Mahesh Shirodkar, MD - Tamarind Global Dissects Destination Weddings!

by  Kanika Mehta Weddings | April 12, 2017 | Interview

Mahesh Shirodkar Destination Weddings

We caught up with Mahesh Shirodkar, Managing Director, Tamarind Global to get insights on unique international destination choices for Indian weddings, the pivotal role of Destination Management Companies and how challenges differ while executing destination weddings in Indian v/s international locations.

According to Shirodhkar, every destination is different and comes with its own set of challenges. For a new destination, one needs to build the right local partnerships and understand the lay of the land well enough to execute a large event.

He said, "In India, the product knowledge and partnerships are already strong, but internationally with every new location one must become completely well-versed with the landscape, sensitivities and opportunities. At Tamarind, the rigorous R&D process conducted by our product development team as well as our exhaustive and expanding database of researched destinations, hotels, venues and vendors in international destinations serves as a solid starting point. Overall, once the groundwork is in place it is easier to execute an event overseas as international destinations provide for a much more process-oriented and structured environment."

Shirodkar goes on to add, "There are so many minute yet crucial factors that go into the production of an event. Having a one point contact that manages every aspect from taking care of all vendors, hospitality, artists, décor, production and logistics is extremely essential to ensure a smooth and seamless execution. Especially when it comes to destination events, it is all the more important that a DMC is involved to understand the sensitivities of the region and mitigate the possible challenges. A DMC will help tie together all the different aspects, harness the right local support and take a single point responsibility for guest hospitality, transport and turnkeyevent execution."

He also mentioned that whether it a destination wedding in India - Goa, Rajasthan, etc or an international destination wedding, both come with their fair share of challenges and advantages.

"The overseas infrastructure, professionalism and processes are much more supportive than those in India, which continues to be quite unstructured. However, India does provide pros with respect to labour cost and skilled labour, flexibility, creativity and talent available in the industry and cost of raw material," added Shirodkar.

Speaking of destinations other than Europe, he explained, "There are many which I feel are great choices for Indian weddings/private celebrations. This season the Middle East seems to be the trending location. Even though it is not a new destination, it provides great weather and fabulous venues and is more accessible and less expensive than a European destination. Ras Al Khaimah, Oman and Abu Dhabi have some ideal wedding venues and infrastructure to host a large Indian wedding."

According to Shirodkar, the two main factors that play a key role in the destination decision are accessibility and infrastructure. Apart from the aformentioned, he said people are also exploring different places within Asia such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cambodia, Bali and Srilanka and even within Malaysia, unique destinations such as KotaKinabalu are being looked at.