In order to boost tourism in Maharashtra, Airbnb signs MoU with Government

Airbnb to support ‘Visit Maharashtra 2017’ as an alternative accommodation partner

In order to boost tourism and support ‘Visit Maharashtra 2017’, Airbnb recently announced that it has signed an MoU with the Government of Maharashtra. With this MoU, the Department of Tourism and Airbnb will work to boost tourism and generate positive travel experiences for domestic as well as International visitors to the State. The MoU aims to promote tourism in the State through the global platform of Airbnb, it aims to expand the network of quality Homestays across the State and to provide skill development workshops for hosts in terms of the hospitality standards, these workshops will be jointly conducted by Airbnb as well as the Department of Tourism in the next two quarters. 

This MoU is a first of its kind revenue sharing agreement with the Tourism Department of Maharashtra, wherein Airbnb will be sharing a portion of its booking revenue with the Department and the Department will support the partnership by identifying high quality homestays as well as helping the hosts to list on the global platform. The purpose behind the same is to increase the number of global travelers to the State that will eventually benefit the local communities. The Government also aims to attract foreign tourists through this process.

The Government of Maharashtra aims to create atleast 50,000 micro entrepreneurs in the hospitality sector in the coming five years, it also aims to build a homestay ecosystem in the State and improve the standards of hospitality of the owners. In addition to the same, the Government aims to promote various destinations across the 8-10 districts in the State. Homestays will work as a unique accommodation option for Maharashtra and Airbnb aims to ensure that the State turns into a high priority market.

The announcement builds on Airbnb’s focus to enhance its presence in India and showcasing the company’s intent to collaborate with the citizens as well as the Government in order to contribute to the growth of the booming home sharing ecosystem for Domestic as well as International tourists. It will be interesting to see how the development works out for the State as well as Airbnb. With its growing presence across the globe, Airbnb has gained recognition as well as appraisal for the quality of homestays as well as hospitality offered to the guests. With appropriate training and workshop across the State, the standards of hospitality will rise and the concept of homestay will develop in the coming year. It will also have additional benefits like job creation, high quality services and an increasing number of tourists who prefer to stay at a homestay instead of a hotel.