Need to Promote India as a MICE Destination
In the second edition of BW BusinessWorld and BW Hotelier MICE Conclave and Awards 2018, various industry veterans gathered under one roof and discussed the opportunities, challenges and potential of MICE business in India.
BW BUSINESSWORLD and BW Hotelier hosted their second MICE Conclave and Awards 2018 at The Grand New Delhi on 4th December 2018. The event in its second edition was a grand opportunity to collaborate with buyers and planners for business prospects. The event witnessed interesting panel discussion on making India as the best and the biggest business tourism destination in MICE category, exclusive meeting with buyers, sellers and veterans from the world of MICE.
In one the panel discussion titled ‘MICE industry, A Key Driver of Economic Growth, Regional Cooperation and Intellectual Development’, various industry experts gathered under one roof to discuss the various opportunities, challenges and potential of MICE business in India. The panellists for the session were, Anupama Dayal, Fashion Designer-Anupamaa; Himmat Anand, Founder, Tree of Life Resorts and Hotels; Rajiv kohli, Joint Managing Director, Creative Travel; Harleen Mehta, General Vice President, Sales Operations-Hyatt and Rajiv Vij, MD & CEO, Carzonrent. The panel was moderated by Bikramjit Ray, Managing Editor, BW Hotelier.
Stating one of the major challenges that MICE industry is facing, Vij started with, “We are far behind in promoting India as a MICE destination.” Adding more to it Anand felt that the word ‘MICE’ should be renamed as ‘WICE’ in India as weddings is a huge market for business. “We should accept the fact that meetings are not providing that high incentive to us. If we take wedding out of India, almost 30 percent of hotels will be shut down,” he added.
The panel also discussed various state tourism board and felt the need for improvising. Each panellist appreciated the efforts made by Kerala Tourism Board and coming up in the race within the last three years.
The MICE business is now an integral part of the global hospitality industry. It stood at $752 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow at 7.5 per cent in the next five years.
