In the past few years, India is on a mission to increase its share of the global MICE business which is currently under one per cent. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India along with majority of the State Tourism Boards have been working hard to put India on the global MICE map. Cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Ahmedabad, etc have been aiming to be world-class MICE destinations and have been host to various international and domestic events over the years.
Like rest of the segments, the MICE industry has also been hit badly with virtually zero business due to the pandemic. Many of the Indian city-hotels thrive on the corporate and MICE business, which has been cut off.
But the reduced capacities and social distancing norms are playing a major spoilsport for the MICE industry where large gatherings and face-to-face engagement drive the business. The recovery of this segment is set to be slow compared to the other segments.
A recent report by FICCI states, “Experience suggests that business travel has been more vulnerable to crisis compared to leisure travel. Post the 2008-crisis international arrivals recovered in two years whereas international business travel didn’t fully rebound to pre-recession levels until five years after. The lifting of lockdown restrictions, air travel and hospitality have seen a moderate uptake of business travel limited to business-critical activities. It is expected that business travel will return to normalcy gradually and painstakingly in phases.”
During the lockdown period, majority of the companies have switched to various other tech-driven mediums such as MS Teams, Zoom, Amazon Chimes, Google Meet to fulfil their meeting requirements. This posed another question: Will MICE be the same as earlier? Or will there be a major disruption in the MICE movement across the globe?
In terms of the positioning, over the last decade the market share of all regions has remained nearly same. Regionally, Europe hosted more than half of all meetings in ICCA’s last assessment followed by Asia (at 23per cent). Among countries, the United States has held pole position for two decades and the top 20 have remained largely unchanged with countries alternating one or two positions. Among BRICS economies, China has been the front-runner by a significant margin featuring among the top 10 destinations globally, followed by Brazil (#20) and India at #28.
All said, India has the potential to jump to a higher spot if the destination will focus on key factors like upgrading MICE infrastructure, further simplifying the MICE processes, incentivizing MICE, upskilling MICE talents, etc.
Current status
With MICE being one of the worst hit tourism segments, the Government should give all the possible push to restart this potential sector. Both the states and centre along with private players should work in tandem to kickstart MICE and once again regain MICE traveller’s confidence.
Speaking about the policy initiatives, Rakesh Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said that tourism to be treated as export of goods in terms of taxation has been a long demand. He further added, “The concerned Ministries should look at this for the best possible solution. We have a champion sector scheme where we take care of the taxation to an extent. For restarting of MICE activities, there should be a coordinated approach between Centre and States. The Centre should also lay down protocols for international travel for MICE. State should provide necessary assistance for holding of events. State should also have plans to manage emergencies and panic. It is an important and promising segment in India. Many cities have infrastructure to deliver good experiences. We have five cities which can come in top 100 cities for MICE but currently only 1 is on the list. We have some tier II cities like Khajuraho, Mahabalipuram, etc which can be excellent MICE destinations.”
Presently, the Indian MICE has less than 1 per cent of the global market share. The destination is working towards creating world-class MICE environment. Experts feel that India should have a proper unified bidding system to keep a track of global congresses and events.
Senthil Gopinath, Chief Executive Officer, International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), stated, “India needs to invest on national data centre to track all meetings happening in India. Collection of data becomes a vital pathway in the 5-10-year plan. India needs a proper bidding system with a unified system which will help to rise on the index. We need a unified approach. India is so diversified that there needs to be benchmarking and the amount of events India can host is enormous. We need to identify industries. India should evaluate percentage of bids won and lost every year. Until borders open, we need to focus on national and regional events.”
In the leisure world, India is extremely popular across the globe due to the historical, cultural and traditional offerings. Despite this popularity, the MICE awareness is yet on the lower side. The destination needs to collectively work with the private players to promote the MICE aspects.
Ori Lahav, President, International Association of Professional Conference Organisers (IAPCO), says, “Lot of organisers across the globe don’t know much about India’s MICE offerings; we need to focus on promoting and marketing the destination. Also, bidding process for associations is quite complex, when we bid, we look at lots of parameter. Profit from the meetings is the main aspect. If there is an incentive from the government, it is good but that is not the only reason for selecting. Post covid, the parameters will increase. The confidence will come back from the local MICE markets. Ease of travelling, visas to be friendly, investment in technology in the MICE centres which allows hybrid solutions, contactless solutions will be the key.”
MICE Infrastructure and challenges
In 2020, the major MICE venue’s in the country witnessed only cancellations and postponements and the future was looking bleak without a vaccine in place. In an earlier interaction with T3, Priyanka Reddyar, Head – Venue Sales, HITEX, said, “The global pandemic of COVID-19 has permanently changed the MICE and events industry. The world is fighting the novel coronavirus, and we cannot dismiss the fact that all the industries across the globe have been adversely impacted. At HITEX, we have seen over 60 per cent impact in terms of events being postponed or cancelled. So far, big impact has been seen between March and October of 2020. If the status quo continues, it will be a huge challenge and we will have to get creative and come up with ideas to be future-ready.”
One of the major positives during the lockdown phase has been MICE venues are being more innovative by investing into technology and being ready with hybrid offerings. MICE and convention facilities are now gearing up and adapting digital and technology driven solutions.
Nagesh Chawla, Cluster General Manager, Renaissance Mumbai & Lakeside Chalet – Mumbai, Marriott Executive Apartments, had said, “Whilst we face innumerable challenges, there has been immense development on the innovative and digital front during this entire lockdown, with figuring out alternates and devising new strategies and ideas to comply with the new normal, keeping in mind the government regulations and guidelines. There have been new developments in the Events and F&B domain in the hospitality industry with many things becoming contact-less and digital. Virtual tours are being preferred for Site Inspections rather than personal visits for the show around. I strongly believe that the industry can get closer to recovery, with the measures and strategies followed right now. While gaining confidence of our guests is going to be a slow process, we are accepting that the recovery will be slow, however, are leaving no stone unturned in the meanwhile to ensure maximum recovery and confidence build up.”
India had a few challenges in terms of infrastructure and connectivity which was the key factor for MICE events. Over the last few years, a lot of world-class facilities have been created across the nation which can cater to mega MICE events. The only challenge now remains in terms of unified bidding process and attractive incentivization by the government.
Speaking about the challenges, Prof Rajeev Sood, Founder Dean, ABVIMS & Dr. RML Hospital, said, “Initially few years ago, we weren’t that mature and our Professional Conference Organisers (PCOs) were not capable of bidding internationally. Now there has been some challenges which we have faced, in some destinations there are a lot of incentives which are provided. Government has enough funds in some destinations to support and sponsor delegates also. Awareness needs to be increased; we need to put special efforts. We now have state-of-the-art venues in India. earlier we couldn’t host more conferences where there were more than 3000 people. Associations are being run by leaders and they are proactive, but we need more confidence in promoting our destination while bidding.”
To tackle the challenges the government is working towards strengthening infrastructure under PPP mode. Also, the government is aggressively looking to develop potential Tier II & III cities for MICE tourism. The Ministry of Tourism is also setting up a system for destination management
Speaking about the developments, Verma said, “The public investment in infrastructure is a priority area and every ministry is increasing their budget. We are more focused on destination planning and destination management. We are putting upon a system for destination management. City level bureaus for convention should be introduced to improve the offering and experiences for travellers. We are investing into some iconic destination with best international practices. We are currently developing 19 destinations and in next 2-3 years. We will constantly look at marketing these destinations.”
Key target & deciding factors
To further grow MICE tourism, experts feel that India should have a focused approach for the sector. The destination should focus more towards the top three to five sectors and try and tap the local MICE markets along with inbound.
Globally, the medical sector has been the frontrunners of the MICE events. India being one of the thriving IT hubs, this segment is also key for the nations MICE growth story apart from medical.
Gopinath said, “From a perception of India, medical is a top industry and India is in the forefront. The numbers could be tripled in India if India focuses on this segment. Technology, general retail, are the other sectors which India should focus on. To restart the industry, we need to communicate and collaborate and talk as one voice and the advocacy should be at a very high level.”
Global companies and brands decide upon destination for MICE on various parameters apart from the incentives. With the pandemic, there are a few more parameters in terms of safety and hygiene will be on the radar.
Talking about parameters for selecting a MICE destination, Mick Egberts, Founder, InspireME, stated, “Travellers need to feel the country and the destination and it is very important to have more experiences around the conference. People are looking forward for unique experiences all the more post the pandemic. Designing a programme will be even most important in the future. Technology will be a key aspect in the future conference along with sustainability. India is making progress in terms of sustainability. India has a lot of things to offer and people need to go home with a piece of India in their hearts. Tax and incentives are important, but they are small factors. Economic recovery will be aided by MICE and countries should realise this. For India, financial and insurance are major segments along with Luxury segment.”
The most important factor for MICE tourism remains experience. India offers unmatched culture and heritage and has an array of unique experiences. Despite these, the attractions and experiences, MICE itineraries do not include these unique aspects. Also, there should be a single window for organizing events are unique venues.
Sood added, “We are seeing that India is a great cultural and historical heritage destination. Satellite destinations needs to be developed in India. If in India we need to organise some event in a historical site, it is difficult, which is easily done internationally. This will enhance the experiences. Several cities are now developing convention facilities, but for other integration we need to take some extra efforts to include some attractions. We have satellite destinations which are very promising in India, once we start exploring the available resources, we can bag more events.”
From a venue perspective, convention centres and MICE venues are now looking at smaller events and are adapting various innovative concepts to tap MICE events. In the long-term view, venue players are confident about the MICE business.
Rashmi Kamboj, Cluster Director, of Convention Sales at Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty and Hyatt Regency Thrissur, said, “Profitability would be impacted in the short term, keeping in mind the predictions for future travel and physical meetings. Hotels and venues are reinventing their business models and develop innovative and new revenue streams. Focus is likely to shift to restaurants, small corporate meetings, weddings and social events. Alternate revenue streams such as relevant meeting technology, outdoor catering, customized away-from-office workspaces, laundry packages etc., are coming into the forefront.”
