Indian Planners Decode Hottest MICE Destinations Across the Country

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | April 19, 2017 | Feature

Tamarind Global Oxygen Entertainment Real Show Qwinzi Experiences E3 Integrated Events

“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India.” The preceding quote by Mark Twain is a true testament of what India as a destination offers to its travelers.

The country has a rich heritage, glorious history, vibrant culture and offers natural beauty, because of which India is also emerging as one of the most popular MICE destinations inviting not just outbound but inbound travel as well.

When we talk about India being a preferred MICE destination, we are not being oblivious of the obvious challenges present in the form of crumpling infrastructure, inadequate banqueting spaces and lack of convention centers. But, with the PM’s Make in India Campaign running in full gear, state and central governments are taking the necessary steps to encourage the MICE travel in India because of which corporate travel in India has seen a significant rise.

In this exclusive feature at EXM, we reached out some of the most popular MICE organizing agencies in the country to decode which are the hottest MICE destinations in the country and what are the factors that make them so.

Alisha Shirodkar-Marketing Director, Tamarind Global says,“Popular MICE destinations in India continue to be the metro cities, largely because of venues, hotels and infrastructure. However, leisure destinations like Kochi and Goa too remain on the MICE map, along with Jaipur, Agra, Pune and Bangalore. The Delhi NCR region has developed infrastructurally in a big way with Manesar, Moradabad and the Delhi-Jaipur highway throwing up viable options. Bhubaneshwar in Orissa boasts a hotel that can accommodate a large group, and has the added attraction of its heritage temples.”

JD Mazoomdar- Founder & CEO, Real Show shared, “Goa is always on top of the list when we talk of MICE in India, reason being that it has a solid infrastructure plus offers a lot of unique experiences to make corporate meetings and events more interesting and experiential. Additionally, in the East Gangtok is a hot property while Jaipur has been an evergreen favorite owing to its historical and cultural significance. Kochi is Kerela is very popular too, these destinations are preferred because of their unconventional attractions.”

Neil Sanghavi- Director, Oxygen Entertainment & Media Solutions commented, "Hyderabad is without a doubt one of the most prominent MICE destination in India right now along with Mumbai and Goa. The reasons for this depends upon the banquet size and the ease of getting a venue around the destination. As an example, Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC) is surrounded by several five-star hotel properties that can accommodate hundreds easily. Similarly, Goa and Mumbai they have big banqueting spaces paired up enough exciting activities that can make MICE travel interesting. Big banqueting spaces invite more MICE and that is how hotels are being designed these days as MICE is a big priority to them.”

Gagandeep Singh Birdie- Director, Qwinzi Experiences stated, "In India, as of now there are only a handful of destinations like Goa, Hyderabad and Jaipur which are ideal for MICE tourism. The reason being that these cities have the right infrastructure to support it with several eccentric offerings that make them most suited. In east, there are a couple of destinations that are in process of becoming MICE friendly as well."

Tushar Maheshwari- Director, E3 Integrated elaborated, "Goa, Agra and Hyderabad are the most popular MICE destinations in the country as of now. Hyderabad has HICC and multiple five-star hotels that makes it idea, also Jaipur is one city that is being preferred because of its history and good hotel properties. The choice of a destination sometimes also depends on the accessibility factor and budget as well. Under such circumstances cities like Agra make for an interesting choice. However, that being said for India to invite more MICE, it needs to develop bigger banqueting spaces and hotel properties."

Abhishek Mazumder- CEO- The Think Tank Entertainment shared, "Mumbai has always been a MICE favorite as it has dominated this market with their corporate charm, along with the options for large-scale exhibitions and conferences. Recently, I think the heritage resorts and convention centers in Rajasthan and Kerela are the upcoming destinations for corporate meetings and conferences. They have a great tourism structure and a highly-developed space for VIP meetings and conferences which works tremendously in their favor."

The article first appeared in Jan-March issue of EXM. Read the online issue here.