on-board 5,000 hospitality and tourism small-business owners and SMEs as members in the next one year with prime focus on budget hotels, homestays, tourism operators, online travel agencies, tech-based platforms. 

With a view to promote digital transformation of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) and support the businesses in this ecosystem to adopt and adapt to digitally-enhanced business models, CHATT has appointed Anwar Shirpurwala, a tech-industry leader with over 25 years of experience in the technology sector as its Secretary General, the statement read. 

“The businesses across the hospitality, tourism and travel sector, most importantly the micro entrepreneurs and SMEs continue to face many challenges and need to come together to recover fully and rapidly from the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Shirpurwala.

The key focus areas of the industry body are advocacy, ecosystem development, professional development, public policy, sustainability, technology adoption, upskilling and other related efforts for the industry. The association has the objective to put forward a positive narrative about how the travel tech sector, through digital access, technology interventions, and innovative solutions, is catering to the needs of tourists in an ever-changing tourism landscape.

CHATT was formed in June 2021 by hospitality, tourism and online travel aggregators with the support of the Union Ministry of Tourism as a platform for small businesses, startups and new-age technology entities in this space.

The tourism and hospitality sector was massively hit during the COVID-19 pandemic with many restrictions on movement by government to contain the virus. In the backdrop of this move, a huge population was out of their employment across the sector. According to the government, 21.5 million jobs were lost during the period in the tourism sector.

Before COVID-19, the industry was one of the most important sectors in the world economy, accounting for 10 per cent of global GDP and more than 320 million jobs worldwide.

However, with support of the government schemes and relaxations, the sector has now started reviving. It is exhibiting signs of a robust rebound after being negatively affected for over two years. According to the data by travel providers, there has been a significant increase in flight and hotel bookings.

In April, hotels have seen over 80 per cent of bookings across a majority of tourist spots, according to an expert from the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI).

However, after so many efforts by government and other private sectors, there are some issues in the industry which is already working on getting its earlier spot in the economy.

Government Initiatives

The Indian government has realised the country’s potential in the tourism industry and has taken several steps to make India a global tourism hub. Some of the major initiatives planned by the Government of India to boost the tourism and hospitality sector of India are as follows:

• INR 2,400 crore has been allocated to the Ministry of Tourism which is 18.42 per cent higher than the allocation for FY 2021-22.
• INR 1,181.30 crore is allocated for the Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
• INR 235 crore for the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual and Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme.
• The Ministry of Tourism has launched the National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism and Responsible Traveller Campaign in June 2022.
• From November 15, 2021, India allowed fully vaccinated foreign tourists to visit India, which in turn will help revive the Indian travel and hospitality sector.
• In November 2021, the Ministry of Tourism signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation to strengthen hospitality and tourism industry. The ministry has also signed an MoU with Easy My Trip, Cleartrip, Yatra.com, Make My Trip and Goibibo.