Cultural Convention Centre

Megha Durgan
Bharti Vidyapeeth College of Architecture , Pune
Research Report, Final Year, Bachelor of Architecture(2014-2015)
INDIA CONSIDERED AS PREFERRED VENUE FOR CONVENTIONS - THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF CONVENTION CENTERS IN INDIA
What makes India different from any other destination is the myriad of experiences that it
offers. This is one land where the ancient and the modern co-exist. India has literally
everything that a visitor wants to experience While India has ten state capital cities with a
population of more than five million and 80 cities with a population of more than one million
with an average age of 24 years and forms a good consumer base for any industry including
the tourism industry; to create facilities like exhibition and convention centers, one cannot
neglect the fact that India comes with its own unique set of problems. Every state of the
country is a country in its own and as such, they are quite different from each other. India is
culturally more diverse than Europe and geographically more diverse than United States of
America. Hence, every micro market needs to be treated differently as doing business in
India in not always kosher. But one cannot still deny the fact that the next big market for the
Meeting and Conferences industry, apart from China, is India.
Neither is the development of convention centers purely a business generating venture, nor is
it a pure play community center. They are a mix of both and as such, it bodes well for
community , cultural and civic development while generating profits in the long run. After
carefully evaluating the multiple opportunities that lie in India, one should actively try and
look at the right product mix for creating such facilities.

Considering that the mass tourism sector in India witnessed significant growth during 2006
to 2011 with the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of foreign tourist arrivals (FTA)
and foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism at 7.2 % and 14.7% respectively and
India still garners less than 1% of the international market, it surely has great potential for
creating the infrastructure needed for developing convention centers in every region of the
country. With the advent of mass tourism, has come the reckoning and a belated recognition
that to become a renewable industry tourism requires careful planning and management. The
import of these events is not just restricted to the boost in the economy resulting from the
particular events held but it also galvanizes the convention and allied industries in the
country and increases the prominence of the country as a convention destination.
Conventions have an impact on different allied industries such as tourism, hotels,
handicrafts, transport, etc. On the basis of interviews with experts and survey conducted
among convention visitors, perceptual rankings for several Indian cities were collected.
(Source:The Significance of Convention Centers in India By Premal Zaveri
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4058063.html)
These average rankings were used to prepare the Multi-dimensional positioning map for the
different Indian cities.
The Cities, which were considered for this study, were New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,
Calcutta (Kolkata), Chennai, Kochi, Agra, Jaipur and Goa. According to this map, Mumbai
ranks higher than any other city in India as far as Business Networking is concerned,
whereas, New Delhi and Goa both rank highly on Recreations and cultural
conventions.
Delhi and Mumbai are the most suited for staging convention. Delhi is the city of choice as it
has tourism potential, business opportunity and the general state of infrastructure is far better
than in the rest of the country. Both Mumbai and Delhi have good connectivity.
CONVENTION INDUSTRY IN DELHI
Delhi is one of the most historic capitals in the world and two of its monuments, the Qutb
Minar and Humayun's Tomb, have been declared World Heritage Sites. It offers a multitude
of interesting places and attractions to the visitor.

The Convention Industry in India is estimated to be around Rs.6000-6500 Crores, with Delhi
Being the leading MICE(Meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) Destination with
30-35% volume share of the Indian market, The industry had been growing at the rate of 10-
15% per annum over the last two years.
The MICE industry in Delhi is Characterised by Stand alone Convention and Exhibition
centres like Vigyan Bhawan and Pragati maidan, Five star Hotels, industry associations
facilities likes PHDCCI(PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other facilities like
Essex Farms and Indian Habitat Centre. None of them at the present scenario are able to
cater all the needs of the MICE events
(Source:MICE Industry In Asia Pacific DDA Report
https://dda.org.in/ddanew/pdf/hot_links/tender/Vol_3_-_PIM.pdf)
Delhi has a 35% share of the international conventions being hosted in India Every year. It
hosts approximately 110 Exhibitons, 525 major coventions and nearly 11000 meeting every
year. Five star hotels are considered as preffered destinations for business while 70%
exhibitions held in Delhi are restricted to Pragati Maidan.
The Exhibitions and Cultural Market dominates the Delhi MICE Market. It is a Rs. 140
Crore while the meeting and business market share for around 65 crores.
The Supply in delhi for MICE is yet low as compared to its emerging growing statistics. Key
MICE centres For Conventions and Exhibitions Include Pragati Maidan and ITPO Catering
75% of the Events Every year.
Tourism Statistics in Delhi: Visit Purpose & Logistics
Purpose of visit and travel logistics were obtained from the sample of visitors in the entry/
exit point survey.
(Sources :Annual report Laid by the Ministry of Tourism)
Most foreign tourists visited Delhi for business purposes. A substantial proportion also
engaged in leisure and social activity. Almost 78% of the same day visitors visited Delhi for
business while a large proportion of domestic tourists visited Delhi for leisure. Education/
training and religion also motivated the same day visitors.
Present Steps Adopted by Government to Promote Tourism in Delhi : The Govt. plans to
encourage Dilli Haat type projects and more infrastructural spaces to promote art, craft, food
and culture in different parts of Delhi and one project is coming up in Dwarka. Tourism
Department organizes cultural festivals like Jahan-e-Khusrau, Garden Tourism, Qutub,
Mango, Ananya festivals which have been appreciated not only locally but also by the
foreign tourists/ dignitaries.
International fairs like Travel and Tourism fair, SATTE, IATO Convention, TAAI Convention
etc. Are immensely recognised worldwide.
HINDERING THE GROWTH OF THE MICE INDUSTRY : Absence of large state of
the Art and Cultural convention centres : A few stand alone convention and exhibition
centres , five star hotels and stand alone banquet halls characterize the supply of centres
hosting MICE events in India. These centres do not offer integrated facilities and the hotels
cater to the needs of the business MICE industry that the stand alone centres are not able to
fullfill. Hence ,The Convention centres are not substantially fullfilling the growing and
emerging needs for conventions due to Restricted utilitarian spaces , costs and non-
flexibility.
Convention Center Design: Evolving Spaces for Evolving Needs
The character of and amenities in convention centers have positively transformed in the past
thirty years. Once primarily exhibit halls that paid little attention to their surroundings,
todays convention centers are multi-purpose, often iconic civic venues that provide
platforms for many of the worlds most important business, educational, Cultural and
governmental meetings. These centers are important economic engines and play a vital role
in positioning their communities in a very competitive marketplace. Convention center
design has evolved significantly , impacted by changing economic conditions and the
evolving expectations of meeting planners, building operators and convention attendees.
Despite the challenges, the industry remains a vital economic keystone as city leaders
recognize the importance of a quality convention center in drawing large-scale conventions
and ultimately, national attention, to their city.
Convention centers are no longer just about utility. They exist to impress. Many modern
facilities feature glass facades, suspended banners and mood lights. Other facilities play up
architectural elements and showcase exposed 3-D trusses, cable-stayed roofs and long roof
overhangs. Theyre also decorated with unique color schemes, sculptures, artwork, designer
materials, and furniture in waiting areas and bathrooms. One of the best trends to emerge in
architectural design in recent years is constructing buildings that integrate into the
communities around them. Todays centers tend to have a more open design that includes
large windows and features that reflect the city and nearby establishments. Convention
centers built in the 80s tended to be utilitarian boxes designed to accommodate a large
number of people. Aesthetics, premium food, entertainment and amenities were more of an
afterthought than a necessity. But with attendees being more discriminating in the events
they choose and with meeting planners eager to please, things have changed.
Technology has become a critical component of convention centers. Ten years ago Wi-Fi
was considered a luxury, but planners today expect and demand free Internet access for their
meeting staff and delegates
Flexibility and Sustainability
Todays convention centers need a lot of space, but they need it to be flexible and
customizable for a meeting of 50 or 5,000. Contiguous spaceor total square footage of a
building that can be configured for one single eventis critical for many event planners,
especially those with very large groups. Recycling programs, energy-efficient features and
water-conservation systems are no longer distinguisherstheyre expectations. Green design
initiatives have moved directly to the realm of cost savings as facility managers see that
upfront investments can produce substantial savings down the line and pay off in relatively
little time. Convention centers, which host events ranging from model train exhibits to lavish
weddings to mining equipment trade shows, aim to bring together efficiency, flexibility and
a unique experience. Because of their flexibility, convention centers might host different
events all within the same week or even at the same time, so it must be able to closely mimic
any purpose-centric building.
Moreover , The most important point that drives business for a convention center is the
availability of hotels and other supporting facilities like recreational areas, retail outlets and
establishments in the market. Other key points in defining business drivers for convention
centers is the basic infrastructure that a destination has to offer in terms of affordability,
safety, ease of transport, etc. A major portion of events related to entertainment, leisure and
sporting events are also determined by the availability in the market of other exhibition ,
entertainment facilities and accomodation.
(Source: POPULOUSNovember 09, 2012 Convention Center Design: Evolving Spaces for Evolving Needs
http://populous.com/posts/designing-unconventional-spaces/)
Convention Industry And Cultural Tourism In India
To make any destination area more appealing and diversified in the competitive tourism
market the industry often creates support facilities and artificial attractions. The objective is
to create a more enjoyable and comfortable visit and thereby earn more revenue by inducing
visitors to stay longer. These days convention is coming into the spotlight all around the
world. Convention industry is regarded as an essence of a tourism that makes huge profit.
All countries of the world are making an effort to develop a convention industry. On the
aspect of a nation, convention gives economic benefits and also promotes personal
exchanges and cultural exchanges. So it contributes to keep the peace of the world and also
gives a chance to get advanced technologies and the latest information.
The Monumental Heritage : Art and Architecture
The most Numerous visitors visit a place with what we broadly call cultural-historical
intrests. In view of India's rich and Diverse monumental and cultural heritage, this class of
tourism has clearly a great potential for development and in my views can be exploited to a
far greater extent than at the present time. These tourists may further be broken down into
those with general intrests wishing to see a small selection of sites or some who have
thematic objectives like intrests for performings arts or cultral exhibits.
The obvious Functions of cultural tourism is to foster a sense of national unity and an
appreciation of regional diversity , an awareness and if possible , understanding of india's
past and of her more recent as well as ancient history.
Moreover , when we talk about Cultural tourism , it is further divided into domestic and
foriegn tourism.
India is a populous Country with a great past and great traditions. It can boast of some
thousand years of civilized life and as such it must be ranked as one of the great civilizations
of the world. For these reasons for any foreigner a visit to India must have a profound
cultural impact and in this broadest sense , all tourism in India involves at an aspect of
culture contact. On the other Hand, the formulations of our definition of cultural tourism was
drawn up largely with the non Indian tourist in Mind. It would However be a serious error
to suppose that cultural tourism in India has no domestic impact. Yet clearly , the aims of
domestic cultural tourism in India must be very largely educational. Indeed Monumental and
Pilgrimage may be regarded as the oldest branch of domestic cultural tourism and one that is
still of importance.
Hence , it is anticipated that with the continuing growth of Indian Economy , the numbers of
domestic as well as foreign cultural tourism will go on increasing. These growth is likely to
raise all sorts of problems. Already the monumental heritage is being defaced and there is a
lack of spaces for display of cultural heritage in India. Moreover , the Department of
Tourism will also have to keep this growth in continual review as it is going to mean the
provision of very large number of places and venues for potential expansion in both
conventions and acomodations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ARTICLES : http://populous.com/posts/designing-unconventional-spaces/
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4058063.html
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0000/000088/008820eb.pdf
http://www.burnsmcd.com/Resources/Article/Emerging-Trends-for-Comprehensive-
Convention-Center-Design
REPORTS : Graph Statics Taken from the Annual report Laid by the Ministry of Tourism
http://tourism.gov.in/CMSPagePicture/file/marketresearch/studyreports/02%20I
CPB.pdf
Tourism Perspective Plan Of Delhi
http://tourism.gov.in/CMSPagePicture/file/marketresearch/statewise20yrsplan/Delhi.pdf
MICE Industry In Asia Pacific DDA Report
https://dda.org.in/ddanew/pdf/hot_links/tender/Vol_3_-_PIM.pdf
Tourism survey in the State of Delhi
Annual Final Report
http://tourism.gov.in/writereaddata/CMSPagePicture/file/marketresearch/New/Delhi.pdf