Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions (MICE) market is a fast growing one and has exhibited
a huge potential worldwide. It is a recognized fact that international and regional conferences contribute
greatly towards building up of mutual goodwill and understanding, encourage interaction between nations,
bring tremendous amount of knowledge and frontier technologies particularly for the developing countries.
There is a growing interest amongst tourists to experience the rich culture and heritage of India. With
increasing opportunities for holidays and leisure, India is now becoming one of the leading venues for
MICE in the region. The MICE infrastructure in the country has been developing rapidly and convention
hotels and conference venues of international standards are being set up in cities across the country.
With the corresponding expansion in the network of airline operations, India is ready to position and
market itself as an important MICE destination.
The India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) is the country’s apex body whose singular mission is to
propagate India’s ability to hold conventions and conferences of all shapes and sizes. Sponsored by
the Ministry of Tourism, the members of the bureau also include Air India, Indian Airlines, major Hotels,
Convention Venues, leading Travel Agencies & Tour Operators, Professional Congress, Event Organizers,
Educational Institutions and State Tourism Development Corporations etc.
The prime focus of the Bureau is to disseminate information regarding the infrastructural facilities
and related services available in India for organising Meetings, Incentives and Conventions and also
to assist tourism industry to effectively market the MICE potential of India in the international
markets.
After the success of the Bureau’s Four Conclaves, the 5th Conventions India – the Meetings, Incentives,
Conventions and Events Conclave” was organized on 1st – 2nd May 2009 at the Hyderabad International
Convention Centre in Hyderabad with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.
Why Hyderabad?
India is growing and so are its meeting and convention facilities. This year’s event will showcase not only
what is one of India’s top meeting venue, but also showcase a city and a state that have understood what the
business of conventions is all about. At the event the participants will get a first-hand experience of
India’s first purpose-built convention centre. They will also experience one of the newest and finest airports
in South Asia. All the host hotels and local partners will show them a face of Hyderabad they have never seen
before. Being in South India also gives them an opportunity to meet and network with many of the players in
the Indian meeting industry from a buyer and a supplier side who may not have joined in Bureau’s previous events.
The event
Conventions India is the country’s only marketing event of its type for the MICE industry. Conventions India
has a strong hosted buyers program on the lines of IMEX Frankfurt and EIBTM Barcelona. This year, Conventions
India had 239 advance registrations from the trade and buyer communities, with the largest ever registration
from delegates outside Hyderabad.
This year, ICPB hosted 142 buyers from all over India and overseas. ICPB in association with the Ministry of
Tourism and our sponsors flew in these buyers and accommodated them for 2 nights in Hyderabad as our guests.
This is what makes Conventions India unique in South Asia as an event. Also invited were some key MICE industry
media from Europe and Singapore. A analysis of the buyers show us the break-up segment wise -
|
Category |
Percentage |
|
Associations |
37% |
|
Corporates |
30% |
|
Institutes |
8% |
|
Hospitals |
6% |
|
Event Management Companies |
5% |
|
Travel Agents |
5% |
|
Media |
3% |
|
Others |
6% |
|
Total |
100% |
The Conclave was an opportunity for participants from many differing but related disciplines to interact,
seek information and share experiences. Also, with the aim of strengthening the brand positioning of
`Incredible India’ as a MICE destination, buyers from overseas were invited to meet with suppliers from India’s
MICE industry and experience the product for themselves. Also, for the first time this year we included
corporates as buyers where we had tremendous response. During the Conclave, they had opportunities to explore
the possibilities of furthering their business opportunities in this emerging segment of the economy.
The program, of the conclave was as follows -
Conventions India
May 1 & 2, 2009; Hyderabad , India
Program
|
Thursday, April 30, 2009 |
|
ICCA Industry Workshop - Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) |
|
Open to MICE industry trade members only |
| 1200 hrs |
Registration opens (Registration Fee – Complimentary) |
| 1230 – 1330 hrs |
Lunch hosted by the HICC and Novotel |
| 1330 – 1600 hrs |
ICCA database workshop conducted by Ms Jane Vong Holmes, Regional Director Asia Pacific,
The International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) |
| Welcome Dinner |
| 1830 - 1930 hrs |
Press Briefing at the Taj Krishna |
| 1930 hrs |
Welcome Dinner at Taj Krishna hosted by Taj Group of hotels (open to all registered delegates) |
| Friday, May 1, 2009 - Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) |
Conclave opens - Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC)
Open to registered delegates only. On the spot registration available.
|
| 0830 hrs onwards |
Registration opens at HICC |
| 1030 – 1100 hrs |
Welcome Session – introduction to Conventions India and ICPB |
| 1100 – 1230 hrs |
Conference Planners / buyers – Sellers Interaction
Meet the professionals who constitute the ICPB membership
|
| 1230 – 1400 hrs |
Lunch hosted by the HICC & Novotel |
| 1400 - 1430 hrs |
Educational Session # 1
“The Experience of an Indian Conference Planner” – a talk by Padmashree Prof. Dr. Keiki Mehta,
Medical Director, The Mehta International Eye Institute, Mumbai
|
| 1430 - 1530 hrs |
Educational Session # 2
“Meet, Smart and Save” – a talk on trends in the meetings & events industry and getting Return
on your Investment (ROI) by Didier Scaillet, Chief Development Officer, Meeting Professionals
International (MPI)
|
| 1530 – 1545 hrs |
Break at the exhibition area - Conference Planners – Sellers Interaction open |
| 1545 - 1700 hrs |
Educational Session # 3
“International Meetings in Asia Pacific -Challenges & Opportunities in India” – presentation by
Jane Vong Holmes, Regional Director Asia Pacific, The International Congress & Convention Association
(ICCA) followed by a panel discussion with Shyam Nagpal & Robin Lokerman.
|
| 1930 hrs onwards |
ICPB’s Inaugural Evening followed by dinner Hosted by the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel
& Convention Centre |
| Saturday, May 2, 2009 - Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) |
| Open to registered delegates only. On the spot registration available. |
| 0830 hrs onwards |
Registration opens at HICC |
| 0900 – 1000 hrs |
Conference Planners / buyers – Sellers Interaction
Meet the professionals who constitute the ICPB membership
|
| 1000 - 1115 hrs |
Educational Session # 4
“Green Meetings & Events and the role of a conference organiser”– presentation by Mr Anthony Wong,
Chair- Asia Pacific Chapter, The International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA)
|
| 1115 – 1145 hrs |
Break at the exhibition area - Conference Planners – Sellers Interaction open |
| 1145 - 1245 hrs |
Educational Session # 5
“MICE in India” – A panel discussion with ICPB members from different segments. Panellists are
Veer Vijay Singh, Taj hotels; Philip Logan, HICC; Monimita Sarkar, KW Conferences, Ty Collins,
Mariott Hotels and Balaram Babu, PICO
|
| 1300 – 1430 hrs |
Closing remarks followed by Lunch hosted by the HICC & Novotel. Conference Planners –
Sellers Interaction open |
On April 30, the afternoon saw a special session by ICCA on marketing using its extensive database.
This was led by Ms. Jane Vong Holmes of ICCA Asia. The participants were from the Indian MICE industry
and the feedback was very very positive.
Later in the day, a press meet was organised at the Taj Krishna where all major national and local
media were present. To see a video of the press meet, go to -
www.creative.travel/ICPB_Press_Meet.wmv
In the evening, Taj Hotel threw a lavish welcome dinner in true Hyderabadi style. The ballroom was transformed
into a magical nawabi durbar with plush seating, pillow and bolsters and local singers. The dinner left nothing
to be desired. The evening was addressed by Mr Veer Vijay Singh, COO Premium Hotels of Taj group. A short
welcome address was also given by ICPB Vice Chairman, Rajeev Kohli.
May 1
The formal event started next morning with a welcome address by ICPB Chairman, Mr Divesh Chaturvedi who is
also Additional Director General in the Ministry of Tourism. He expressed about the growth of MICE in India
and the role of the Ministry of Tourism in promoting the MICE industry. The recently launched MDA scheme for
conference bidding is an example of this (see attached press release from February 2009 for more details on that).
Following that, the ICPB presentation was made by Vice-Chairman, Rajeev Kohli. To download that video, go
to -
www.creative.travel/ICPB_Conventions_India_2.wmv
The rest of the day was filled with session and the buyers sellers mart.
Dr. Keiki Mehta, one of India’s prominent Eye surgeon presented his experiences as a conference planner
and spoke to the audience how he perceives the industry to be. This was an eye opener to have a buyer
express his views to the general MICE industry and his buyer colleagues alike.
Dr Mehta was followed by Mr Didier Scaillet, Business Development Director of Meeting Planners International
(www.mpiweb.org) a global meetings industry association. He spoke about the new trends in the global meetings
industry as well as about the hot emerging subject about Return on Investments (ROI)
The afternoon session saw a presentation by Ms. Jane Vong Holmes, Regional Director Asia Pacific, The
International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) followed by a panel discussion with Shyam Nagpal & Robin
Lockerman. Jane spoke about the “International Meetings in Asia Pacific -Challenges & Opportunities in India”.
The panel discussion saw a lively banter about the challenges suppliers to the meetings industry are facing and
the new opportunities that are arising.
The evening was topped by a magnificent dinner at the Hyderabad Marriot & Convention centre. Billed at the
ICPB Inaugural Evening, there were dinner speeches by ICPB Chairman Mr Chaturvedi, Mrs Lakshmi Parthasarthy,
Principle Secretary Tourism and Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh and Mrs Keshni Anand Arora, Principle
Secretary Tourism, Government of Haryana. A lavish buffet and lively entertainment from a fusion band made the
evening memorable.
May 2
The first session of the day was a lively discussion on the concept of Green Meetings led by ICCA Asia head,
Mr Anthony Wong. The Q&A session saw debate between the speaker and the distinguished scientists in the
audiences on issues such as carbon footprint and green house effects. This was a very informative session indeed.
The closing session was a wrap up with a panel of distinguished Indian MICE industry professionals. The
subject was “MICE in India” and the panel were ICPB members from different segments. Panellists are Veer
Vijay Singh, Taj hotels; Philip Logan, HICC; Monimita Sarkar, KW Conferences, Ty Collins, Marriot Hotels
and Balaram Babu, PICO
Both the days also saw business interaction between the buyers and the exhibitors at the trade show. All
exhibitors walked away with strong indications of business interest and were overall very satisfied with
the experience.
Some comments received say it all –
....Let me express my sincere thanks to you personally and to all your staff for the fabulous stay in India.
It has been an honour for me to be invited by the Bureau as a guest..... I also wish to stress that I did
appreciate the high professional standard of all the speakers during the working sessions which were extremely
interesting and stimulating and allowed me to better understand the Indian Mice industry.... The post tour was
very nice and interesting and it was doubtless a memorable approach to your beautiful ,charming and magic
country which I have visited for the first time.
Dr.MONICA PROMONTORIO, CMP, CMM
Vice President, International Marketing & Communication
Societŕ Italiana Chimici Srl
Italy |
...The Convention was a great success in all the details:...The Sessions: were the highpoint of the
Convention. The arguments dealt with were all extremely interesting and very well presented. I was
particularly interested in Educational Sessions 3 and 5 where opportunities for conferences in India
were presented and discussed.To know these opportunities was in fact my first aim in joining your conference...
My first aim was also to meet hotel with conference centres and PCO representatives in the light of organizing
international conferences in India. I had very satisfactory meetings with them since all were highly
professional and interested in my work......
Andreina Mancini
Managing Director Gestione Congressi srl
Italy
|
...My sincere and hearty thanks to you for having given me an opportunity to interact with intellectuals
of a different Tripe. Unlike the National and International Medical Conferences that form part of my regular
academic activity, the one that I witnessed, involved and learned was different in every aspect. Though Hyderabad
is not new to me, the HICC almost rivals some of its sister centres in New Orleans and Santiago, which I witnessed.
....The almost twelve hours that I spent in your company taught me several new things about the Conference market
and the Meeting world and also what is happening in that sphere presently.... You have definitely succeeded in
making us understand how differently the conference can be arranged....
Prof. A. Rathnaswami
Association of Surgeons of India, Chennai |
....Kudos for very nicely organising the conference. ... Initially I was reluctant as I was busy in preparation
of my plan for International conference on Plant Health in Europe for which I am leaving on 13th for Berlin but
your persistent cordial invitation forced me to accept and attend. I had wonderful time......I am in favour of
preserving environment and ecosystem, and that I too advice the people, and thus I favor the opinion of your
last speaker, some Malaysian or Chinese gentleman, but for holding a conference we have to have a balanced
approach to keep the interest of the participants intact. ...
Dr. M. P. Srivastava
Chairperson, International Working Group on Plant Health Clinic
Ex Professor & Head, Plant pathology, and Director, Planning
|
....back in Europe I do not want to miss to express my thanks to you for the excellent MICE Conclave
in Hyderabad last week. Me - and my co-hosted buyers - did experience an informative exhibition with
some really promising contacts for future cooperation and business. Equally attractive were the various
conference sessions with well selected speakers and panellists.... Mr. Kohli, this was the impression
with which we came to Hyderabad everything at the Convention Center was well organised...
Michael Schultz-Tholen
Hon. Secretary General
Federation of International Polo
Germany
|
... to thank you for a very well organised event and a great learning experience. The arrangements
made and hospitality extended by you and your partners made it a truly memorable experience...
Hermina Karan Singh
Director National Accounts
Global Cynergies, Delhi
|
For more information, please contact Rajeev Kohli, Vice-Chairman ICPB @ 9810047777 or
R.M. Puri, Executive Director ICPB @ 011-26873613. |
