India’s first edition of ‘Global MICE Travel Mart’ held in New Delhi
Saloni Bhatia – New Delhi
The first edition of ‘Global MICE Travel Mart’ was held from May 19 to 21, 2016 at The Lalit, New Delhi. The mart was hosted by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) jointly with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and India Convention and Promotion Bureau (ICPB). Addressing the audience on the first day, Jyotsna Suri, immediate past president FICCI, chairperson, FICCI Tourism Council and chairperson and managing director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, said, “MICE tourism has shown maximum potential across the globe and has grown over the years. It has a deep impact in a destination’s growth and its economy. MICE, as we have understood, is an important segment and we wish to promote India as a destination. This travel mart would be an annual issue and the next one would also be held in New Delhi in July.”
Chander Mansharamani, vice chairman, ICPB and managing director, Alpcord Network Travel & Conferences Management Company, said, “An average spend of the MICE traveller is US$ 1511 to an average normal tourist in India staying for four days, which is US$ 600. Estimated size of the global meeting market is US$ 650 million. In 2014-2015, ICCA tracked more than 12,000 events over the year where India’s share was only 1.1 per cent. This year India’s global ranking has increased from 35th to 31st, which is a good sign. We at ICPB, with the help of Ministry of Tourism, are doing everything to direct the global business traveller towards India.”
Suman Billa, joint secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and chairman, ICPB, shared, “We are currently working on a national tourism policy that would include all aspects of tourism. The MICE segment has tremendous potential and creates more jobs in the economy. We plan to increase India’s share in the global travel and tourism industry to one per cent by 2020 and two percent by 2025. We are also pushing on e-visas for business travellers, as the organic growth in travellers comes from MICE travel.”
The conference also saw a session on ‘Furthering MICE Tourism into India – Rejuvenating the Roadmap’ which saw key people speaking on the importance of the sector. The major takeaway from the session was how the private organisations and government sector need to come together and bid for international conferences. The two-day business meeting saw global buyers from over 12 countries, majorly from Russia and the USA.