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Event Round Up
Incentivising MICE
That India's MICE industry is still nascent is known. However,
political will and practical implementation, as discussed at the Indian Convention
Promotion Bureau's 'Conventions India' held at Hyderabad, would go a long way
in belling MICE in India. Amal Tewari and Amguth Raju report
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Indian MICE sector is still in its infancy. This came across strongly at the
ICPB event held at Hyderabad's famous MICE venue, the Hyderabad International
Convention Centre (HICC). There are ample reasons to visit the country - warm
hospitality, personalised services, natural beauty and a rich cultural heritage.
But there needs to be a reason to attract companies to do their business in
India, one that goes beyond mere financial benefits.
According to a senior executive from a reputed travel agency, the MICE business
in India is incidental. It happens primarily because of the huge discounts thrown
on offer in India when compared to the oft-chosen venues in the Americas, Europe
or the Oceania. "The mere thrill to discover a developing country makes
India a safe bet. And it is better than Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nepal. China
is a competitor here."
It is said that the expenditure incurred by a MICE traveller is at least twice
that of a leisure traveller. Meetings and conventions also offer high value
added in terms of delegate expenditure and also serve the dual purpose of promoting
international relations. That is reason enough for players to delve deep into
the lucrative business of MICE. It also impacts employment and hence creates
a ripple effect for the tourism business and leads to socio-economic improvements
in the community.
ICPB started 'Conventions India' with the objective of creating a platform for
networking and learning the business of MICE. This year's conclave managed to
showcase not only one of India's top meeting venues, but also highlighted a
city and state that has well understood the business of conventions. At the
event venue - the HICC - delegates, industry trade members and participants
alike, got a first hand experience of India's first purpose-centric convention
centre.
Conventions India - 5th MICE Conclave
The core focus of the 5th MICE Conclave held at the HICC and Novotel complex
in Hyderabad from May 1- 2, was on working out strategies to improve and drive
the MICE business in India. The event was a platform to educate players about
the latest happenings and trends in the Indian meetings and conventions industry.
"The global scenario to face meetings is to develop quality infrastructure
which includes better roads, growing number of rooms and hotels, and well furnished
conference halls to accommodate up to 5000 delegates in one place," said
Didier Scaillet, chief development officer, Meetings Professionals International
(MPI).
| MICE tourism, which accounts for five -10 per cent
of the total revenue of tour operators, has taken the maximum hit during
this recession. Companies in the fast moving consumer goods, insurance and
entertainment sectors offer the highest number of MICE trips to employees
and sales dealers.
Companies have stopped MICE trips for their employees
and for the sales dealers; they have postponed the trips for two to three
months. A few companies, including insurance firms, which offer this facility,
have entirely stopped the incentive for their external sales associates,
according to travel companies
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Think, share, develop
With the meetings and convention industry in India still at a nascent stage,
the 'Conventions India' conference mainly focused on the core concept of 'think,
share and develop'. The conclave opened with a welcome session where Conventions
India and ICPB (India Convention Promotion Bureau) were introduced to the delegates.
This was followed by an interactive session between the conference planners/buyers,
and sellers who discussed the pros and cons of the conventions industry in India
and the impact of the global economic downturn. They shared their views and
advocated innovative measures to be adopted to milk the untapped potential in
India.
The professionals constituting the ICPB memberships were also introduced to
the gathering during the session. Among them was Major Rana, a serving officer
in the military during the 1971 war. Rajeev Kohli, vice chairman, ICPB and Dr
Nagpal, a ICPB member also posted their queries to the panel regarding the growth
of the conventions industry in India and the steps to be taken by the government
in this direction.
Padmashree Prof Dr Mehta, medical director - the Mehta International Eye Institute,
Mumbai, spoke about the innovative methods of organising meetings, events and
exhibitions and stressed on the need to capture the attention of the industry
by imbibing confidence by way of projecting success through statistical results.
The concept of 'meet, smart and save' was discussed in the second education
session by Didier Scaillet. He stressed on the role of the media as a significant
player that could contribute tremendously to the growth of the meetings industry
in this time of recession. Expressing concern, Scaillet said, "High cost
should not hinder the future strategies, training and skill development; as
unproductive and unskilled operations would further aggravate the downfall".
Industries and organisations would greatly benefit from the gained knowledge
on how to conduct meetings, conferences and conventions and approach new innovations
and solutions to assist in their professional growth. He proposed that every
industry or organisation should allocate at least six per cent of their earnings
towards organising meetings and exhibitions or towards evaluating and analysing
the market for future planning.
| Unfortunately, the lack of infrastructure in terms
of good quality convention centres is still hampering the MICE sector in
India.
The gap between hotel rooms available in the five
star categories and the two star categories in the country is immense
and steps need to be taken to bridge this divide. The lack of good quality
rooms in the budget category has handicapped the growth of MICE, a lack
of trained manpower that specialises in the unique requirements of this
segment is also adding to the industry's woes.
Also, the lack of awareness among tourism strategy makers
and hospitality entrepreneurs is taking its toll. Going Green is a 'mantra'
in most of the developed nations and India is way behind this big revolution.
The ways to go green are very simple to follow, but most importantly an
organisation or a hotel should go for a 'green' meeting only if they have
capable facilities for it; otherwise the hotel could do serious damage
to its image. This needs to be well understood and then implemented.
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‘Green’ meetings
This year's conclave included information on emerging convention destinations,
returns on investment, risk and safety management, meeting smart and saving
and green meetings.
A panel discussion with ICPB members Veer Vijay Singh, Taj
Hotels; Philip Logan, HICC; Monimita Sarkar, KW Conferences; Ty Collins, Marriott
Hotels; and Balaram Babu, PICO with Captain Swadesh Kumar as the moderator,
discussed on India’s emergence as a preferred MICE destination through
the support of hotel chains, providing international standards in facilities
and services, exclusive business hotels and exotic resorts, spacious convention
facilities, modern business centres and a wide range of conference facilities.
An education session titled 'Green Meetings and Events and the role of a conference
organiser' was presented by Anthony Wong, chair - Asia Pacific Chapter, International
Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), to raise awareness regarding meetings
held in an environment friendly manner. Marriott Hotels estimates that an average
three-day meeting attended by 1,000 people produces more than 12 tons of trash,
uses 200,000 kilowatts of power and consumes 100,000 gallons of water. Large
scale events and conferences can cause a lot of damage to the environment through
excessive waste.
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 Sharing
his views with Amguth Raju at the 5th MICE Conclave, Rajeev
Kohli vice chairman, India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) stressed
on the need to have a separate government agency to tap the potential
of MICE in India.
Considering the decline in the MICE sector, how
do you think it will hold up in the current economic scenario?
In my view recession has nothing to do with holding
meetings or conventions. In fact the meetings industry would rather take
this opportunity to tap its potential and, in turn, provide platforms
to conduct more conventions and conferences for other industries at the
national and international level.
Now, the need for the corporate sector is to come together
and find out appropriate solutions to contain the economic downturn. And
the conventions industry is always there to hold successful events for
them.
How do you look at the Indian market, what is
the share of the meetings industry in India?
We have the experience to construct a concrete structural
base for future conventions to be held in India. Today, India is growing
in all spheres and this aspect has been acknowledged by the world. People
are coming to India to invest and the Indian market is still growing at
more than five per cent when the rest of the world is recording a negative
growth. As of today, we have a market share of 1.2 per cent in the country
and are looking forward to capture a major chunk of the market by 2012.
Which cities in India have the potential to hold
conferences, what measures can be taken to improve MICE in India?
The main criterion for holding an international conference
is good quality infrastructure. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru
already have good infrastructural facilities. Cities such as Agra, Jaipur,
Goa, Kochi and Bhubaneswar also have potential.
In India, the meetings industry is not identified as
an independent industry. It has been attached with the tourism industry.
Therefore the onus of developing this industry falls on the tourism sector.
Most developed countries like Singapore, USA and Canada have separate
agencies to handle MICE, India too must establish a permanent secretariat
for a continuous and sustained growth of this industry. The government
should form a separate ministry and identify the importance of attracting
international conventions to India. It should also introduce specialised
courses in the academic curriculum to train the students in event organisation,
holding meetings, conventions and exhibitions in an innovative manner
and usher the potential to tap the best quality to compete well in the
international market.
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A new horizon
'Conventions India' aimed at undertaking continuous promotion of MICE to encourage
growth of professionalism in the MICE segment, to provide necessary guidance
and feedback to the central government and to advise state governments in the
development of infrastructure and facilities for MICE segments.
The Government of India has recognised the emerging importance of MICE, and
has announced several schemes to increase the capacity of existing infrastructure,
in addition to setting up four new world class mega convention centres in New
Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Goa. That apart, the Ministry of Tourism, in order
to boost MICE tourism further, has extended its benefits under the Market Development
Assistance (MDA) scheme to the active members of ICPB, towards the bidding process
for international conferences /conventions. The scheme would bring in more MICE
business to the country. Under this scheme, associations would be given financial
support on winning the bid or for obtaining second and third positions in the
bidding process.
So while India is continuously upgrading its MICE facilities and there are multiple
plans in the developmental stage for more world class convention centres and
airports, only time will tell whether the country has got its act together and
taken the MICE business seriously.
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