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Online travel aggregators like Air B&B, Makemytrip, Yatra and Oyo will now need to be recognised by the Tourism Ministry in order to operate, a senior official said. For the first time, the ministry has prepared a set of guidelines by which it will approve and classify online travel aggregators (OTAs) ensuring reliability of their services. The scheme for approval/re-approval of OTAs will be rolled out online by the end of this month and all applications and fee payment will have to be made on it, the ministry official said. "The scheme will set standards towards accreditation and add value to the dependability and reliability to the aggregators in the online space operating in the organised tourism sector," he added. The recognition as an approved OTA will be granted by the ministry for five years, based on the inspection report and recommendations of a committee comprising representatives of The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) and The Indian ...