Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
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Catherine Oden
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For Atout France, one of the key developments has been the suspension of biometric for getting visas in Mumbai. Catherine Oden, director, Atout France India believes that this will help in attracting larger MICE groups from India. “The suspension of the biometric will help in a major way. We used to not have groups of over six hundred but now this suspension will help us welcome bigger groups,” stated Oden, pointing out that, while the biometric was only in Mumbai it was unfortunately having an effect on whole of India as when a company would hear about biometrics in Mumbai, it would opt for another destination. “We had a major loss and now we want to catch up,” asserted Oden. While most of the groups have been from Delhi and Mumbai, there have been some groups from south markets as well.
Atout France is focused on positioning Paris as a MICE destination. Oden informed that this year has seen some 400 pax incentive groups going to Paris from India. “There is a lot of interest in this market, we had the small difficulty of the biometric system, which is now behind us,” stated Oden. The other MICE destinations being pushed in this market are Nice, Cannes, and Bordeaux for smaller groups.
The recent annual B2B workshop ‘Rendez-vous in France’ which took place in New Delhi and Mumbai had delegations from Paris as well as other French regions/cities. “We also make the suppliers aware of the demands of the Indian market as it is important for them to welcome Indians in hotels, shopping establishments, etc,” said Oden.
The growth from the Indian market for Paris has been regularly averaging between five to ten per cent year on year. Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau have been visiting the Indian market for quite sometime now, that is for more than ten years. “Obviously we consider the Indian market important. We are happy that the Indian market is increasing every year. Paris gets all types of Indian visitors – FITs, families, youth, MICE groups and corporates,” said Patricia Barthelemy, marketing manager, Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau, adding that, the focus for them is to understand the evolution of the market and that is why they come here every year. She also asserted on the importance of understanding the expectation of the clientele in order to adapt the tourism products in Paris, to have more FITs and incentive groups. She pointed out that among the new highlights is a city tour on bicylces. There are companies organising bicycle tours on different themes – historical, artistic Paris, etc. There are english speaking guides. “It is a new experience in Paris. There are also bicycles with three wheels. The Indian travel trade has shown interest in the product,” said Barthelemy.
