Swachhta & Suraksha To Drive Tourism
The 10th conventions India conclave (CIC) organised by India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) highlighted the fact that events in Telangana especially in Hyderabad underline the success story of MICE industry. “I think Hyderabad stands out to be an exemplary role model with state-of-the-art convention centres, hotel inventories, and infrastructure, and if all states are able to replicate this then MICE could contribute to the Indian economy in a large way,” said Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Chairman, ICPB, who attended the 10th Conventions India Conclave.“There is no other sector that is as well placed as tourism and the two important aspects that augur growth in India are ‘Swachhta’ and‘Suraksha’. If we are not able to handle security and cleanliness, it may affect the growth of tourism. But thankfully over the past three years we have taken several initiatives in infrastructure build-up like ports, cruises and terminals providing regional connectivity which could add to the robust Indian economy,” he added.
The 10th Conventions India Conclave (CIC) was a ground breaking conference of more than 350 prominent MICE industry leaders, PCO’s, Suppliers, Conference Planners, Buyers and Government officials from the Ministry of Tourism, who had gathered at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad. The Conclave was sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Telangana Tourism as state partner.
India is relatively a new entrant in the global convention business. So MICE as a segment plays an important role in the upcoming Incredible India marketing campaign. Most of the convention business in India is generated from the domestic market and as per the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Report 2015 – India ranks 31 worldwide as a convention destination. In Asia Pacific & Middle East, India ranks at number 7.
The ICPB has been set up under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism to promote India as a venue for international conferences and exhibitions and has also submitted a wishlist to promote India in road shows, industry events and also create a video, making India as the preferred MICE destination on the world map.
Even the tourism policy lays a lot of emphasis on MICE tourism. Upon maximising synergies between leisure and MICE to enable pre/ post leisure for MICE visitors with an aim to extend their stay, motivate them to visit other locations. MICE is an important product to boost the tourism revenue along with heritage and culture, spirituality, yoga, ayurveda, medical tourism, agritourism, beaches, river, cruises, adventure, wildlife, cuisine, shopping.
One of the achievements of the association, so far, has been to organise the annual conclave to facilitate dialogue between the industry leaders by a way of setting goals to achieve a growth rate year on year. “It is better than the last year but ICPB will have a greater role to play as the mother board to promote activities at the state level which can be a huge potential for the industry,” added Billa.
