India is the second fastest growing nation in gross numbers of outbound travelers after China. Corporate MICE buyers from the country are traveling far and wide in search of MICE friendly destinations and unique experiences.
According to Bill Keffer – General Manager at JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, “India has witnessed exponential growth over the last few years and continues to be one of the top performing source markets. Our success and frequent interaction with Indian buyers has resulted in several large groups, with sizes up to 1800 delegates.”
The country is witnessing a surge in outbound corporate travel as more and more corporates recognize the importance of MICE activities as a key driver to engage their internal as well as external customers. Kristian Nicholls, General Manager Bidding at Business Events Sydney indicated that over the last three years Sydney and New South Wales (NSW) have hosted 95 business events from Asia, especially recent events from India.
Resonating a similar line of thought, Mary Souli Kafkios – Managing Director at Cel Tours in Greece who has had the opportunity to successfully work with some of the biggest corporate names from multiple industry verticals believes that the Indian MICE sector to Greece is on the rise.
Taking advantage of the tremendous potential from this ever growing market, the MILT congress, recognized as the strongest B2B platform for MICE in India, is set to welcome over 60 Hotels, DMCs, Tourism Boards, EMCs, Convention Bureaus, Sport Tourism Partners, Team Building Agencies, Adventure Tourism Partners, Cruise Liners and other travel suppliers from across the world to meet with key decision makers from the Luxury & Corporate Travel segment as well as with premium Destination Wedding Planners and leading Film Production Houses.
The biggest spenders from this outbound MICE and luxury travel segment from India will congregate at the 4th Annual MICE India & Luxury Travel Congress at the St. Regis Mumbai on July 28th & 29th, 2016.
Expressing his views on the reasons for investing in the 4th MILT Congress, Mr. Francis Dharmai, Head of Tourism & Regional General Manager- GCC, Al Tayyar Travel Group said, “Participating in MILT will provide us a stepping stone to gain access to corporates, film production houses and destination wedding planners. Events like these give us an opportunity to introduce our services to one of the largest outbound travel markets.”
The MILT Congress provides a platform with exclusive business opportunities for global suppliers to meet with signing authorities for corporate MICE & luxury travel during pre-scheduled one-to-one appointments. Speaking of the benefits of this format of face to face interactions, Alexandra Mallosi, Regional Sales Director at Grecotel, who has been one of the longest standing partners of the MILT Congress for two consecutive years, believes that the pre-scheduled appointments are more beneficial rather than having an open style meeting day. She added, “Taking into consideration that we are able to select who we would like to meet definitely makes it more productive.” Sheetal Munshaw- Director at Atout France maintained that a one-on-one interaction creates more opportunities for better synergies and establishing professional relationships.
“One to one meetings give you time with your partner for discussions to reach meaningful conclusions rather than open style meetings that leave you with collecting business cards.” Adds Toshak Chokhani, Director – Business Development at the Abatera Group.
“It is very important to understand the Indian market changing preferences and benchmark from the success stories. The need to source the right destination for the MICE activities is very prominent, it is about finding it all under one roof. This is where the MILT Congress comes in.” According to Ackash Jain, Director at QnA International, the organizers of the MILT Congress.
“Our objective has always been to bring the best destinations and suppliers from all over the world to meet C-level executives from the region, who can make decisions on all aspects related to procurement in the MICE, business and luxury travel activities. We have been successful in surpassing participants’ expectations over the past three years and we are all geared up for the 4th edition with some of the biggest names in the travel and hospitality business already on board”, he further adds.
MICE & Luxury Travel from India Growing Expeditiously
