TravelScapes MiceInsiders February 2018

FEBRUARY 2018, PAGES 44

VOL. 1, ISSUE. 1

The business of MICE

Hong Kong How nice is the

MICE business?

A Trump Card To Woo

The Indian Travellers

Publisher’s Note PUBLISHER & CEO Varun Malhotra varun@versatilemedia.in DIRECTOR Pranav Khullar pranav@versatilemedia.in VICE PRESIDENT Shelly Chadha DIRECTOR- PR (MIDDLE EAST & SOUTH EAST ASIA) Sanjiv Chopra ASSOCIATE EDITOR Gagneet Kaur ASST. EDITOR Sayanti Halder SENIOR REPORTER Ankita Jain BUSINESS HEAD - MICE Seema Joshi AGM SALES & MARKETING (MUMBAI) Aarti Rajkhewa SR. MARKETING MANAGER Nidhi Hinduja CONSULTANT Anindya Malhotra, Jitin Mann ART DIRECTOR Rakesh Kumar ACCOUNTS Chandan Kumar Jha, Swati Jauhari ADMIN HEAD R Prem Lata EXECUTIVE-CIRCULATION Hari Puri, Sameer Singh

Dear Readers, In a world full of duplication, we wanted to do something different.

Something extraordinary, something that would stand out and something we could take beyond the pages of a print magazine. In our debut issue that is all about MICE, we bring you closer to the buzzword. With the escalating success of this segment that came gradually in response to the evolving needs and demands of the industry, our Cover Story sheds light on the blockades and possibilities of the MICE industry in India.

Our next important story is an open dais for the key NTO’s, assuring to delivering nothing but the best for the Indian market as international destinations add an exciting layer to annual business meetings and conferences, transforming them from boring, dull all-work-no-play gettogethers to something pleasurable.

In our “Expert Talk”, Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) helps us highlight the current mindset and agenda of this leading convention

agency in India discussing a major concern, “What lies ahead for India?”

While we offer you detailed insights about Tamil Nadu as a promising Indian destination for MICE, ideal for the next big convention and post-event recreation, we also showcase you the business side of Hong Kong and its facilities on offer.

Ultimately, to add a tinge of laughter into your insightful reading, do not miss to read our “Oops!” section and share a laugh or two with our known faces’ unknown stories.

Also, this issue brings you the news and views about trade, hospitality, aviation and the latest in the tourism, worldwide.

We value your feedback and suggestions so please do write us on varun@versatilemedia.in.

Happy reading!

Varun Malhotra Publisher & CEO

Editorial & Marketing Office: Versatile Media: 207, Satya Mansion, Commercial Complex, Ranjeet Nagar, New Delhi-110008 Contact: 011 - 45530380/83 • varun@versatilemedia.in All information in Miceinsiders is derived from sources we consider reliable. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. Opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract or interviews are not necessarily shared by us. Material appearing in the magazine cannot be reproduced in whole or in part(s) without prior permission. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisement Code. The publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication, error or failure of advertisement to appear.

Owned and published by: Varun Malhotra, Editor & Publisher, EB-63, Maya Enclave, Hari Nagar, New Delhi - 110064 and printed on his behalf at Royal Press, B-82, Okhla Industrial Area Phase-I, New Delhi - 110020

CONTENT Cover Story Page No. 8

How nice is the

MICE business?

Little by little, the Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE) segment, with a 54 per cent market share has overtaken the conventional business trips.

ANALYSIS 12 India’s Mounting Position In The Global Mice Map The recent FICCI-MRSS White Paper, launched by The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), suggests a five-point-agenda to boost inbound MICE tourism in India.

EXPERT SPEAK 14 Blending the aspects of “more knowledge and economy” for MICE On a tête-à-tête with us, Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman of India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB)

28 Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre Business draped in opulence

HOMEWARD 36 Tamil Nadu High on business

SPOTLIGHT 22 A Trump Card To Woo The Indian Travellers While the Foreign National Tourist Boards are rapidly chasing the India market to attract the MICE traffic, the year ahead envisions a much healthier growth.

OVERSEAS 30 The business of MICE Hong Kong Being the world’s seventh largest trading economy, Hong Kong has developed into a premier convention and exhibition centre in the region.

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HOTEL FEATURE

FEBRURY 2018

Known predominantly as a centre for religious tourism, Tamil Nadu is now looking at developing the MICE segment and has been taking proactive measures in the direction

REGULAR NEWS 6 ........................................................................................................................ Inbound 16...........................................................................................................................Trade 18...................................................................................................................Outbound 26 ............................................................................................................... Hospitality 40 ..................................................................................................................... Aviation 42 .........................................................................................................Appointments

News

INBOUND

Karnataka International Travel Expo to be launched in Bengaluru

70cr for religious tourism in Meghalaya Ahead of the announcement of Assembly elections in Meghalaya, next month, Union Minister of State for Tourism K.J. Alphons announced a tourism package of INR 70 crore to develop religious and spiritual circuits in the State under the Swadesh Darshan scheme. The Ministry had sanctioned INR 61.38 crore for illumination, landscaping and construction of parking lots and toilets and other facilities in 37 churches. Another INR 8.61 crore will be given for similar projects to 11 other religious groups.

Altogether 48 places of worship have been included under the scheme including prominent spots such as the Catholic’s Cathedral church at Laitumkhrah, Nartiang Durga temple and Nartiang monoliths in Jaintia hills, Jaiaw Presbyterian Church, Balupada Baptist Convention Centre in Garo hills, Laban glass mosque and Gurudwara Sahib, besides other churches belonging to different Christian denominations, and temples across the state.

MoT attempts to put NE India on global tourism map Union Minister of State for Tourism K.J. Alphons pointed that the issue of direct connectivity of the North Eastern states to neighbouring countries would be taken up with Union Civil Aviation Ministry to increase the inflow of foreign tourists to the region.

Addressing the sixth International Tourism Mart (ITM) in Guwahati, he said that we have the capability to put India on the forefront in the field of tourism and for this we need to realise the tourism potential of North Eastern States and need to work together.

The three-day ITM, organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern states, was inaugurated by Jagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam in the presence of Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Assam; Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh; Hemanta Biswa Sarma, Minister for Tourism of Assam and Union Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma amongst others.

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The Karnataka International Travel Expo is scheduled to be held from February 28 to March 2, 2018, at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC). The inaugural expo is expected to be the largest B2B travel event in India, which was recently announced by the state tourism department of Karnataka.

This three-day event will see a conglomeration of over 400 registered buyers and media from over 25 countries and is expected attract over 1,000 delegates facilitating over 10,000 pre-matched appointments to bring together International Buyers and sellers for face-to-face meetings, education forums and networking. This will be an annual event here on, and will make a mark on the international travel expo map or circuit with a budget of INR 7 crore, to be spent on the event. The event will feature an exclusive Karnataka Pavilion: Destination Karnataka and also have a separate startup pavilion for promoting new technologies and innovations in the tourism sector.

World Bank entrusts USD 40 mn for UP

Verma said that the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India is paying much attention on the promotion of tourism in North Eastern States of the country. She opined that there is a need to have better synergy with private sector. She suggested that the North Eastern States should regularly participate in road shows in foreign countries.

India has signed a loan agreement worth USD 40 million with the World Bank for a ‘UP ProPoor Tourism Development Project’ aimed at increasing tourism-related benefits for the local communities in Uttar Pradesh. The total project cost is approximately USD 57.14 million, of which USD 40 million will be financed by the Bank, and the remaining amount will be funded out of state budget, a release from Finance Ministry stated. The programme duration is five years.

The objective is to increase tourism-related benefits for local communities in targeted destinations.

Cover Story

How nice is the

MICE business?

Little by little, the Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE) segment, with a 54 per cent market share has overtaken the conventional business trips. We bring together key stakeholders and veterans of the MICE industry to share the roadblocks and opportunities ahead

By Sayanti Halder

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Cover Story

India offers a rich cornucopia of choice, coupled with modern amenities, to its business travellers.

India is gradually positioning itself as an attractive MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) destination, considering its diversified culture and class-apart hospitality.

With the speedy expansion of world-class hotels and gradual improvement of infrastructure, India is now one of the top MICE destinations in Asia, following closely on the heels of Dubai, Malaysia and Hong Kong. In the recent years, the MICE segment in India has observed a considerable shift. The projection of the trends in this sector has been promising with corporates planning suitable incentives for their employees and, all together, for MICE groups. With varied advancements, MICE has gradually witnessed evident procurement.

“India is a growing economy and among the top countries in the world for business and MICE travel, which is directly co-related with business activities and has the potential to become one of the leading MICE destinations, globally.

As per the reports, India MICE segment is growing at a rate of 15 to 20 percent, annually. Domestic corporate business remains the key market for us and the metros remain our core segments. We have seen an upward trend in MICE segment

Subhash Goyal

Dr. Jyotsna Suri

in the last year and are looking forward to higher demands in the near future,” shares Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director of Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. Enchanting India’s image as a conference destination is also projected through the chains of hotels, providing internationalstandard facilities and services.

With a view to attracting more MICE footfalls, India’s tourism industry is in a constant process of upgrading the MICE facilities.

The inbound MICE segment is on the upward curve and according to estimates, the entire national and international MICE market, all over the world, is pegged at over USD 270 billion. According to industry approximations, the Indian inbound MICE market in the first seven months in 2004 was USD 20 million, which is 40 per cent greater than the

same period in 2003. In 2004, India ranked 27th in the Global Meetings market.

Jean Michele Cassé

BARRICADES OF BUSINESS The MICE market in India is still at a nascent stage and is yet to reach to the scale that will allow the country to be portrayed as an “established” MICE market. Having said that, India’s contributory share to the global MICE pie has been growing noticeably in the past few years. With tour operators and international business hotels mushrooming in the Indian ‘MICE’ map, the country’s meeting industry still strives to gain the momentum. Nonetheless, the common bottlenecks such as inadequate infrastructure, support facilities and passive promotions continue to impede the growth of this sunshine sector. “Many times, because of the price, we lose the conferences and events to our neighbouring countries and the main reason why business is going to the countries like Thailand, Dubai, Malaysia and Singapore is because of the low taxes that are not more than five per cent. In India, with the high taxation and GST rates, we are out pricing ourselves from the neighbouring countries as a MICE destination,” highlights Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC Travel Group & Hony. Secretary –FAITH. “Emerging MICE destinations in Europe and America along with high-level notion about India being an unsafe destination together with hygiene and cleanliness issues are backlogging India from accelerating

Ajay Bakaya forward in the MICE business.

National MICE Policy needs more focus in tandem with a vigourous marketing campaign for MICE destinations,” informs Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee & Chairperson, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group. She further says, “For each meeting type, it appears that meeting owners are trying to find the right combination of the number of meetings held and the size of those meetings to drive the most value for their organisations. With property and other related meetings’ costs rising, many organisations appear to be adjusting the number and size of their meetings to stay within their budget constraints. Holding fewer meetings with more attendees or a more targeted attendee list is an option being practiced.”

Jean-Michel Cassé, COOAccorHotels (India and South Asia) adds, “The current scenario in the MICE segment in India is yet to pick up in terms of the FEBRURY 2018

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Cover Story

Rajeev Kale

Zelam Chaubal.

improvement of infrastructure, business and convention facilities to cater the MICE footfalls but then, the progress in the metro cities truly promising. Although 28 per cent of GST is acceptable, understanding the context of luxury space in India, the radically high pricing of the hotels and low taxation in our country, in comparison to popular MICE destinations such as Malaysia and Indonesia, is acting as a roadblock in catering for more business and footfalls. To avoid reduced business, we expect the government to develop the quality of infrastructure and services and adjust major issues such as tourists’ security and environmental pollution in the leading cities, to experience a cohesive understanding with the brands and companies, allowing more traffic of business tourists in the country.”

Hotels are already facing intense competition in the MICE sector and the same is expected to breed

furthermore. As new meetings formats and technology will continue to develop, hotels need to assimilate these changes and adapt to the latest trends. Hotels seeking to increase their share in the MICE market are striving to create more flexible services and adopt a new attitude to change the offering of the best experience to their guests. In a world of competitive noise, each hotel might strive to shout louder than their competitors. “We need to focus on cleanliness and safety issues as it has been a challenge for us in many Indian destinations. Infrastructure needs to be further developed with the build- up of more international level convention centres and better regional connectivity. Once we have states or destination level promotion board and better infrastructure, MICE is poised for a greater leap,” adds Bakaya.

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SHIFTING WINDS Although India was a slow starter, the

recent developments in the sector narrate a hopeful chronicle with the nation’s recent climb to the 28th position in the recent list of global meeting market published by ICCA -the International Congress and Convention Association. Last year, India set for itself an ambitious target of two per cent of Global Conventions business by the year 2025, as shared

by Suman Billa, Chairman of India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism at the 8th Conventions India Conclave 2015. A year later, India started working, at both macro and micro levels, towards garnering one per cent market share of the Global Convention business by the year 2020 and further to two per cent by the year 2025, from its current share of 0.68 per cent (as per ICCA statistics).

According to Rajeev Kale, President and Country Head, Leisure Travel & M.I.C.E, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, 2018 is already showing an upward trend and tapping newer destinations. Corporates are looking for destinations with experiences to strengthen bonds and connect with members of the company. It is no longer just a rewards and recognition program.

“With tremendous potential, we have, strongly and actively, been focusing on the MICE segment.

This segment is a powerhouse in our growth story and a key element of our strategic plan for 2018.

The spectacular scenic beauty and engaging adventure-outdoor experiences offer India’s discerning MICE market with a diversity of options in inbound MICE trips.

India’s MICE consumer is evolving rapidly and therefore, our plan includes a strong focus on product development, incorporating a vibrant combination of fresh destinations and unique experiential elements,” shares Kale. “The events business holds significant opportunities and our MICE team explores this domain to maximise delivery. We believe the year ahead will see unerring focus via our corporate outreach strategy to target high potential corporates, both

existing and via new acquisitions.

Also, we expect more enquires for MICE activities in 2018 as business travel is essential for any company and its growth,” he adds.

“2018 should be a very good year for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions as India is slowly but surely becoming a MICE destination.

Even the e-visa facilities, which have been extended for MICE are a welcoming step. The government is also giving out incentives for the building of convention centres.

Speaking of upcoming MICE destinations, Noida, Indore and Bangalore look truly promising for days to come,” informs Goyal.

“MICE tourism is rising and 2018 will be a great year for it. MICE should be more organised and we need to plan and implement in advance, to bridge most of the gaps in the industry. Newer and better places are introduced and few tourism boards are supporting MICE tourism and thus, the corporate slice of travellers should take utmost advantage of that. In 2018, the MICE segment should have better twists and more of adventure elements should be considered,” shares Zelam Chaubal, Director, Kesari-MICE. The commerce of MICE is enticing as it holds vast potential for any nation.

According to ballpark figures, a person travelling to a country for a conference or convention spends apparently four to eight times more than a standard leisure traveller. They spend more lavishly on food and also tend to fork out more money on business centre services. To grow the business tourism in India, the country is placed to put up some first-rate convention centres and corporate hotels, catering to the business segment of travellers.

With the expansion in the network of airlines operating on the domestic routes, enhanced tourist surface transport systems including the Indian Railways, new centres of information technology, India is a heady cocktail of old-world charm and vibrant modernism – and that makes it an uber-attractive MICE destination. Yes, India is poised positively on the MICE path!

Analysis

INDIA’S MOUNTING POSITION IN THE

GLOBAL MICE MAP The recent FICCI-MRSS White Paper, launched by The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), suggests a five-point-agenda to boost inbound MICE tourism in India. Furthermore, the report showcases India’s relative position as an inbound MICE destination and the initiatives taken up by the Central Govt. to encash this high potential growth engine

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Analysis

Of the various forms of tourism that exist in the world, the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibition (MICE) tourism is the one, which has shown the utmost potential across the globe. Ever since the inception of the concept in Europe and America, almost a century back, the MICE industry has grown from strength-to-strength and has an ineradicable impact in developing a destination and its economy.

Globally, the MICE segment, with a 54 per cent market share, has overtaken the traditional business trips segment. Conferences/Meetings/Seminars (41 per cent) and Trade Fairs/Exhibitions (29 per cent) are the two largest MICE sub-segments, says a 2014 to 15’s ITB World Travel Trends report. Alternatively, the recent FICCI-MRSS report highlights India’s relative position in the inbound MICE map of the world and with a focus on the central and state governments’ plans respectively across the country to monetise the elevating growth of the MICE segment of tourism in India.

India, already, has a host of locations that are well acclaimed MICE destinations. The physical and peripheral infrastructure has already geared up or is in the final stage of completion. A few more destinations have also been conceived off, signifies the report. Looking at this potential, the Ministry of Tourism has established the India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) under its’ guidance along with well-known industry experts. This is employed with an aim to promote India as a destination for MICE Tourism and boost its business for more revenue generation. The Bureau participates in travel conferences and also organises roadshows both at domestic as well as international locations to formalise the concept.

Released at the Global MICE Travel Mart last year, the FICCI-MMRS report recommends a fivepoint agenda to heighten MICE tourism, namely “to promote concept of sustainable tourism; maintain co-ordination and align with the central agency; create a market intelligence system to track

competition; create experiences, not just tourist spots and sell MICE tourism exclusively”. This will involve all stakeholders right from the community to active participants in the value chain and enable them to proactively serve and interact with the inbound tourists so that they

feel more at home in India. Also, it will enable them to return to India on a regular basis. With a view of maintaining co-ordination and coalition with the central agency’s MICE Promotion Bureau with that of industry, representation has been set up at national as well as the state levels. They need to work in close co-ordination, take time-bound actions and also create a market intelligence system to track competition, as the White Paper proposes.

The centres which have gained maximum prominence in terms of attracting more MICE tourists are Delhi NCR (Delhi and NOIDA), Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Cochin, Bhubaneshwar. It can be observed from the depiction above that India already has a host of locations which are well acclaimed MICE destinations. The estimated contribution of MICE to GDP is 0.22 per cent, while that to Tourism is approximately 3.26 per cent with an age group of 35 to 44 is the predominant traveller category in this group.

Initiated by both the central and state governments respectively, the policy emphasises upon maximising synergies between leisure and MICE Tourism to enable pre/ post leisure for MICE visitors with an aim to extend their stay, motivate them to visit other locations and earn more foreign exchange from them. What is encouraging is the fact that the New Tourism Policy identifies MICE as an important product to boost the tourism revenue along with Heritage and Culture, Spirituality, Yoga, Ayurveda, Medical Tourism, Agritourism, Beaches, River, Cruises, Adventure, Wildlife, Cuisine, Shopping, Cinemas.

There needs to be an intelligence system to track the product offerings by the competition states and pass on this information to the states so that they can amend/ modify/ value add their offerings in order to stay competitive amongst MICE travellers.

THE WAY AHEAD According to the report, India’s MICE tourism has shown exponential prospective over the past few years. Besides, the report expresses that revalence of high tax structure in India is a major contributor for India’s destinations to lose out on a global scale

while bidding for events. The Convention Visa has been addressed somewhat in the New Tourism Policy whilst the introduction of e-Tourist Visa has kicked off a new regime. Speaking of roadblocks, availability of trained manpower and a carrying capacity of a MICE destination and compliance to international standards are needs of the hour. As the agenda suggests, a visitor should go back enriched in knowledge and with a sense of great experience. New tourist destinations may be identified and further developed for offering innovative tourism products or experiences.

Moreover, the White Paper insists that there are a few issues in relation to MICE tourism in India which can be perceived as possible bottlenecks to the industry as a whole. The MICE industry in India, though well equipped to take on its immediate neighbours and in certain cases the global warhorses, has to trudge a long path before it comes up as a “top of the mind” destination amongst global MICE organisers.

As per ICCA, India occupies 35th position in the world, with a total of 116 Global conferences organised in the year 2016 and 2017. In this category, the global leaders include USA (831 meetings), Germany (659 meetings), Spain (578 meetings), United Kingdom (543 meetings) and France (533 meetings). Only China (332) leads at the world stage while other competitors like Taipei (145), Singapore (142), Malaysia (133) and Thailand (118) are within the striking range. In terms of the number of participants attending a conference however, India occupies a better position ranking 25 with 60 participants per meeting.

The report points out of selling of MICE tourism exclusively customised travel experiences, what the foreign travellers believe in specifically luxury spa sessions, rare animal sanctuaries, religious pilgrimage tours. There is enough opportunity in India to promote medical, wellness and spiritual tourism in the state and MICE destinations should be encouraged as tourism for the purpose of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions are no longer limited to big cities. A visitor should go back enriched in knowledge and experience and thus, more MICE business and footfalls in India.

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Expert Speak

Blending the aspects of

“more knowledge and economy”

for MICE On a tête-à-tête with us, Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman of India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) discusses the size, scope and scenario of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) industry highlighting the bureau’s agenda for the days to come

By Sayanti Halder

How has the journey been for MICE tourism in India, till date?

The Indian MICE Industry has marked its growth by 17 per cent till date. In the coming years, it is expected to grow at a faster rate. India now ranks 31st in the World and seventh in Asia Pacific, in terms of revenue generated by the MICE Industry.

The world market for MICE tourism is estimated to be in excess of USD 280 billion. Of this, the share of Asia Pacific region alone is USD 60 billion and India accounts for USD 4.8.billion, which is less than two per cent of the market, in comparison to 30 per cent of Singapore’s tourism revenue. Out of the 11,500 global MICE events tracked by ICPB, India has a negligible share of one per cent of the global business.

MICE segment is growing at the rate of 17 per cent. I don’t think any segment in the tourism is growing that fast.

What are ICPB’s mandates for boosting India as a convention destination in 2018?

ICPB has adopted the much needed, multi-pronged approach to boost MICE in India. Our key priority

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is to market India as a preferred MICE destination through road shows, not only in the country but also overseas with a focus to bring more buyers on one platform and ensure more networking.

Moreover, we are involving the state tourism boards to educate them about MICE tourism and its significance in their respective states. Other than

marketing to promote India as a preferred MICE destination. We have plans to get around top 50 buyers from the global market at the function so that we can interact with them and provide a peek into what all we can offer. We are optimistic that India would be aggressively promoted to the outside world.

“Out of the 11,500 global MICE events tracked by ICPB, India has a negligible share of one per cent of the global business.” generating more business through MICE tourism, our prime purpose is to sensitise these tourism boards and discuss their social and economic impact of conferences and exhibitions held in their respective states. Moreover, the bureau, in collaboration with Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, for the first time will be organising an international roadshows.

Besides, we require working more on intensive

How important is digitisation for leveraging more MICE footfalls in India?

We need to advance the usage of the sophisticated softwares and technology to match our mark with the international MICE market. The superior softwares of the international markets are yet to foray into our soil, developing the very standard of conventions in India.

Expert Speak

Please elucidate the loopholes that India’s MICE is facing.

How is the Convention Centres’ scenario looking?

Presently, the biggest challenge is that we are unable to gauge the size of the industry and are clueless about how to go about it. Globally, around 86.5 per cent of the conferences are of less than thousands of people. India has an excess capacity of organising conferences or meetings for above thousands of people in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, to name a few.

Secondly, the lack of appropriate marketing initiatives for promotion is another challenge that the Indian MICE industry is facing. If we observe the Ministry’s budgets, we would understand that a very little is dedicated to the tourism segment and even lesser for the MICE division. We are facing an absence of aggressive marketing schemes to bring

In India, any convention centers’ occupancy is around 30 to 35 per cent with maximum 15 conventions in a year, which causes complexity to maintain a profitable business portfolio, manpower and logistics. It is because of this, that several convention centers are tapping the wedding segment for existence and economical constancy.

In my opinion, the government may allow more business taxes, soft loans or impose certain concessions for the convention centres to endure in the business crowd. Today, no builder urges to develop convention centers due to land’s elevated price and increase in prices of the real estate in India, which creates an ambiguity in the Return on Investment (ROI). We, from ICPB, have advised

Tourism (MoT) is actively contributing but a restructured planning is required for acceleration in India’s late but optimistic journey. We look forward to more support from both the central and state governments, respectively, in matters of faster documentation, budgets and varied services to incentivise MICE travellers, visiting India. We anticipate rapid development of more state-of-theart convention centers India. Also, the government is creating dedicated funds and corpus, which is a major support to build up the MICE scenario in India. An earmarking of at least 20 per cent of the marketing budget for MICE activities in the international market should be allotted by the MoT. The ministry and state governments have to come together and work as one unit for more developed MICE business.

Five upcoming MICE destinations that you find promising in the coming days.

The Tier- II cities are coming out in the MICE map with a gradual development of hotels and convention centers. In my opinion, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Indore and Jaipur are few of the promising cities for MICE traffic in 2018 with Bengaluru developing furthermore into a preferred MICE destination throughout the nation.

How do you see the future of MICE travel industry in India itself?

“In 2018, we intend to draw the membership from the hospitality industry, private and government organisations that are involved in MICE tourism.”

India on the forefront as a convention destination.

Thirdly, India is a knowledge-rich country when it comes to Medical, Information Technology and scientific sectors. Global veterans from these departments are keen to visit India to organise meetings and conventions but we are yet to convince our own doctors, scientists and IT professionals to support and work in tandem with us to bid for more MICE influx. We want to take an advantage of the ‘knowledge economy’, to project that we are good in various fields and bring the conference into segments beyond tourism.

of putting a land on long-term lease instead of auctioning it. The prolonged time of construction loses out a lot of interest money, causing a financial depression for the buyers.

How can our government leverage the MICE industry?

The market trend is quite progressive, but the future growth depends on how the government prioritises the tourism sector, along with facilitating infrastructure development, connectivity, and tourist safety. The Ministry of

In India, MICE market is still in its nascent stage.

Having said that, the Indian MICE segment is gradually maturing and getting organised.

Bidding for the country, we are observing lots of International event coming to India and that is a very good sign for Indian MICE Industry and ICPB. In 2018, we intend to draw the membership from the hospitality industry, private and government organisations that are directly and indirectly involved in MICE tourism. ICPB’s only mission is to project the country’s ability to hold conventions and conferences of all profile and figure. We are marketing aggressively and our wish is to put India as round-the-year MICE destination.

Government is also working on MICE development board. Figure says that around 86.5 per cent of the conference caters less than 1000 people; we have a good infrastructure in India. We are targeting 12 states and out of which, five are already with us. With around 52 per cent of MICE travellers visiting India, we have observed 17.5 per cent growth and it will grow up in the convention business. ICPB is aggressively bidding for all the developed conventions in the international market. The future certainly looks good for MICE in India!

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News

TRADE Bosnia and Herzegovina appoints Nijhawan Group as Tourism Representative in India The South European nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has appointed Gurugram-headquartered Nijhawan Group as their Tourism Representative in the Indian market.

Commenting on this partnership, Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director, Nijhawan Group of Companies, said that with the growing middle class and increase in disposable incomes in the past few years, India

Ankush Nijhawan

has emerged as the fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world, second only to China. “With Indian nationals looking for newer experiences and destinations, the demand for relatively new entrants like Bosnia and Herzegovina is only poised to grow. It is an exciting time for outbound tourism, and the Indian traveller will only benefit from this trend,” says Nijhawan.

Sabit Subasic

Thomas Cook India launches flagship store in Delhi Thomas Cook (India) strengthened its presence in North India with the recent inauguration of a flagship store at Connaught Place, inaugurated

by Vijay Kumar, Thomas Cook India’s Brand Ambassador.This expansion augments Thomas Cook India’s total number of outlets to 16 consumer access centers with six owned branches and 10 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets in Delhi and totally 42 consumer access centers with 13 owned branches and 29 Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets in North India.

“North India is a significant source market and is delivering strong growth of 20 per cent YoY for our Leisure Travel business and Delhi has been

ATOAI to hold Adventure Tourism Summit this April The Adventure Tour Operators’ Association of India (ATOAI) is all set to organise their Adventure Tour Summit from April 26-28, 2018. Captain Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI, reveals that they had requested the Ministry of Tourism to declare 2018 as the ‘Year of Adventure Tourism’. He claims that it took them almost three months to convince MOT, and now they will organise activities related to this every month of this year in India. “Under this, we have requested the ministry to put adventure as the theme as part of its advertisement. We are doing a mega show where we are inviting 500 tour operators, travel agents and media from across the world from April 26-28, 2018. The aim is to make India’s incoming business for adventure tourism double

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in three years. The celebration will start from Delhi in January when we will be doing a roadshow, Captain Swadesh Kumar where we wish to have a seminar on an industry level and talk about adventure tourism.

February we will be going to Maharashtra, and we will be carried on. One important thing we will be doing is that we will be launching the guidelines for adventure tourism in this country—guidelines for sustainable tourism, good practices and safety,” he shares.

identified as a prime growth driver as a part of our strategic plan. Our new branch at Connaught Place, New Delhi is at a prime location, thus giving our consumers convenient access to a range of holiday products, travel and foreign exchange services,” says Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head Leisure Travel & MICE at Thomas Cook (India).

Thomas Cook India’s internal data has revealed high demand from India’s north markets, with a strong growth of 20 per cent for 2017 against the same period of the previous year.

ADTOI launches Andhra Pradesh chapter The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) launched its Andhra Pradesh Chapter during its 8th Annual Convention held in Visakhapatnam, recently. The AP Chapter will be headed

by Vijay Mohan, Member, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority, Government of Andhra Pradesh and President of Tour and Travels Association of Andhra Pradesh.

Mohan seems confident about the response as he reveals that the association has received 12 registrations in just 24 hours. The state chapter will now work aggressively towards increasing membership. Rajat Sawhney, Vice President, ADTOI emphasised that the association had less presence in the southern parts of India and the launch of AP Chapter will give them a better opportunity to enter the southern India for larger benefits to the domestic tour operators.

The launch of AP Chapter was followed by the unveiling of state chapter in Rajasthan in December 2016. Mahender Singh of K K Holidays N Vacations, Jaipur was nominated as the Chairman of the Rajasthan Chapter.

News

OUTBOUND Indian travellers to GCC expected to increase 50 per cent by 2021 Around nine million Indians are expected to travel to the GCC by 2021, according to the latest figures from Colliers International, as destinations throughout the Middle East prepare to showcase their latest offering at Arabian Travel Market, which is being held at Dubai World Trade Centre from 22 to 25 April, 2018.

Reports from the UNWTO statistics suggest the outbound Indian travel market will grow to 50 million by 2021, with the average spend per trip by Indian travellers also increasing. It also reveals India is among the top 12 source markets, globally, that showed double digit growth in expenditure in 2016, visitor spend reached a total of USD 23.1 billion in 2016, up 15.1 per cent year-on-year.

“Surprisingly, there are just over 65 million passport holders in India out of a population of around 1.3 billion. Still it is no surprise that the growth of the global travel industry is being led

by Asian travellers and the Middle East region can expect to benefit, with Indian tourist arrivals expected to grow by CAGR of seven to eight per cent. We have witnessed this growth first hand with ATM 2017 welcoming 54 per cent more visitors from India compared to 2014,” informs Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, ATM. Over the five-year period from 2012 to 2016, the average percentage of Indian arrivals out of total arrivals in Kuwait was 15.4 per cent; Saudi Arabia,

UNWTO announces their ‘FITUR 2018’ agenda World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) will focus on its Awards on “Innovation and Excellence in Tourism”, as well as African and Middle East tourism development plus the Chinese Market during the 38th edition of FITUR, kicking-off in Madrid from January 17-21, 2018.

A workshop on Chinese outbound tourism on January 17 will be among UNWTO’s first activities, together with the 14th Edition of the UNWTO Awards. INVESTOUR, an annual event jointly organised by UNWTO, FITUR and Casa África, will gather almost 30 ministers of tourism from the region. The potential of tourism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will also be addressed during at a ministerial discussion forum jointly organised by UNWTO and Casa Árabe on January 18.

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10.6 per cent; Bahrain, 17.6 per cent; Oman, 11.2 per cent and UAE 9.8 per cent. According to ATM’s official research partner, Colliers, by 2021, this is expected to increase to: Kuwait (17.12 per cent), Saudi Arabia (11.88 per cent), Bahrain (19.26 per cent), UAE (10.8 per cent) and Oman (11.9 per cent) – helped in no small terms by a decision in October 2017, when the Sultanate approved on-arrival visas up to a period of one month for Indians holding valid US, UK, Canada, Australia or Schengen visas.

Additionally, India retained top spot on Dubai’s list of source markets for inbound tourism, with 1,478,000 Indian tourists arriving in the city between January and September, registering a significant 20 per cent rise over the same period in 2016. The increase can also be attributed to relaxed visa

restrictions for Indian passport holders, which is currently under further consideration, including the possibility of extending on-arrival visas to Indians.

“The influx of Indian visitors to the GCC shows no sign of abating and is expected to continue rising, with the added benefit of an increase in the average spent by Indians on outbound travel. This is supported by India’s steady GDP growth, which stood at 7.1 per cent in 2016 and, although this is forecast to drop to 5.7 per cent this year due to the introduction of a general sales tax, it is expected to recover and steady at eight per cent over the next few years. At 61 per cent, India’s youth population is exceptional, providing a great opportunity to develop lifestyle and budget brands that offer differentiated products and experiences,” shares Press.

Monaco Tourism unveils new logo The Monaco Tourist and Convention Authority presented its new visual identity, “Visit Monaco,” to more than 350 tourism professionals in the Principality, at the annual conference of its representative offices abroad. This new typology is in line with the mission of Monaco Tourist and Convention Authority, as the text logo is a direct invitation to visit the Principality and is easy to identify and memorise.

Available in several colours, the logo is meant to suit various sectors of activity, for example

in blue for cruises and green for sustainable development. There was also a presentation on the new version of the web site visitmonaco.com, which will be put online soon.

At this annual conference, there was a particular emphasis on responsible tourism, which is central to all future activities. This new strategy will revolve around the slogan “Green is the New Glam”, which will be used in all international tourism markets and promotional material.

News

OUTBOUND Tourism Authority of Thailand kicks off campaign for 2018 The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has taken off the “Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018” campaign, giving Thailand an outstanding opportunity to showcase its capabilities during many large events the Kingdom will host in 2018. The campaign will highlight activities based on 13 core niche products that include Sports, Gastronomy, Maritime tourism, Wedding and Honeymoon, Medical and Wellness, Community-based Tourism, Leisure, Green Tourism, Night Tourism, MICE, Trade Fairs, B2B Marketing Activity and Logistics.

“Thailand is naturally blessed with a busy schedule of annual cultural events that appeal to both domestic and international audiences and we are delighted to see increasing number of tourist arriving in Thailand. For 2018, TAT has launched a new campaign ‘Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018’ to support the government’s national tourism development plan featuring an action-

Soraya Homchuen packed schedule of unique Thai local experiences and international events. This campaign will see the Thai travel and tourism industry move into a new era of development and further underscore its new status as a nationwide movement that yields significant benefits for national security, the economy, society, well-being and foreign relations.

The campaign’s overarching objective is to ensure that Thailand remains a Preferred Destination

and delivers a Quality Product, thus boosting the average length of stay, expenditure and repeat visit. In 2018, the marketing strategy will continue to position Thailand as a ‘Preferred Destination’,” informs Soraya Homchuen, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai.

“Some of the local Thai events that will take place in 2018 are Thailand Tourism Festival (January 2018); Thailand International Kite Festival/Thailand Marathon (Songkhla/Bangkok, February 2018); International Balloon Festival (Korat, May 2018); Chiang Rai Flower Festival (July 2018); Queen of Thai Silk Exhibition (SACICT, August 2018); Nationwide Vegetarian Festival (October 2018) and Bangkok Art Biennale (November 2018) and international events that will take place are International MotoGP Superbike race and the Air Race 1 World Cup Thailand,” Homchen adds.

Oman Tourism conducts familiarisation trip for MICE agents Mumbai and Delhi have been identified as primary markets to source MICE movements into Oman and agents from major agencies in these markets recently witnessed Oman’s offerings as a MICE destination on a familiarisation (FAM) trip conducted by the Ministry of Oman Tourism. The group consisted of nine shortlisted agents from leading travel companies namely the Via.com, Goomo Orbit Corporate & Leisure Travels, Geanis Holidays Pvt Ltd., Travel Clinic, HRG India, Thomas Cook, Ambassador Express Holidays Pvt. Ltd. and Fountain Head Corporate Journeys.

Highlight of the trip was their visit to the recently opened first phase of the Oman Convention and

Exhibition Centre, located opposite the new Muscat International Airport, which includes an exhibition hall spread over 22,000 sq m and 10 to 12 meeting rooms around it. Phase two will be completed by the second quarter of 2018 and will include a convention hall.

This trip aimed to showcase Oman as a luxury and premium tourist destination for all segments across MICE. Being a short-haul destination from India with brilliant flight connectivity and now with the rapid development of infrastructure, Oman is becoming a soughtafter destination for MICE in the Middle East region

Jordan Tourism Board conducts B2B Roadshow in New Delhi Jordan Tourism Board conducted a roadshow in New Delhi with its eight partners, namely the Air Arabia, United Travel Agency, Travco Tours, Dakkak Tours, Emirates, Friends Tours, Jordan Tours, Karma House Travel, La Beduina Tours and Oman Air. The aim of the roadshow was to meet the city’s premium travel agents and tour operators to discuss hotels, transportation, flights to enable the agents to plan the perfect MICE, wedding, honeymoon or holiday to Jordan.

“With a 50 per cent growth in visitors from India (figures till October 2017), we are confident that India will remain one of our top source market in the years to come. The Jordan Touism Board is

committed in its endeavour to invest in India and from 2018 to 2020, and the growth trajectory for all activities and initiatives in the Indian market will continue to expand,” shares Majd Abuarqub, Marketin-Charge (India), Jordan Tourism Board in Amman.

“These roadshows offer a fantastic opportunity for the travel agent and tour operator community to connect with B2B segment and directly with JTB to help them drive more business and numbers towards the destination. We are very pleased with the outcome of the event and are planning to conduct the same in other cities as well shortly,” adds Ashit Taneja, Country Manager, Jordan Tourism Board.

FEBRURY 2018

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In Conversation

Kesari Tours scaling new horizons for Outbound A stern believer of ‘Kaizen’ meaning “change for the better”, Himanshu Patil, Director, Kesari Tours Pvt. Ltd. and Vice President for Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), mutually with his team, is rolling on a continuous improvement of working practices to provide prompt and quality services to the Indian outbound tourism industry

By Sayanti Halder

How can Kesari Tours help in leveraging more outbound tourism in India?

Kesari Tours, consistently, offers a lot of offbeat group tours that adds to the pouring outbound tourism in India. We, at Kesari, maintain high service standards and improvise the same with changing trends. 2018 adds more leverage to Kesari’s team of creative minds, which helps sustain and develop promotions and digital marketing strategies at a progressive rate to directly impact the increasing PSA (Passenger Sales Agent) numbers, PAN India.

Between inbound and outbound tourism, which segment holds more potential in 2018?

2018 looks fruitful for both inbound and outbound tourism sectors. Having said that, we would like to highlight that outbound segment in India will be at the forefront as we work on increasing manpower to improve the inbound sector.

How do you feel that the traditional tour operators stand out to serve the industry when compared with the OTAs? With a change, comes high opportunities and

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We, at Kesari, maintain high service standards and improvise the same with changing trends. development when put to proper use. The traditional tour operators are handy during the times of crisis as they are available 24x7 to facilitate services for their customers and cater to urgent or critical requirements. Our Indian community is open to change and improvements and therefore, we see no hurdle ahead while comparing the trending Online Travel Agents (OTAs) with traditional tour operators, due to the mutual existence of guidance and understanding, with the ultimate goal of customer satisfaction.

How can the government and travel agents work together for ideally positioning India in the global tourist map?

In order for the government and travel agents to work hand-in-hand to ideally position India in the global tourist map, there should be a system and

structure that recognises and acknowledges the need of a ‘License System’. The outbound industry holds a parallel stature to this with regard to receiving equal importance and recognition for better functionality as a nation.

How do you seek to play a key role in boosting the overall operations of the OTOAI? The OTOAI functions because of the entire team’s efforts and their individual contribution towards the betterment of the industry. As a mutual understanding, we shall work towards increasing the number of agents, address the issues faced by the agents, exercise and practice better teambuilding tactics for now and the future, and lastly, by sharing my expertise of the travel industry for further improvements and developments in the association and the industry as a whole.

Spotlight

A TRUMP CARD TO WOO THE INDIAN TRAVELLERS NTOs ride the MICE wave While the Foreign National Tourist Boards are rapidly chasing the India market to attract the MICE traffic, the year ahead envisions a much healthier growth. Planning to capture the maximum share from this potential market, the NTOs are rolling up their sleeves to beat the best. We spoke to some of the leading NTOs to know about their marketing initiatives and the latest MICE offerings for the India market

By Gagneet Kaur

Rajeev Nangia India Director, Monaco Government Tourist Bureau

Destination Monaco is best suited for MICE activities as it offers world-class meeting facilities including, the famed Grimaldi Forum Conference and the Congress Centre.

With 300 days of sunshine, Monaco offers a bouquet of quality customisation options, packed with elegance and excitement, for boardroom meetings to big incentives and conferences. While The Principality is home to numerous indulgences that tempt every bleisure traveller, at the same time, this second smallest country in the world, is high on conserving resources and practising sustainable tourism, which, without doubt, acts as an asset in offering the impeccable quality of stay in Monaco.

This year we expect to promote our new strategy that will revolve around the slogan “Green is the New Glam”, which will showcase Monaco as an eco-friendly destination.

The new, dynamic strategy is in line with our vision, and the logo is a direct invitation to visit the Principality. It is available in several colours, to suit the DTC’s various sectors of activity. The newly redesigned website www. visitmonaco.com will showcase new innovative tools that would benefit the ability to visualise virtual graphics in the real world. We will be incorporating interactive video projects that will allow visitors to create paperless and personalised itineraries.

Nishant Kashikar Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia

Australia is a melting pot of cultures with exceptional food and wine, high-quality products and experiences, making it one of the best destinations for business events. Tourism Australia’s dedicated business events unit, Business Events Australia (BEA) has played a crucial role in delivering marketing communications, increase awareness and demand for Australia as a business events destination. Some of the key activities include Dreamtime which is Tourism Australia’s signature incentive product showcase that is designed to increase awareness and interest in Australia as an outstanding incentive events destination. Apart from this, Indian agents were also hosted for an educational visit to Queensland to

experience the best of the region’s incentive product offering first-hand.

There are plans to redevelop the Darling Harbour precinct which includes new public spaces and a new Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour hotel with 600 rooms and direct access to ICC Sydney. Post the completion of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in early 2018, MCEC will have over 40,000 square metres of pillar-less exhibition space poised to become Australia’s biggest convention and exhibition centre. New hotel openings include Rydges Fortitude Valley, Ibis Styles Brisbane, Peppers Docklands, Mayfair Hotel Adelaide, Primus Hotel Sydney and Mariott International Melbourne.

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News

TRADE

Jong Sool Kwon Director Korea Tourism Organization India To begin with, we signed a MoU last year with Korean companies Hyundai, LG and Samsung to provide special support to the groups travelling to South Korea for MICE. We want to do similar MoU with Indian conglomerates as well. This will encourage companies to opt for South Korea as their destination.

Opened last year, the Paradise City Resort in Incheon is the only Korean style entertainment resort in Asia which huge banquet space, casino,

hot spring and many other activities.

The Hyundai Motor Studio in Goyang opened early last year and has been a huge success. BMW Driving Center in Korea is one of the only three in the world and the only one in Asia. Here small MICE groups can experience the thrill of riding many BMW cars or be driven around professionally on a racing track. There are a lot of now activities in South Korea for MICE which have not been explored to its potential in the India market.

Additionally, participation in all major MICE events and MICE FAM trips will be part of our marketing plan in 2018. We will also start monthly newsletters giving MICE updates to our corporate and travel agent database. What we want to do different in 2018 in terms of MICE is to have a more focused approach instead of mass marketing.

Noel Saxena Country Manager, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, India Office

To promote MICE, the Taiwan government has recently eased its visa policy for the Indian nationals.

Visa is usually the primary concern for MICE groups and the government of Taiwan has taken a great initiative to ease that. Indian Nationals are now

entitled to free Taiwan visa which can be applied online —so it’s now easier to plan a MICE event in Taiwan.

For Online Group Visa, there is an exemption for Indian passport Holders with minimum five or more people travelling in a group to Taiwan via the online system for 30 days.

Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) has been frequently participating in trade exhibitions like OTM, SATTE and BLTM and holding workshops in different India cities where delegates from TTB are also present to speak about Taiwan and give an insight about the destination to the Indian travel agents. These workshops also included a B2B session between the Indian travel agents, the DMCs and the hoteliers from Taiwan. Other than this, Taiwan has also been awarded as the “Best MICE destination” at BLTM. FEBRURY 2018

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Spotlight

Sanjay Sondhi Country Manager, VITO New Delhi

The Indonesian government has set a number of strategic initiatives for the improvement and promotion of MICE including continuous supports in the development of new venues. In the recent past, we have showcased the new and improved offerings in Indonesia to the corporate decision makers, wedding planners and MICE agents. We have hosted numerous FAM trips and conducted seminars to showcase places of interest beyond Bali, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Batam, Bandung, Yogyakarta,

Hassan Madah Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India & Philippines Israel has quickly gained popularity with Indian corporates as they are looking for new and niche destinations. Israel has a lot to offer through its culture, heritage, adventure activities, history and nightlife while also offering the state-of-the-art convention centres making it ideal for the MICE segment. We have been working closely with MICE specialists from

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Lombok, Bintan and many more. In 2017, VITO also participated in MICE and Wedding Fairs to showcase the archipelago as the best MICE destination as almost all the main cities in Indonesia are well equipped to handle and implement the needs of the MICE events.

The Ministry of tourism is now aiming at bringing in more international events into Indonesia.

The infrastructure is well developed to facilitate the MICE activities. Apart from full-fledged state-of-the-art convention centres, Indonesia also offers an array of exceptional food, cultural experiences, adventure and team building activities, beautiful sightseeing and vibrant nightlife. We have even identified various cities beyond Bali and are promoting them aggressively. These include Lake Toba (North Sumatra), Belitung (Babel), Tanjung Lesung (Banten), The Thousand Islands (DKI Jakarta) and more.

the travel trade fraternity, hosting familiarisation trips, roadshows and travel fairs to introduce them to the multiple opportunities available in Israel. In addition, we have also been actively involved in joint marketing agreements with some of the leading outbound MICE agents, which has increased travel from this segment.

In 2018, a group of around 3000 travellers is scheduled to go from India for Agritech Israel 2018, which is a recurring event held in Tel Aviv once every three years.

Besides the popular cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the resort city of Eilat in the south is increasing in popularity for MICE travellers, with hotelopenings and a new international airport which is scheduled to open later this year. Incentive travellers also have a lot to choose in Israel from history to adventure to wine tours and a lot more.

Lubaina Sheerazi India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman.

The Ministry of Oman Tourism is fully committed to enhancing the MICE sector to help the Sultanate achieve its potential to be a first-class destination for this sector. We have seen an increase in MICE tourism with the recent launch of the ‘Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre’ in Muscat that supports international and local organisations in hosting large events. Also, many new international hotel chains that have recently opened in Oman have increased the number of rooms

Alpa Jani Acting Hub-Head MEISEA (Middle East Hub/ India/ South East Asia) - Tourism Execution With over 1700 conference centres nationwide and nearly 2000 hotels, South Africa offers graded accommodation. South Africa’s events industry is well-established to suit every business need and budget. With so many aspirational adventure activities such as walking safari, wine and scenic beauty in the vineyards or drumming sessions during the African Boma under the starlit sky, South Africa is naturally well

and venues in the country. Oman being a short-haul destination from India, with excellent air connectivity from major Indian cities, worldclass hotels and easy availability of Indian food, is becoming a preferred wedding destination in the big, fat Indian wedding market.

Increasing number of flights from India to Oman, recent revision in visa regulations (granting of Visa on Arrival for non-sponsored tourist visa for certain categories), ongoing construction of many new international hotel chains, diversification of tourism products, the soon-to-be-launched new Muscat International Airport and the upcoming phase II of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) will bring momentum to MICE tourism. The exotic, adventurous, historic, remarkable and geologically stunning Oman offers the most authentic Arabian experience to its visitors.

positioned as a destination of choice for Indian MICE groups.

The SA government has increasingly acknowledged the need to promote and enhance its business tourism sector.

A number of new policy initiatives aimed at expanding the MICE segment in recent years have been introduced and enforced to this effect. The South Africa National Conventions Bureau (SANCB) introduced in 2012, has over the past few years, increased and continued its investment in utilising Meetings Africa as a strategic vehicle to unearth opportunities for the country and the rest of the continent. South African Tourism in India trains MICE and leisure agents alike on the countless bonding-focused activities that South Africa boasts. Additionally, our annual properties – Roadshow and Learn South Africa, help bring together travel agents and hotels and service providers in the MICE segment.

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News

TRADE HOSPITALITY AccorHotels and Dubai World Trade Centre to debut 25hours hotel AccorHotels and Dubai World Trade Centre LLC (DWTC) have announced the first 25hours Hotels property outside of Europe. The 434-room property, which will become the largest 25hours Hotel worldwide, is expected to open by 2020. 25hours Dubai Hotel will be located in DWTC’s One Central development and become the first upscale addition to an existing 1210-room cluster of AccorHotels’ award-winning economy and midscale brands at the DWTC complex.

“The 25hours Hotel for Dubai is an exciting first on many levels. Apart from being our first destination outside of Europe, it is the first development in cooperation with our partner AccorHotels and will be the largest hotel for the brand. At the moment, we are at a stage where we are learning a lot about a new market, as we hope to cope with the regional climate.

Clarks Inn opens in Srinagar for business and leisure travellers Clarks Inn Group of Hotels unveils the Clarks Inn Srinagar, strategically located at a stone-throw distance from the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and Srinagar’s scenic Dal Lake. Located in the city centre at Jawahar Nagar, Clarks Inn Srinagar boasts of 41 rooms across different categories to cater to the needs of discerning business as well as leisure travellers.

“Not only we promise to offer our guests one of the finest traditions of hospitality that is in line with the Kashmiri ethos of incredible warmth, but we would also like to leverage our network strength and resources to promote the state of Jammu & Kashmir beyond just our own business interest here,” says N. Srivastava, President & Co-founder, Clarks Inn Group of Hotels.

25hours Dubai Hotel will be a unique hotel reflecting the spirit and international attitude of Dubai,” explains Christoph Hoffmann, CEO, 25hours Hotels.

“Through the DWTC Authority and our businessconducive free zone ecosystem, the One Central development delivers a destination proposition that emphasises Dubai’s global status as a progressive, hyper connected, competitive hub for businesses to efficiently operate and scale expansion plans across the wider EMEAA region. The addition of the 25hours Hotel is reflective of the strategic approach that One Central has taken that will come together to strengthen and underscore Dubai’s attractiveness to international corporates and regional businesses, for achieving higher business tourism volumes,” added His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority.

Minor Hotels announces AVANI Hotels & Resorts to Debut in Oman Minor Hotels, currently with a portfolio of 157 hotels and resorts in 24 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, South America, Africa and the Indian Ocean, has signed a management agreement with Safari International Group for a new AVANI hotel to be developed in Muscat, Oman. Scheduled to open in 2020, the 250-key AVANI Muscat Hotel will be located in Seeb, a 15 minute drive from the Muscat International Airport.

“Bringing AVANI to Oman is a key component of our strategic expansion plans and we are delighted to be partnering with Safari International Group to develop this new addition to Muscat’s hotel scene. Seeb is already a key residential area in Muscat and we

are confident AVANI will represent a great fit in this fast developing neighbourhood,” informs Dillip Rajakarier, CEO, Minor Hotels.

With a total development cost of USD 50 million by Safari International Group, the newbuild hotel will be launched in two phases. The first phase will comprise 160 guest rooms and suites, an all-day dining restaurant, an AVANI Pantry and a rooftop lounge while the second will commence two years after the main hotel opens, will offer a total of 90 serviced apartments. The AVANI hotel will be connected using a sky bridge to the upcoming Al Araimi Boulevard Mall, which is scheduled to open in 2018.

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts expands in Mumbai Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. announces the signing of a new hotel deal in Dahisar, marking the group’s strong foothold in the Mumbai market. With over 75 operating hotels across 50 destinations in India and Africa, the group has signed an agreement for a 112 suites hotel, Royal Hometel Suites in Dahisar, which is expected to open this year itself. Boosting a key location, the hotel will feature an all day dining, bar, banquet halls, conference & meeting facilities, swimming pool, and gymnasium.

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“With all of our three brands Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar Portico and Hometel, we are delighted to sign yet another hotel in Mumbai, one of our most significant markets. With this new addition, we look forward to further growth in this city. It is an important location for us and a significant addition to our portfolio. Some of the expected openings of Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. include hotels in Raipur, Mahipalpur, Jaisalmer and Lusaka, Zambia,” says Anil Madhok, Executive Chairman, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts.

News

HOSPITALITY

Fifth Global Hospitality Conclave (GHC) concludes with promises The fifth GHC held on January 6, 2018 at The Leela Ambience Gurgaon was attended by experts and leaders of the hospitality industry who have been part of erstwhile Oberoi School of Hotel Management alumni. Touching upon trends and opportunities in the hospitality, travel and aviation landscape of the country and the world, the conclave also discussed priorities to arrive at all potential gateways and drivers of growth in the coming years.

To name a few, this recent meeting witnessed the participation of Rajesh Magow, CEO, Make My Trip; Jan Tissera, President (International), Travel Click; Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder CEO, PayTM; Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Spice Jet; Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director & CEO,

Indian Hotels; Jamshyd Sethna, Owner Banyan tours and Shakti; Amar Nath, Founder, Neemrana Hotels; Mahesh Natarajan, Senior Vice President, IHHR Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. and Shyam Saran and Indian career diplomat, Shyam Saran as keynote speakers. Moreover, one such panel discussion also comprised of the “Young Turks” of the hospitality industry with young achievers such as Author Advaita Kala, Nakul Mathur, Managing Director, Avanta; General Manager, Amit Kaul -The Oberoi Udaivillas with Kainaaz Messman Harchandrai, Owner, Theobroma and moderated by Dhruv Hoon, Vice President, Hotel Development (South Asia), Marriott International.

A major takeaway of the deliberations was an underlying concurrence on the opportunities

in the Indian market. Cutting across segments, industry insiders were vocal in their forecast that unprecedented business opportunities and much of this growth was going to be driven by the inspirational, middle-class travellers.

Furthermore, panel discussions conducted on topics such as ‘Disruptive Innovation, Leadership and Taking Risks, Tourism Trends’. In two sessions, panelists spoke on trends in the online world and challenges faced by startups in the travel segment, and more. The conclave was concluded by Ravish Swarup, Founder CEO, Praxis Services Pvt. Ltd., followed by ‘Mentoring hospitality skill development initiative’ by Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts.

Roseate rebrands the Royal Park as Roseate House, London Roseate Hotels & Resorts by Bird Hospitality announced a new identity for The Royal Park – A Roseate House Hotel, London. The property will now be known as Roseate House, London. Located in the heart of London, on a street steeped in history near Hyde Park, Roseate House, London a luxury boutique hotel consists of three tastefully restored, mid-19th century townhouses.

“The rebranding of Roseate House, London further strengthens the presence of Roseate Hotels & Resorts worldwide. While each of our luxury offerings are bespoke, our commitment to offering best in service, standard

and quality resonates all through. As an Indian luxury hospitality brand, Roseate Hotels & Resorts has taken hospitality to a new level with its unrivalled experiences offered to travellers,” says Dr. Ankur Bhatia, Director, Bird Hospitality Services.

The property has undergone multi million pounds of investment in refurbishment and offers 48 exquisitely appointed rooms and suites. The hotel’s F&B offerings include The Hyde, an intimate and exclusive oasis away from London’s bustling streets.

FEBRURY 2018

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Hotel Feature

Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre

Business draped in opulence

By Gagneet Kaur

THE MEETING SPACES @ HICC

LOCATION A swift and comfy 45-minute drive from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad brings you to the magnificent property of Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and Hyderabad International Convention Centre, located just beside the HITEC City. Chic and stylish with a plenty of ‘southern charm’, this awe-inspiring property makes for both a “good business destination” and an “absolutely luxurious experience”. A private driveway ushers you into a tranquil setting replete with lush, landscaped greenery, where you are welcomed by the towering façades of the hotel.

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PAMPER YOUR SENSES Whether it is a relaxing spa, an invigorating workout or taking a dip in the outdoor swimming pool, Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, offers it all. India’s most reputed spa chain, the O2 Spa, can be found on the lobby level of Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre where you can indulge in mind comforting therapies. If you’re looking for a good workout, the gym is equipped with cutting-edge fitness machines. You can also choose to splash your way to the outdoor swimming pool or just simply unwind yourself in the sauna.

A world-class venue with a pillar-less hall spanning 6,480 sqm and over a decade of legacy, Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) is a purpose-built convention centre. Basis requirement, the main hall can be partitioned into six smaller halls and can host up to 6000 guests at once.

Additionally, it has 37 breakout rooms spread over three levels, which include specialised meeting rooms, speaker preparatory room, boardrooms, VIP lounges, translation booths and more. If you have an intention to take few extra minutes on your way to or from a meeting, try some freshbaked goodies from Le Café.

HICC has been the winner of the excellence award for “Best Standalone Convention Centre” for a record five times nationally, awarded by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and holds ISO 14001:2014 certification. In every aspect, be it infrastructure, services or technology, it compares with the best in the world.

Hotel Feature

Leveraging MICE in the Land of Nawabs HICC is one of our biggest strengths says Neil Paterson, General Manager, Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and Hyderabad International Convention Centre What are the most significant strengths of Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre?

The combination of a large convention centre connected to a five-star hotel offering world-class services provided by a trusted brand name ‘AccorHotels’ offers a unique proposition in itself. Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), the other part of the complex is the only purpose built convention centre in India with largest pillar-less hall which makes this the biggest strength of ours. We were amongst the first ones to recognise the vast potential of MICE segment in the region and set up facilities that matched the leading international convention centres. The property has played a vital role in Neil Paterson bringing many international conferences to India and has been the host to several significant events in the past year only like World Endoscopy Conference, International Conference on Technology for Development, 19th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit, 24th Congress and General Assembly of International Union of Crystallography, SKAL World Congress, Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 and several others.

Please brief about customer segmentation of the property?

With a convention facility like HICC, our focus is to leverage on MICE business as it contributes the larger share of the complex. Hyderabad International Convention Centre attracts a large number of MICE and business travellers, helping catapult Hyderabad to the top four Indian MICE cities based on a number of events we have hosted at our centre. The contributing segments majorly include IT, medical, agriculture, financial services and aero sciences. Other frequently catered segments are weddings, social, lifestyle and entertainment event. We have been the host to some the most talked about luxury weddings in the region, hi-end lifestyle exhibitions, fashion shows and award shows like IIFA Utsavam, South India Filmfare awards are the annual affairs at HICC.

Tell us about the MICE offerings? Any special campaigns to cater to the MICE segment?

THE LIVING SPACES Decadently luxurious yet almost ethereal in muted tones, the 287 rooms are designed for an ultimate relaxation. While Novotel’s Superior Room provides anything and everything the discerning traveller needs for a comfortable stay in Hyderabad, the Premier Room gives the guests an exclusive access to the Premier Lounge. Adding to the feeling of utter luxury are the edge to edge windows of the Deluxe and Executive Suites that offer sweeping views of beautifully landscaped gardens. From refreshing breakfast and in-room dining to outstanding facilities at your service, Novotel makes sure you get the unmatched comfort.

Our property is located in the nerve centre of the city, minutes away from the gamut of large MNCs. The combination of a hotel and convention centre with an exhibition centre next door, it is very easy for the MICE planners to create a successful event. Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre & HICC jointly offer more than 1, 00,000 sq. ft. of flexible convention space, with 65,000 sq. ft. pillar-less hall. A 41 ft. high ceiling, roof catwalkers and truss to withhold heavy suspension allows for impressive and large setups.

We feel India has vast MICE potential and we have a long way to go before we make MICE one of the major contributors to our country’s economy. Strategic steps like participation in global MICE fairs and expos to build awareness and to showcase what India has to offer, compelling MICE specific promotional material about India, promoting MICE in India with the support of global media, by organising media and FAM trips, road shows, hosted buyer programs, enhanced PR coverage around the globe, open lines of communications with key audiences and share information at regular intervals will facilitate in boasting this sector.

What developments do you foresee for the property in the next five years?

The hotel and convention centre is going through refurbishment in phases and in next few months, we will be able to offer a refreshed product to our guests– along with a service legacy that goes beyond a decade. We shall continue to introduce upgrades to our current amenities and facilities and ensure they match global standards and requirements of millennial travellers.

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Overseas

The business of MICE

Hong Kong

Being the world’s seventh largest trading economy, Hong Kong has developed into a premier convention and exhibition centre in the region. As a free port with superb air connectivity at the heart of Asia, exhibitors and visitors can come to Hong Kong conveniently, making the city a preferred location for staging international conferences and exhibitions

By Ankita Jain

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre provides a complete venue solution for all types of conferences and meetings. Whether it’s the Grand Hall, Convention Hall, one of the theatres or any one of the 52 meeting rooms, there is a venue for almost any capacity of up to 20,000 delegates. It is conveniently located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbour, it is linked by covered walkways to nearby hotels and commercial buildings.

Connectivity • Visitor can walk to the HKCEC from the MTR Wanchai Station or Wanchai ferry pier within 10 minutes • Nearest airport: Hong Kong International Airport, at a distance of 30 minutes

AsiaWorld–Expo AsiaWorld–Expo is the second largest convention centre after HKCEC in Hong Kong. It has over 70,000 sqm of space with 10 ground-level and column-free halls, including the AsiaWorld–Arena – the biggest purposebuilt indoor seated entertainment arena in Hong Kong with a maximum capacity of 14,000. The AsiaWorld– Summit – Hong Kong’s largest indoor conference venue that seats 700 to 5,000 persons and the Runway 11 – the venue’s latest conference and function hall for 500 to 3,800 guests.

Connectivity • This state-of-the-art venue is located right next to the Hong Kong International Airport and at the centre of an extensive and efficient air, land and marine transport network • Fully integrated with Hong Kong International Airport and boasts an in-venue MTR station

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Overseas

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Overseas

L’hotel Nina et Convention Centre L’hotel Nina et Convention Centre’s elegantly designed Ballroom and meeting rooms can cater for meetings of all sizes ranging from 15 to 1,600 persons. The hotel’s versatility makes it the ultimate meeting venue for large conferences and regional or international exhibitions. The flexible meeting spaces are complemented with a team of catering professionals which comfortably handle all dining and drinking needs.

Connectivity • Nearest airport: Hong Kong International Airport, at a distance of 53 minutes covering 34.3 km

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Grand Hyatt Hong Kong offers 22 highly flexible event venues which are ideal for meetings, incentives, conferences and private parties from 12 to 1,200 guests. The Grand Ballroom is one of the largest in Hong Kong, accommodating up to 1,600 persons. The Poolhouse, a unique outdoor venue overlooking the hotel’s swimming pool and gardens, and with the comfort of an indoor event venue, is ideal for incentive welcome or farewell cocktail.

Connectivity • Nearest airport: Hong Kong International Airport, at a distance of 40 minutes covering 39.5 km

Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel With a dedicated Conference Centre, separate from the hotel main building, events held at the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel enjoy true exclusivity.

14 premium meeting rooms, which offer more than 13,000 sq ft of function space, can cater to events of most sizes. Grand Ballroom can accommodate 540 guests in a theater setting and 432 guests in a banquet setting. Whether it is a conference, corporate meeting or social event, the space is ideal for all.

Connectivity • Nearest airport: Hong Kong International Airport, at a distance of five minutes covering 2.1 km

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Taiwan Stay HealtHy, Happy & Fit!

THINK STRAWBERRIES, Taiwan Tourism Bureau India Office: C-41, Gulmohar Park, New Delhi 110049 Tel: +91 11 2653 1733 l Fax: + 91 11 2653 1735 l Email: noel@ttbrep.in Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Singapore Office: 30 Raffles Place, Cheveron House #10-01, Singapore 048622

In Conversation

FCM MICE

boosting business FCM MICE, part of a global leading travel management company named FCM Travel Solutions leverages its strength in both corporate travel and event management to help businesses host impactful MICE. In an exclusive interaction, Manpreet Bindra, Vice President, FCM MICE, shares how the brand foresees to boost MICE tourism in India

By Sayanti Halder

How do FCM MICE partakes to leverage the existing MICE scenario in India?

MICE is one of the fastest growing segments in the travel and tourism industry in India. The year 2018 is expected to offer the MICE segment an upswing. Travellers, these days, are looking for more out of their travel experience, and travel agencies are evolving and upgrading its MICE facilities in response to their demands.

FCM’s focus for 2018 will be ‘Extravagant Events, New Unexplored Locations and Innovative Ideas’.

As one of the world’s largest travel companies, we leverage our network to get our clients the best deals and event ideas. Events continue to be an intrinsic part of MICE movements and with our dedicated FCM Events team, FCM MICE is the expert in both event and travel management.

What challenges do you face in bringing more MICE business to India?

MICE tourism, certainly, has gained momentum and is marching ahead to increase its share in the Indian travel industry. However, India faces certain challenges when compared to its neighbouring

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countries. The introduction of the GST Bill caused few corporate houses to relook at the assigned budgets. Alongside, not–so-aggressive marketing campaigns clubbed with higher operations cost (due to taxation) puts India behind in the world rank.

Some other major concerns include the need for upgrading facilities for MICE, constraints of budgets, need for innovation in offerings to the MICE clients, requirement for better infrastructure facilities alongwith travellers’ safety and security.

Another challenge, which the tour operators anticipate is the fact that Indian restaurants are easily available in all European cities, USA, Japan, Korea and even in China whereas, certain countries’ cuisines are not as easily available in India. To recuperate, the government of India needs strategic aggressive marketing and more proactive incentives for MICE to enable India to compete with neighbouring countries.

What are FCM’s upcoming projects in the pipeline?

At FCM MICE, we are investing in technology to stay ahead of the curve and offer our clients a

superior MICE experience. We recently launched an FCM MICE mobile application to align all travellers with their itinerary, event plans and other important information. FCM MICE works with different sectors in the country ranging from automobile, paints, telecommunications and insurance to pharmaceuticals, healthcare and energy. Some of our upcoming movements include a cruise itinerary and trips to Barcelona and Berlin.

What are your top picks as upcoming MICE destinations?

International destinations such as Israel, Ireland, Iceland, the areas of the Northern Lights, Greek Islands, Canada, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta, Serbia, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Cambodia will see an increased interest amongst MICE travellers, gloabally. On the other hand, domestic destinations such as Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Pushkar (Experiential MICE), Vizag, Puri, Karzat and Lonavala are expected to witness quintessential interest for MICE tourism.

Homeward

Tamil Nadu

High on business Known predominantly as a centre for religious tourism, Tamil Nadu is now looking at developing the MICE segment and has been taking proactive measures in the direction. Offering the lush green environs perfectly refreshing your mind, Tamil Nadu is committed to growing this segment in a way that caters to your every business need.

By Ankita Jain

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Homeward

Sangamitra Convention Centre, Puducherry Located in the Pattanur district of Tamil Nadu, the Sangamitra Convention Centre is a magnificent centre sprawling over six acres of lush green landscaped garden.

With a seating capacity of 1400 to 1500 persons, the centre has modern facilities and ultra-luxurious interiors that help it glide past the competition of the other centres in the state. The main exhibition hall and 16 fully furnished airconditioned rooms are just impressive offering you an array of facilities to conduct any type of events.

Connectivity • Located at Puducherry to Tindivanam Road NH66, just 1.5 km off JIPMER • Nearest railway station: Puducherry railway station at a distance of 7.9 km • Nearest airport: Chennai International Airport at a distance of 141.3 km

Kavikko Convention Center, Chennai Taking the upper hand off its prime location in the heart of Chennai, Kavikko Convention Center gives you productive space whenever you need it. The center is flexible to host the small gatherings, seminars as well as the conventions and press conferences. At KCC, comprehensive meeting and banquet facilities are designed to accommodate up to 100 guests. The air-conditioned and tech-savvy halls can easily accommodate up to 200 people.

Connectivity • Nearest airport: Chennai International Airport at a distance of 15.8 km • Nearest railway station: Chennai Central at a distance of 8.3 km

CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex, Coimbatore Located amidst the industrial city of Coimbatore, CODISSIA exhibition centre was established in the year of 1969. A wellequipped venue for organising events, seminars and even the biggest exhibitions, this convention centre is now known as one of the leading testing centers for small industries in India. The exhibition building spans an area of 1,60,000 sq ft and has been equipped with ultra-modern features. It also makes it available for its exhibitors an outdoor space of around 2,000 sqmt for hosting parties, open-air events and more.

Connectivity • Nearest Airport: Coimbatore International Airport at a distance of about 3.7 km • Nearest railway station: Coimbatore Junction railway station at a distance of about nine km FEBRURY 2018

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Homeward

TRADE Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai A permanent exhibition complex in Nandambakkam, Chennai Trade Centre has hosted several trade fairs and conventions. It is the first fair infrastructure that has been developed by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)—the premier trade promotion agency of the Government of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry—outside Delhi. Together, these centres cover 10,560 sqm and are fully booked for 75 days in a year. Built over an area of 25.48 acres, it includes a range of halls from 250 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft accommodating from 25 to 2000 delegates.

Connectivity • It is located in Nandambakkam on the arterial Mount-Poonamallee Road.

• Nearest Airport: It lies in the northern fringe of the Chennai Airport at a distance of about six km from the airport and 1.5 km from the Kathipara Junction.

• Nearest railway station: St Thomas Mount Railway Station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network.

BKR Convention Centre BKR Convention Centre is a part of the plush business hotel, BKR Grand Hotel, located in the busiest areas of Chennai. Replete with a huge convention centre, the hotel deems fit for corporate meetings, conferences and business events. Its proximity to the main shopping and food districts also make it a preferred choice among those on a leisure trip. Located at Ventakesan Street in T Nagar, BKR Convention Centre is centrally situated amidst shopping malls and food joints. It lies at close distance to major attractions like Marina Beach and Government Museum.

Connectivity • Nearest railway station: Chennai Central at a distance of 10.2 km • Nearest airport: Chennai International Airport at a distance of 13.6 km

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GLOBAL MICE EVENTS CALENDAR- 2018

FEBRUARY TO APRIL Date

Venue

Event February 2018

Date

Venue

Event

12-12

Moscow, Russia

Moscow International MICE Forum

1-4

Marrakech, Morocco

CONFEC Red

12-14

Antwerp, Belgium

Associations World Congress

2-4

Riga, Latvia

Balttour

13-14

Toluca, Mexico

WMF Summit State of Mexico

3-4

London, UK

TNT Travel Show (Travel for 18-39 years old)

13-14

Bordeaux, France

SO Evenements

5-7

Abu Dhabi, UAE

IBTM Arabia

13-15

Moscow, Russia

InterMed - Medical Treatment Abroad

5-6

Marsaille, France

MICE Place Marsaille

13-15

Moscow, Russia

MITT (Moscow Int’l Travel & Tourism)

5-5

Bangalore, India

International Travel Roadshow (India)

15-17

Zurich, Switzerland

Freisein

6-7

Tel Aviv, Israel

IMTM

15-15

Paris, France

MICE Place CITY

6-6

Chennai, India

International Travel Roadshow (India)

15-18

Algave, Portugal

Connections Meetings

7-8

Moscow, Russia

NAIS -National Aviation Infrastructure Show

16-18

Goa, India

India Travel Mart (ITM)

8-10

Istanbul, Turkey

World Tourism Forum - Global Meeting

16-17

Moscow, Russia

Moscow International MICE Forum

9-11

Tallin, Estonia

Tourest Travel Trade Fair

18-20

Brisbane, Australia

Routes Asia

19-22

Mumbai, Ahmedabad & Delhi, India

Outbound Travel Roadshow - Edition 2

20-22

Kiev, Ukraine

Ukraine Int’l Travel & Tourism Exhibition

9-9

Delhi, India

International Travel Roadshow (India)

11-15

Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar & Oman

Outbound Travel Roadshow - Middle East

14-12

London, UK

BNC Events Show

14-17

Las Vegas - USA

Incentive Travel Exchange

14-16

Sofia, Bulgaria

Holiday & SPA Expo

14-15

Vilnius, Lithuania

CONVENE

16-18

Chennai, India

TTF Chennai

16-18

Stockholm, Sweden

Mediterranean Panorama

18-20

Zagreb, Croatia

MCE Central & Eastern Europe

19-19

Florence, Italy

HEM (Hoteliers European Marketplace)

20-21

Melbourne, Australia

AIME (Asia-Pacific Incentive Meeting Expo)

21-22

London, UK

Business Travel Show

21-23

Abu Dhabi, UAE

PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference & Mart (ATRTCM)

21-22

London, UK

Travel Technology Europe

22-25

Belgrade, Serbia

International Fair of Tourism (ITTFA)

22-25

Phuket, Thailand

Thailand Yacht Show

23-25

Kolkata, India

India Int’l Travel Mart Kolkata

20-22

Shanghai, China

IT&CM CHINA

21-22

Birmingham, UK

British Tourism & Travel Show

22-22

Glasgow, Scotland

Event IT

23-25

Naples, Italy

BMT - Mediterranean Tourism Market

28-29

Cannes, France

Heavent Meetings Cannes

28-30

Kiev, Ukraine

MICE Ukraine

29-1

Chisinau, Moldova

Tourism. Leisure. Hotels

3-5

Sao Paulo, Brazil

World Travel Market Latin America

4-5

Mumbai, India

Hotel Investment Conference-South Asia (HICSA)

5-7

Baku, Azerbijan

AITF (Azerbijan Intl Travel & Tourism Fair)

April 2018

6-7

Ekaterinburg, Russia

EXPOTRAVEL

7-8

New Delhi, India

TTF New Delhi

9-10

New York, USA

Serviced Apartment Summit Americas

10-11

Budapest, Hungary

IWINETC (International Wine Tourism Conference)

23-25

Bengaluru, India

TTF Bengaluru

23-25

Istanbul, Turkey

Ace of Mice

10-13

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Riyadh Travel Fair

25-26

London, UK

World Spa & Wellness Convention

12-15

Singapore, Singapore

Singapore Yacht Show

25-28

Siena, Italy

Connections Luxury

12-13

Adalaide, Australia

South Pacific Tourism Exchange (SPTE)

26-28

Tokyo, Japan

ILTM (Int’l Luxury Travel Market) Japan

12-14

Tbilissi, Georgia

Caucasus Tourism Fair

26-28

Johannesburg, S. Africa

Meetings Africa

15-19

Adalaide, Australia

Australian Tourism Exchange

27-28

Bangkok, Thailand

Indochina Aviation Conference

15-17

Cape Town, S.Africa

ILTM Africa (Int’l Luxury Travel Market)

27-28

Singapore, Singapore

Aviation Festival Asia

16-18

Beijing, China

COTTM

28-1

London, UK

International CONFEX

17-18

Cairo, Egypt

Aviation Africa

28-4

Lisbon, Portugal

BTL

17-19

Shanghai, China

Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition

March 2018

17-19

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Arabian Hotel Investment Conference

18-20

Cape Town, South Africa

Sports & Events Tourism Exchange

1-3

Guangzhou, China

GITF - Guangzhou International Travel Fair

1-2

Moscow, Russia

Luxury Travel Market

5-6

Warsaw & Poznan, Poland

OUTgoing POLAND March Edition

5-8

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Seatrade Cruise Global

6-6

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Luxury Travel Mart Almaty (Spring)

7-11

Berlin, Germany

ITB Berlin

8-8

Paris, France

Pure Meetings & Events

8-8

Mumbai, India

International Travel Roadshow (India)

*As sourced from www.miceandtourismaroundtheworld.com

18-21

Friedrichshafen, Germany

AERO - The Global Show for General Aviation

19-22

Shanghai, China

WTF ( World Travel Fair)

19-20

Cape Town, S.Africa

IBTM Africa (Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Expo)

20-22

Barcelona, Spain

B-Travel Barcelona

22-25

Dubai, UAE

Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

FEBRURY 2018

39

News

AVIATION Flyers may have to pay 13 per cent more According to a recent report, flyers in India should brace for a fare hike this year. Rising fuel prices and an increase in cost of operations due to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) could result in airlines raising fares by about 13 per cent. The cost of operations for carriers has gone up 27 per cent after GST was introduced last year. Jet fuel is currently out of the purview of GST. India’s aviation market, the fastest growing in the world, has boomed primarily on the back of low fares and capacity added by airlines including Indigo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and Air India.

The likely fare increase would mainly be on tickets

bought at the last minute.

Jet fuel prices had gone up by about 16 per cent and other costs had increased by about seven percent. Aviation fuel accounts for a major chunk of an airline’s expenditure. IndiGo’s fuel spending accounted for 35 per cent of its operating expenses in the three months ended last September. Prices in New Delhi went up by over 19 per cent to INR 57,460 per kilolitre in January from INR 48,110 per kilolitre in August, according to data on the Indian Oil website. The increase in fares will likely to start after March, 2018.

Vizag airport gets e-visa on arrival facility

Vistara to bring Delhi-Chennai route network from mid-February Vistara has announced the addition of Chennai to its expanding network, making it the 22nd destination on the airline’s network. Effective February 15, 2018, Vistara will operate a daily direct flight between Delhi and Chennai, and increase the frequency to twice daily from March 1, 2018. Vistara will also connect Chennai to Port Blair with a daily direct flight between the two cities, effective March 1, 2018. Bookings are now open on all

channels, with one-way fares for Delhi – Chennai (economy class) starting INR 3,099 all-in, and INR 3,699 all-in for Chennai – Port Blair. As Vistara operates from the state-of-the-art Terminal 3 in Delhi, travellers will enjoy a superior experience, and those connecting to and from international flights at Delhi can seamlessly proceed to international transfers for same-terminal connections.

IndiGo 4th most punctual airline globally: OAG Punctuality League 2018 In its Annual review, Punctuality League 2018, OAG recognises the airlines that have consistently clocked highest on-time performance (OTP) by including on-time performance for the world’s Top 20 busiest domestic and international routes, and other categories. IndiGo has been ranked 4th amongst Top 20 mega airlines and 9th amongst Top 20 Low-cost carriers (LCCs) by OTP. IndiGo is the only Indian airline to have made it in the list of top 20 mega airlines.

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“We are thrilled of having been able to take India and IndiGo to amongst the very best in the world and one of the top five Mega Airlines globally in terms of On-Time performance in the OAG Punctuality League 2018. Flying our planes on time is one of our core promises to our customers. This achievement reinforces IndiGo’s commitment of providing our fliers with an on-time, hassle free experience at low fares, always,” says Aditya Ghosh, President and Whole Time Director, IndiGo.

The Centre has finally given its nod for the introduction of e-Tourist Visa on Arrival (e-TVOA) at the Visakhapatnam International Airport. The e-Tourist Visa facilitates arrival of tourists from 147 countries at 16 airports in India —Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchi and Varanasi.

The facility, now extended to the Visakhapatnam airport, will facilitate foreign tourists to fly into Visakhapatnam and Andhra Pradesh. The Vizag airport will become the first in A.P. to get the facility.

In addition, tourists coming into India from Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar do not need e-Visa or Visa in advance and they can take the Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVOA) at eight airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

To add a tinge of laughter into the insightful reading, we share a laugh or two with unknown anecdotes of our known faces

Manu Vashishth, General Manager, Country Inns & Suites

by Carlson Kota

Gurdeep Singh Gujral Director & CEO, Joint Secretary (OTOAI)

Once there was extremely cloudy weather outside and the hotel DTH boxes were unable to receive signals.

And there on the reception was a guest complaining about the TV channels not working and wanted the hotel to do something about it immediately.

Ever heard of arrival and departure stamp on the hand of an individual? Well, in one such incident, when I was travelling with a family, a young boy under 18 years accompanied with mere a school ID card. And when the security check moment arrived, the stamp was imprinted on his hand which is usually filled in the passport. This has been the funniest moment so far.

Rishi Neoge General Manager, Howard Johnson Bengaluru Hebbal

Sandeep Bhatnagar General Manager, Leisure Inn Grand Chanakya, Jaipur

A guest had asked for mineral water in the washroom for usage. That surprised us beyond our wits and we had arranged for 25 litres of mineral water in the room of the particular guests especially.

Also, our long staying guests sometimes request if they can have their family portrait on the wall of their rooms they are staying in.

Over the years many guests have made funny and outrageous demands and we hoteliers generally fulfill them so as to make them enjoy their holidays with us. In one of the incident, there was the wedding group staying with us and the bride wanted all males to be dressed up like females and vice versa for the evening dance party. We arranged extra earrings and bangles and makeup artists to really do males dressed up as females.

FEBRURY 2018

41

News

APPOINTMENTS

SHARAD DATTA

TIMOTHY KELLY

AMIT SACHDEVA

DALIP SINGH

Sharad Datta has been appointed as the General Manager of The Westin Mumbai Garden City. Sharad brings over two decades of rich experience in Hotel Management with brands such as Marriott International, Hyatt International and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. He commenced his career with F&B operations before his first assignment as General Manager with Oberoi Hotels & Resorts.

Atlantis, The Palm appoints Timothy Kelly as General Manager and Senior Vice President, Operations. Directly reporting to Serge Zaalof, Chief Operating Officer for Atlantis Resorts & Residences, Kelly will oversee all operations, strategic direction, management and continued growth of Atlantis, The Palm including responsibility for all Administrative, Retail, F&B, Banqueting and Special Events, Marine and Waterpark, and Recreational Services.

The Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside ChaletMarriott Executive Apartments has announced the appointment of Amit Sachdeva as the Hotel Manager for both the hotels. In this designation, Sachdeva will be responsible for leading the overall operations and management of both the hotels.

Wharf Hotels announced the promotion of Dalip Singh from Hotel Manager to General Manager for Marco Polo Hotels, Hong Kong. A seasoned hotelier with more than two decades of experience and currently reporting to the group’s Vice President-Operations, Singh will be in charge of the very popular three Hong Kong Hotels located on prestigious Canton Road: Marco Polo Hongkong, Prince and Gateway.

JAIDEEP ANAND

MARK POWERS

MADHAV SEHGAL

ROLANDO AEDO

Jaideep Anand is appointed as General Manager of The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences. Anand started his career in hospitality with The Oberoi New Delhi in F&B and Rooms Division and his last assignment was with The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi as General Manager. Despite a rigorous work schedule,Jaideep makes the time to pursue his leisure activities like reading, travelling and sports.

Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) appointed Mark Powers as its new Group Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, Powers will be responsible for the finance function across the Abu Dhabi-based group’s five divisions, which comprise UAE national airline Etihad Airways, Etihad Airways Engineering, Etihad Airport Services, Hala Group and Airline Equity Partners.

Andaz Delhi has recently appointed Madhav Sehgal as the General Manager of the hotel. With his passion, he took assignments in various management roles with hotel chains in both Canada and India alike having donned several executive roles within the brand with properties like Hyatt Bangalore and the Hyatt Regency Delhi.

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) has promoted Rolando Aedo to Chief Operating Officer (COO). Aedo will continue to assist in the organisation’s day-to-day operation and further support external stakeholder relations including taking the lead on expanding high priority GMCVB initiatives, establishing new strategic programs and long-term plans to ensure the GMCVB continues to remain at the forefront of the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) Industry.

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FEBRURY 2018

WH ER E WI SE M EN T UR N ED T H E D ESE R T G R E E N you ca n still find their a n c i e n t i r r i g a t i o n s y s t e m s , g iving life to a cres of pa lm-fr ing ed tr a nqu ility .

Look up a nd you’ll see the fr uit of those settl e r s who ma na g ed to br ing wa te r a nd str eng th where onc e ther e wa s only sa nd.

Al Ain Oasis, UNESCO World Heritage Site #InAbuDhabi

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