Airbnb, one of the world’s leading community-driven hospitality companies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA). Through the partnership, Airbnb will work with SEWA members to help them share their homes with Airbnb’s community of international and domestic guests, creating economic opportunities for women in rural areas and promoting tourism spend in parts of India that have not traditionally benefited from tourism and hospitality.
Thao Nguyen, Director of Policy Partnerships, Asia Pacific, Airbnb said, “The partnership is an important step in Airbnb’s commitment to enable economic empowerment for female entrepreneurs and promote digital inclusion in rural areas. Our mission is to democratise travel and through the partnership, we can help promote economic opportunities across diverse communities, help revitalise the rural economy and help prevent distress migration to urban areas, particularly among women and the youth.”
Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb India Country Manager said, “Gujarat is an important market for Airbnb. Today’s partnership, along with our recent MoU with the Government of Gujarat, signals our commitment to work with local stakeholders to build a model of home sharing that contributes to the local community. By partnering with SEWA members to offer homestays on Airbnb, we hope to offer a unique and authentic experience of rural India for travellers while ensuring that the benefits of tourism flow back to the rural community.”
Reema Nanavaty, Director, SEWA said, “By partnering with Airbnb, we hope to create meaningful, productive and sustainable livelihood opportunities through the new age economy for our two million women members across 14 states of India, especially the young members who would benefit tremendously from digital inclusion. Through the partnership, we will help our members become powerful micro-entrepreneurs, best placed to promote sustainable and responsible tourism in India and bridge the gap between urban and rural communities by exposing them to the rural way of life through Airbnb hosting.”
