Post-COVID spike: Among the immediate casualties, apart from a widely practiced trend of work from home (WFH) that ceased workplace operations for long, COVID-19 also put a brake on Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, India’s tourism and hospitality industry was thriving on MICE-related activities.
In terms of the new trends, that MICE embraced just before the pandemic, was that of corporate houses, retail chains, and even sporting and umbrella bodies beeline offbeat locations to either organise participate in MICE events.
The domestic tourism and air travel in the country, have bounced back to achieve the pre-pandemic numbers.
Is the damage caused by COVID-19 , so severe that MICE activities will never regain their glory, or else would this cult corporate innovation of work-meets-fun bounce back? Republic Business takes a deep dive.
MICE infrastructure
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Right before COVID-19, corporate houses, retailers, and marketing gurus were competing on an altogether different concept. This certainly was much more exciting than devising new hiring polices, keeping a check on attrition rate, and even meeting time-bound targets. The pre-requisites in order to organise a successful MICE event, went a level beyond power point presentations, and excel sheets.
Tourism industry veteran Dr Subhash Goyal, Chairman, tourism and aviation committee at the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) says a drive to hold the most result-oriented MICE initiatives saw India’s business houses wear a thinking hat. Goyal, who is also the Chairman STIC travels says
MICE industry is a billion dollar industry worldwide, while India has much to offer too.
“MICE sector in India is poised for robust growth as the government and private individuals are gearing to extend the number of venues in India,” said Goyal, adding that government is seriously focusing on development of MICE infrastructure.
The opening of world-class convention centres like Geo World Centre, Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan and India International Convention and Expo Centre, Dwarka (IICC) are becoming some of the best and most modern convention centres in the world, Goyal further added.
More B2B influx
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India is set to see 50 million people traveling overseas or within the country by 2030, out of which the lion’s share is going to be MICE which is basically experiential travel like weddings, events, meetings, conferences and sports events, said Goyal.
“There are over ten new MICE venues being developed in different parts of India and this and other factors are expected to triple the revenues in MICE tourism,” said Goyal, adding that its natural beauty, history and heritage, India offers a huge scope for MICE activity.
Popular destinations
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Goyal highlighted that leisure tourism can also witness development as a result of MICE tourism, as the delegates who visit a particular place return to visit the destination with their families within five years of their first visit for work.
“Destinations such as Dubai and Singapore emerged first as MICE tourism destinations which benefitted the leisure tourism. There were repeat travel visitors, which improved the revenue from both kinds of tourism in those countries. The growth of MICE tourism in India would also, therefore benefit the leisure tourism of the country,” Goyal added.
MICE triggers leisure travel
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A study conducted by the National Convention Bureau of South Africa found that up to 40 per cent of all the convention delegates who attended conventions in South Africa, returned with their families as tourist, thus boosting the tourism industry leading to revenue generation and job creation.
“In India, it has been seen that due to the creation of one direct job in the MICE tourism, there are eight more indirect jobs created,” said Goyal. Thus, MICE tourism would create many jobs and provide employment for thousands of people, the veteran tour trade leader added.
“This is because a convention or exhibition tourist spends $1,511 per day in a four-day stay, compared to the 600 dollars spent by a leisure tourist for the same amount of time. The global MICE revenue generated is $280-300 billion,” Goyal added.
Positive outlook
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Statistics on the MICE tourism in India shows that India accounts for only 0.5-1per cent of the MICE market with a current global ranking of 28.
By 2025, MICE Tourism in India has to grow by 2 per cent, if India has to improve its Global ranking. With ten new MICE venues coming up, the industry growth is supposed to triple in the next few years.
“Currently, the total consolidated space of the MICE tourism industry is approx 5,00,000 square meters. But with the convention centres in Dwarka, Pragati Maidan, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Pune, etc, the space is expected to increase to 15,00,000 square meters,” said Goyal.
After the infrastructure of this space is complete, the growth of MICE tourism in India would be 16 per cent every year, double of what it is now, added Goyal.
If India can develop world-class venues in a short space of time, it can attract many more global conventions and exhibitions. There is a huge scope of MICE tourism in India, as it has a lot to offer compared to its neighbours in Asia.
What are the challenges?
Perception and logistics are two of the major factors which have to be improved to sell India as one of the best MICE destinations.
The perception of the government regarding MICE needs to change, as it is the Tourism Ministry that has to aggressively market India as the best MICE destination, and promote it as such, just as it promoted the ‘Incredible India’ image and did wonders for the leisure tourism industry. However, the Government has closed all the remaining overseas tourist offices this year so the 2 per cent growth from 2025 and tripling the numbers in the coming years comes under a dark cloud.
The growth of the industry is now looking up as the MICE industry is no longer perceived as a niche tourism, but as one which has to be promoted as mainstream tourism. The marketing/promotion of MICE destinations in India has to be as aggressive or even more aggressive than competitors such as China, Dubai or Singapore, to have a significant impact and industry growth.
There is another kind of perception that has to change – the perception of India by global organizers. India has to become ‘fashionable’ in their eyes, which is possible with sustained marketing. The government and private players have to work together to make this possible and attract the global business travelers. Also, if the opportunities for global business increase, then the number of meetings held in India would automatically increase.
Logistics
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India is seen as a complex destination for events or congress. It is complicated to get the license for music events or sporting events, and last minute unpleasant surprises. The problem faced by most of the venues/hotels/MICE organizers, especially as conventions and exhibitions are time-bound, is that the tourists would have to travel on buses to view popular tourist spots.
For example, a traveller who flies to Delhi has to be told that after arrival, he has to travel by bus to go to Corbett or Coorg, spending several hours.
Thus, the connections between convention centres and popular tourism spots have to be upgraded so that there is least time wasted in traveling. Things are looking up for the exhibition sector in India, as the revenue model has finally been understood. But the conference revenue model is still unclear, and this challenge has to be overcome so that the MICE tourism in India can reach its potential.
The government can learn from states like Abu Dhabi, which offer a lot of incentives, such as providing tax credit for the amount they spent in India. Domestic industry has to be showcased.
There is a huge domestic industry that organises large conferences in many different cities in India.
The organisers of the domestic events and the government have to showcase these large successful events to the international event organizers who will then be able to view MICE tourism in India as viable and efficient.
