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IJRE | Vol. 03 No. 09 | September 2016 36
MICE Tourism in India: Challenges and Opportunities!
Author(s): Jitendra Singh1, Ravi Parkash 2
1Assistant Professor, Nims School of Hotel & Tourism Management, Nims University Jaipur (Rajasthan)
2Assistant Professor, Victoria Institute of Hotel Management Solan (H.P)
appear to have little or no connection to business
Abstract
MICE in India are going places, literally! From the scenic Conventions: An event where the primary activity of the
backwaters of Kumarakom to the pink city of Jaipur, the business attendees is to attend educational sessions, participates in
has clearly gone beyond solely metros to tier II cities like Agra, meetings/discussions, socialize, or attend other organized
Chandigarh, Amritsar, Goa and Kochi. There is a desire to move events.
away from the conventional, so as to bring a new definition to
„business with pleasure‟i.e Bleisure tourism. Meeting spend is Exhibitions: Exhibitions can generally be portrayed as
rising globally. It is being led by the Asia Pacific region with a „presentations of products and services to an invited
2.1% expected rise predicted for 2016.Incentive travel experienced
a strong year in 2015 and 36% of travel industry professionals audience with the object of inducing a sale or informing the
expect to spend more than $4,000 per person in 2016. visitors‟.
Exhibitions within the trade show industry are predicted to grow
by 2.4% in 2016. Attendee Meetings Incentives Conferences & Conventions
Exhibitions Tourism Hospitality
Keywords: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Expositions, According to the ICCA (International Congress &
Industry Convention Association), the definitions of the meeting,
conference and exhibitions are as follows (WTO, 2006):
History
Meeting is a general term that indicates the coming together
Meetings in ancient times were discussions of communal of a number of people in one place, to confer or carry out a
interests. Cities acted as focal points. Rome, for example, particular activity. Frequency can be on an ad hoc basis or
had its Roman Forum and Comitium. In Latin, conferentia according to a set pattern, as for instance annual general
means “to bring together” while auditorius means “a place meetings, committee meetings, etc.
to listen.”
Reasons for MICE
Development over the Past Century People who attend MICE activities are mainly there for:
The industrialization of the late 19th to early 20th century
increased the need for business meetings. There were also a. Stimulation: Getting new ideas Meetings,
meetings on political, religious and recreational issues. Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE)
Associations also began to include annual meetings. In b. Networking: Meeting with others: colleagues,
Europe, the history of conventions began with the Congress customers, buyers and people who share the same
of Vienna in 1814-15. There was very little convention interests.
activity in the 20th century until the 1950s due to the c. Continuing their education: Learning new skills
influence of the two World Wars. The conventions industry and furthering their education.
began in the 1950s because of: d. Product update: Finding out about new products
(i) An expansion in government organizations. that are available.
(ii) A growth in multinational corporations and e. Spread new information: Transmitting new
agencies. concepts and ideas.
(iii) Developments in association interests, f. Strategic planning: Collective brainstorming for
professional and pressure groups. the future.
The heart of MICE is communication!
Introduction
The term MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Key Players of the Sector
Exhibitions) represents a sector of tourism which includes These are the decision makers who hold these activities.
business events and activities. Travellers attending MICE Clients are mainly:
activities have a purpose beyond leisure tourism, and are in
fact business travellers. These business travellers are 1.1 Clients
connected to different sectors of the tourism and hospitality a. Associations: Non-profit professional, trade or
industry through their MICE activities. Think of business industry organizations formed by their members
travellers who travel to a city to attend an exhibition. They b. Corporations: Companies, entrepreneurial or
will need food, drinks, shopping, entertainment, transport, business organizations
accommodation and more. c. Event planners: Professional agents hired by
organizations to plan their business activities
What are Meetings, Incentive Travels, Conventions and 1.2 Suppliers
Exhibitions (MICE)?
These are the organizations and enterprises which
Meeting: A meeting is the coming together of a group of provide services to MICE activities. Major suppliers
people to discuss or exchange information. In some regions, include:
meetings may be seen as a small-scale conference by others. a. National Trade Organization: The organization
that promotes trade for the country. E.g. Hong
Incentive Travels: Incentive travels include leisure trips Kong Trade Development Council
emphasizing pleasure and excitement and which may
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IJRE | Vol. 03 No. 09 | September 2016 37
b. Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB): The (ii) PCMA – Professional Conference
organization or government department that Management Association.
promotes MICE activities to attendees and clients (iii) MPI – Meeting Professional Institute.
while regulating and supporting MICE clients and c. Commercial sponsors: Companies who provide
other suppliers. Some countries, such as the United funding or resources for the MICE activities in
States, not only have CVBs at a national level but return for promoting their brand and products.
on provincial and municipal (city) levels. Some
states only have tourism boards to handle CVB The major factors impacting the MICE tourism are:
responsibilities. Hong Kong is one example. a. Supportive Government Policy and Regulations
c. Airlines: Provides transportation services for b. Outstanding infrastructure for Meeting,
attendees of MICE activities, such as Cathay Accommodation and Entertainment
Pacific c. Excellent connectivity with major worldwide
d. Cruise lines: Provides transportation services, destinations
accommodation and venues for attendees of MICE d. Reasonable tourism credentials
activities e. Well acclaimed Service sector support
e. Venues: Provides spaces where MICE activities f. Matured industry in the hinterland
can be held, such as: g. Safe and secure destination
(i) Convention and Exhibition Centres, built
specifically for MICE activities Major MICE destinations across the world and their
(ii) Hotel Ballrooms, Conference Rooms or Meeting performance
Rooms As per latest release by International Congress and
(iii) Alternatives venues include universities, castles Convention Association (hereinafter referred to as ICCA)
and heritage homes more than 11,000 large scale meetings have been organized
f. Restaurants: Provides food and beverage for in all countries across the world. The following countries
MICE activities and at times can even be used as lead the fray as far as organizing meetings are concerned:-
venues
g. Accommodations: Hotels, motels and hostels Table: 1
where housing is provided for attendees during S.No. MICE Destination Country
MICE activities 1. P aris France
h. Professional Convention Organizers (PCO): 2. Vien na Austria
Also known as Professional Congress or 3. Ma drid Spain
Conference Organizers in some countries, help 4. B erlin Germany
international conventions clients take care of the 5. B arcelona Spain
professional planning, organizing and management 6. L ondon England
of conventions, including bank account set-up, 7. Sin gapore Singapore
delivery and site selection 8. Am sterdam Netherlands
i. Destination Management Companies: Takes care 9. I stanbul Turkey
of MICE clients when they reach their destination 10. P rague Czech
cities Republic
j. Entertainment: Includes performers, venues and (Source:
performance, which can be part of the programme http://indiainbusiness.nic.in/newdesign/upload/India-
of MICE activities Inbound-Report-MICE.pdf)
k. Technical specialists: Supports MICE activities
by providing professional technology or equipment MICE Trends 2016
set-up and operating services, e.g. audio/visual or Table: 2
lighting Meeting Meeting spend is rising globally, lead by
l. Intermediaries: Agencies working as middlemen the Asia Pacific region with a 2.1%
to book various services, e.g. tour or travel expected rise & followed by a 1.9% rise in
agencies North America. This is due to supplier rate
hikes with hotels & airlines enjoying
1.3 Other Players recode performances.
Incentive Incentive travel experienced a strong year
a. Government organizations: Public organizations, travel in 2015 with the same predicted for 2016
agencies and departments at different levels that 36% of travel industry professionals expect
provide funding and ideas for various MICE to spend more than $4,000 per person in
activities: 2016 compared to 14% in 2015.
(i) Federal (national) Conferencing Conferencing & trade shown grew at an
(ii) State (provincial) annual rate of 3.6% in the USA between
(iii) Local (municipal) 2010 & 2015
b. Convention industry associations: Organizations Exhibitions Exhibitions within the trade show industry
whose members are from the industry, including are predicted to grow by 2.4% in 2016.
clients and suppliers, for example: Building, construction & home –repaired
(i) ICCA – International Convention and shows are leading the sector which was up
Congress Association. by 11.8% year –over-year in 02 of 2015.
(http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news)
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IJRE | Vol. 03 No. 09 | September 2016 38
India's position in the MICE Map of the World
Through the growth and development of the city‟s
Globally the MICE market, which includes around 400,000 infrastructure to host international conferences and meetings
conferences and exhibitions, is estimated at a size of - has been fast paced; there are issues yet to be tackled to
US$280 $300 billion. Many nations‟ tourism economy make Hyderabad the first choice for every MICE business.
thrives on this sector. Asian MICE market has been one of In recent times the city has not been politically stable. The
the biggest growth stories with a rate of 38 per cent rise city is unpredictable, with political organisations making
since 2006 which accounts for US$60 billion. Despite these Hyderabad their ground to put forth their views to their vote
phenomenal figures, India is one nation which is yet to tap banks. This is tampering with the MICE business with
the potential of this huge MICE business. Some of the key travellers beginning to doubt their security and safety in the
reasons behind this failure are lack of world class exhibition city.
and conference infrastructure in the nation. Another major
challenge is the higher taxation policies by the governments, Though the political scene of the city is a major influencer
due to which we lose the MICE business to the neighbouring for any MICE business; the leisure options available in the
competitors. city are another influential factor for decision makers. The
According to the ITB World Travel Trends Report, MICE 400 year old history and the story of the development of the
contribution to the total travel market is 54 per cent. city are depicted in its monuments and various tourism sites
According to the figures from 2015, North America has the developed in and around the city. These monuments are a
largest market share, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific wonder in themselves but need to be upgraded with
which is further bound to grow. infrastructure and facilities suitable to the international
But, when it comes to India, it only shares as low as one per traveller. Another very important area that needs to be
cent of the global market share. In 2012, India as a MICE tackled is the cost of running hotels in the city. The tax
destination ranked 25th, but according to the 2015 statistics structures such as the split taxes or dual taxes have increased
India the cost of running a hotel in the city.
MICE Tourism in India: Challenges and Opportunities
India has been downgraded to the 35th position. One of the Major Challenges: The challenges facing Hyderabad as a
most important features of the MICE business is that it is not MICE destination are the same as the challenges facing
sensitive to the seasonality factor. In that case, India needs India as a whole. Occurrences such as the recent global
to develop itself as one of the most lucrative destinations recession and the drop in the National Gross Domestic
with its world heritage sites, culture and ethos. Product (GDP) have forced companies to cut down on extra
The MICE industry in India, though well equipped to take costs, incurred through large size meetings and conferences.
on its' immediate neighbours and in certain cases the Global The result of this is companies hosting annual events in their
warhorses, has to trudge a long path before it comes up as a respective campuses and not venturing out to look for
“Top of the mind” destination amongst global MICE meeting and conference venues. The impact of the recession
organizers. As per ICCA, India occupies 35th position in the and the drop in the National GDP has also resulted in the
world, with a total of 116 Global conferences organized in increase of travel fares reducing inbound business travel
the year 2014 -15. In this category the global leaders include from domestic and international destinations. This, in turn,
USA (831 meetings), Germany (659 meetings), Spain (578 has resulted in companies rethinking hosting or participating
meetings), United Kingdom (543 meetings) and France (533 in large conferences in the city.
meetings). In terms of immediate neighbours, only China
(332) leads at the world stage, other competitors like Taipei Chennai: Recently, there has been an industry trend
(145), Singapore (142), Malaysia (133) and Thailand (118) towards using the term MICE. Other industry educators are
are within the striking range. recommending the use of “Events Industry” to be an
umbrella term for the vast scope of the meeting and events
In terms of no. of participants attending a conference profession. Event management companies are not only
however, India occupies a better the position. It is ranked 25 restricted to corporate events; they also handle weddings and
with 60 participants per meeting. The figures around the sporting events which also largely contribute towards MICE.
world are as mentioned below:- The drive by the IT, Automotive, Pharmaceuticals and large
scale infrastructure sector is fast changing Chennai into a
a. USA – 365 participants per meeting viable business or even MICE destination. With so much of
b. Spain – 289 participants per meeting opportunity available in this segment, the city is fast
c. Germany – 264 participants per meeting developing with all facilities which makes it a preferred
d. France – 233 participants per meeting destination for MICE tourism. As a matter of fact, Chennai
e. UK – 199 participants per meeting housed many major international conferences in the last few
f. China & Brazil – 127 participants per meeting years.
The New Delhi occupies 69 positions in the world with 35 Major Challenges
meetings organized. The figures of Paris, Vienna and
Madrid are in excess of 200 for the same period. The MICE market in India is still at a nascent stage. We
have not yet got into the scale that will allow a location to be
MICE Destinations of India described as an „established‟ MICE market. Chennai is a
gateway to switchover to travel to the Southern part of
Hyderabad: In the business sector of India, Hyderabad as a Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is however, not exclusively
MICE destination is the buzzword; as the city has become a looked at as a tourism or leisure destination. Chennai being
favoured place for all international conventions, meetings a business district, it is still not considered a place to
and trade shows. unwind. However other major challenges are the lack of
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IJRE | Vol. 03 No. 09 | September 2016 39
confidence in public transportation due to non The convention centre can comfortably cater to 1500
standardisation of rates and fares, maintenance of basic delegates whereas equipped with the state-of-the-art
hygiene, poor maintenance of its heritage and the sense of facilities, such as audio-visual recording, satellite uplink and
insecurity for a tourist while on tour. multi lingual interpretation. The sprawling banquet hall here
has a capacity to hold 350 guests with exclusive pre-
Pune: Pune has a world class facility coming up at the function area for 200 guests and an attached garden for 300
International Convention Centre which comprises the ICC guests. The hotel has successfully hosted a number of
Trade Tower, the ICC Tech Park and the S L Kirloskar national and international gatherings till date.
Convention Centre. State of the art facilities will be
embedded in the convention centre, which will sport open Jaipur: At the pace with which the hospitality sector is
air exhibition grounds, auditoriums, a five star hotel and a growing in the state, Jaipur has all the ingredients to pitch on
family entertainment centre. With the opening of brands like meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE)
Westin, Hyatt and Marriott, the available options have been tourism. In just a span of 12 months, the room inventory in
enhanced. Moreover, a wealth of natural attractions in the only couple of new hotels in the city, has shot up from
vicinity makes local sightseeing, day excursions and around 2,000 to over 4,000. Now looking beyond the forts
conference tours very feasible. and palaces, tourism stakeholders feel the only thing that
would help hotels sustain is the much promised convention
Major Challenges: The potential for MICE in Pune is centre for holding various events.
enormous. However, at the same time, the industry faces
numerous challenges, of which the most critical is lack of "Over the last one and half years, the number of rooms has
proper infrastructure. almost doubled. On the other hand tourism has grown by
• Lack of proper infrastructure only 15%. This is creating a big gap in the demand-supply
• Access and connectivity chain. In the longer run, only MICE can help these hotels
• Amenities survive," said Khalid Khan, immediate past president of
Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators.
Chandigarh: MICE are an attractive proposition for the So far, the hospitality sector has been surviving on smaller
hospitality and tourism sector in Chandigarh. MICE tourism conventions, weddings and events. "Even for the Great
has always been considered lucrative by hoteliers Indian Travel Bazaar, the Birla auditorium falls short of
considering that the revenue generated by this segment is space. The number of participants has to be restricted and a
much more than leisure travellers. Chandigarh, as a city, has lot of companies have to be refused permission. The
grown tremendously over the past few years with potential decision of Jaipur City Transport Services Ltd, JCTSL to
for even more growth. More and more MICE events are launch Volvo coaches in the city would go a long way in
happening in the city every year. It is well connected to improving transportation in the city, a must for MICE,"
various other cities of India and these are the things that Khalid said.
work in its favour. The full fledged functioning of the According to the International Congress and Convention
Chandigarh International Airport is going to further boost Association (ICCA), India has a great potential to capture
the MICE growth in the city. the Asian MICE segment, as 69% MICE events are held in
city hotels and 21% are held in resorts and the country has a
Major Challenges: India‟s contribution to the MICE pie large number of both resorts and hotels. Currently, not only
has been growing considerably in the past few years. the inbound MICE segment is growing at a rate of 15% to
However, old bottlenecks, in the form of inadequate 20% annually, but also the Indian outbound MICE segment
infrastructure, support facilities and passive promotions has increased with alacrity due to the increase in exports.
continue to impede the growth in this sunshine sector. There "There has been a huge input in terms of rooms. In 2010, the
is a need to add a wow factor to the services which we, as a numbers of rooms in the structured five-star category were
hotel industry can provide. Companies don‟t mind spending 721 and today the number has shot up to 1,528 but the
money for an exceptional experience, as it must act as a demand drivers are not there. In the past, Jaipur attracted
motivator for their employees to perform better. But at the only foreign leisure travelers but pitching Jaipur as a MICE
same time most MICE groups have clearly defined budgets destination can be a huge opportunity," said Atul Lall,
that have to be kept in mind.In the long run, the Indian general manager, Fairmont Hotels. But MICE needs
market is very dynamic and will remain so, thus infrastructure to be sustainable, he said.
contradicting past trends and generating business from Besides outside of Delhi, Mumbai, other cities like Jaipur,
unexpected market segments. Goa and Kerala can be great MICE destinations. "Just 2.5
hours away from Dubai with a huge captive audience and
Delhi NCR (Delhi and Noida) Pragati Maidan, Vigyan three hours from Gurgaon, Jaipur can tap on the MICE that
Bhawan, India Habitat Centre, ITC Maurya Sheraton, The has opened out as a segment with a strong multiplier effect
LaLit, Taj Hotel, Shangrila, Ashok, Radisson Dwarka and for the economy," Lall added.
Oberoi in Delhi, Crowne Plaza & Radisson Blue in Greater The need of the hour for any company, whether it is in IT,
NOIDA, JW Marriott in Delhi Aerocity, Westin in Gurgaon FMCG, chemicals or textile industries, is the expansion of
are a few of the 26 names which have capacities to host its customer base and retention of the present market.
large conferences. Among other ways, this can be achieved by participating in
huge congregations, seminars, exhibitions and other
Agra The city of the Taj, Agra famous for its splendorous marketing events, experts said.
Mughal architecture, Taj Mahal, gives an excellent chance
to turn the business tour to an ideal heritage tour. The Jaypee With the West looking towards the East for growth, industry
Palace Hotel and Convention Centre has some nice players here said the regional competition in the MICE
arrangement to hold conventions, conferences and meetings. industry is certainly heating up. "The city is also a
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