Role of Ministry of Tourism In Promoting MICE

MICE market in India is growing. More people are traveling to India for business since the opening of Indian economy in 1991. Even the India Tourism offices overseas put a greater emphasis now on to promote MICE segment over leisure as this ensures volume and increased revenue. It is estimated that 25% of the overall tourist arrivals in India could be from MICE segment. But other national tourist offices located in India are doing MICE businesses from India mainly highlighting direct air connectivity proximity and infrastructure to host mega events along with incentive to have the clients. Singapore , Thailand , Malaysia have been able to attract huge chunk of the Indian MICE market. Germany is also trying to take Indian clients & planning strategies & have developed synergies with Indian travels agents Lufthansa Airlines is also playing a leading role to boost MICE segment. Dubai is doing a very good business and over 500,000 visitors (approx) from India had visited Dubai for MICE purpose. Even Macau, Switzerland, China , Spain have kept an eye on India . MICE is thus a very niche product & need to market each components in a focused manner Hotel, Transport Entertainment, Shopping, Joint Marketing Promotions and what special one can be given on offer as value additions. There is no hard and fast rule to follow how to attract MICE clients. The essential is to form a proper team with Airlines, Hotels, Transport People, Cultural organizations, boutiques and reach to the target markets MNCs who have MICE business clients and showcase the products. Direct marketing pays more result than just advertisements. Mice promoters generally target banks, automobiles & aviation industry, consumer durables construction organization, Rail bodies, pharmaceuticals, departmental store chains, and I.T companies- They have year round MICE business to offer. Reach with competitive packages for business travelers & reach major cities is the success norm. In these respects, Thailand , Dubai , Singapore , Malaysia are very aggressive. Thailand convention and

Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) Singapore Exhibition and convention bureau, Department of Tourism and commerce marketing, Dubai , Malaysian Tourist MICE hold regular road shows in major metro cities in India . They earmark, budget for this purpose followed by .. in print & electronic media. These countries network cover all of India which include new cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Amritsar , Bhubneshwar, Pune which were earlier thought cannot give MICE business. They are continually eyeing on new cities that have potential. They have created low cost niche as the triumph card. On the contrary in India , we could not do that much of aggressive marketing like others NTOs are doing. Though India offers exceptional growth opportunities but there are inherent lacunae that do not allow its rapid growth. One is the lack of convention facilities & followed by pricing. Now even safety and security of tourists is being talked as in this business, top business people of high value participate and security is the main concern.The hotel must give the best available price and value ad-ons. Also other lucrative offers in wellness and spa ad additions. Room rate should be lucrative for the clients. Similarly airlines must offer competitive price specially national carrier. The tour operator must explore new markets & not depend only in UK or U.S.A. The promoters must carry out a comparative analysis of competitors price before announcing their packages. Be sensitive to market should be demand the main consideration. The time is ripe now. Due to greater visibility of India in the global markets, thanks to Incredible India campaign, not only have India Tourism offices overseas open offices in for partnership in boosting two way traffic with local Government offices. The need of the hour is to allow visa on arrivals for MICE- VIP groups as perused by many countries who promoted MICE as this has huge status symbol. MICE segment can include Buddhists circuits as Ministry of Tourism had invested a lot to develop these circuits and exclusively is also there also the price part is acceptable now in Buddhists circuits that . Well for MICE.

Singapore, Thailand , China , Burma , Sri Lanka , Vietnam can be good market for Buddhists circuits. Now Kashmir is open and hold good potential to attract business traffic from the gulf & the Middle East and even South East Asia . Focused promotional brochures audio-visual presentations are essential for marketing by our overseas offices who will partner with Indian tour operators, overseas operators and airlines and provide the platform for business transactions by doing P.R with Incentive houses overseas. One has to keep in mind, that the clients for MICE are seasoned tourist and they are very demanding. So be prepared and offer only specialized tours which they cant get in any other destinations, and keep it for a limited days. Also these clients love to indulge in a variety of experiences including fine dinning, cultural shows, soft adventure, sight seeing, shopping and fun. As most of the expenses are company paid they seek the best. The products should be out of the ordinary. With higher margin in this type of market, our tour operators are now actively persuing this segment clients offering Island holidays, golfing holidays, Farm House / Tea Garden tours etc. as unique experience. Thanks to Ministrys efforts to promote MICE segment in a big way where there is regular exposure of the convention facilities, bidding etc. which are being done through Indian Convention Promotion Bureau. I.C.P.B. They are also present at various MICE events overseas as a team with specialized tour operators and event management team. Hotels have special team for MICE marketing. Also airlines are now conscious of this segment who can provide business even during economic downturn as business people need to travel all the year round. Better air connectivity is now in India s favours tour operators are in discussion with overseas carriers to form alliances for MICE business. Given the huge growth potential, India Tourism is moving at the right direction by focusing MICE holidays in India . Conventionally yours now the key message for boosting MICE Tourism and the downturn during economic recession.

Guidelines for Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme Active Members of ICPB 1. The MICE segment has emerged as a substantially high component of growth in inbound tourism. Most countries constantly endevour to attract MICE clientele through bids for various International Conventions / Conferences / Seminars and the like. 2. The international organizations / societies keep on organizing their regular conferences and conventions in different destinations in the world. The Indian societies / members are only entitled to bid for bringing the international conferences of these larger international associations to India. For this purpose, the Indian societies have to prepare the bid documents as per the manuals of international societies, make audio / visual and power point presentations, travel to different countries for the purpose of making the bid, host receptions, produce and distribute attractive brochures, give souvenirs, leaflets to the members of international associations etc. Assistance to such activities can be provided by Active Members of the ICPB. 3. In order to give a boost to the MICE tourism, the Govt. of India has decided to extend the benefits under Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme, administered by the Ministry of Tourism, to Active Members of India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) towards bidding for International Conferences / Conventions, thereby bringing more MICE business to the country. Under the scheme, associations / societies would be given financial support on winning the bid or for obtaining second and third positions in the bidding process, subject to the following terms and conditions: 1. Ministry of Tourism has made India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) as the nodal agency for steering the entire scheme of assistance under MDA to its Active Members who in turn would motivate Indian Travel Planners / Societies / Associations towards bidding for International Conventions / Conferences to the Country.

2. The Planners / Societies may approach ICPB Active Members for helping them in preparing a professional bid document and for making presentation etc. for winning the bid or for any other assistance / professional support. Ministry of Tourism (MOT) assistance under the scheme will be based on this. 3. The financial support would be provided to Active Members of ICPB who in turn would release the same to Indian Association / Societies after bidding for International Conventions / Conferences, provided they win the bid or stand at second or third positions among the bidders. The assistance under the scheme would be as follows: Category I (500 pax and above): i) Rs. 4.5 lakhs for winner of the bid for a Conference/Convention in India of 500 pax and above. ii) Rs. 1.5 lakhs for the bidder who comes at second or third position among the bidders for Conference/Convention of 500 pax and above. Category II (200 500 pax): i) Rs. 2.50 lakhs for winner of the bid for holding the Conference/Convention in India of 200 to 500 pax. ii) Rs. 1 lakh for bidder who comes at second or third position for Conference/Convention in India of 200 and 500 pax. During off season i.e. between April 15 to September 15, an additional reward/assistance of Re. 1 lakh would be given to the winner of the bid for holding the Conference/Convention, after the Active Members of ICPB have given all supporting documents to prove that the Conference/Convention had actually taken place between April 15 to September 15. The Active Members of ICPB would release this amount to the concerned Indian Society/Association. ICPB will also certify and furnish supporting documents to prove that the bidder has won / stood at 2nd or 3rd positions among all the competitors/bidders.

3. The assistance to an Association/Society for bidding for an international Conference/Convention would be limited to once in a financial year. The credibility of the Association and the relevance of the Convention would be taken into consideration. 4. The ICPB Active Members shall not be under investigation or charged / prosecuted / debarred / black listed by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India or any other Government Agency. In this regard he should furnish a declaration to this effect. 5. The applicant would furnish a declaration in the prescribed format as under: I hereby declare that I have not claimed / received any financial assistance for this bidding activity from any other Government / Government Agency. 6. In case of several applications, priority would be given to those ICPB Active Members who have not availed financial assistance in the past under the MDA Scheme