As India’s MICE movement gains momentum, destinations are increasingly catering to the market, offering incentives to attract large weddings and business events.
Hazel Jain
Indian businesses lead global optimism, with 72% of businesses expecting to increase spend on travel and entertainment. This finding were revealed in Trendex: B2B edition, a survey commissioned by American Express with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). This bodes well for countries that are looking to attract more and bigger groups from India for not just their business travel but also for weddings.
Indonesia is a prime example. Wisnu Sindhutrisno, Director of Tourism Marketing for the Asia Pacific Region Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy (MoTCE), Republic of Indonesia, states that Indian tourists are ranked sixth in the top 10 international arrivals in Indonesia and second for the most tourists visiting Bali. The arrivals are mainly dominated by weddings, honeymoons and MICE groups. The Indonesian MoTCE is, therefore, paying good attention to these two essential segments.
Sindhutrisno says, “Indian tourists adore various destinations in Indonesia, their favourite being Bali. Many of them come to Bali for wedding purposes, and as we know, Indian weddings are gala events with lots of music and dance. It certainly has the potential for increasing tourist visits from India to Indonesia.”
The MoTCE responded to the growing MICE trend, focusing on promotions and collaborations to enhance the segment, while emphasizing on Bali’s appeal for weddings and corporate events with competitive facilities. Incentives include support for large events, as exemplified by the recent TATA AIA India event featuring enhanced participant experiences.
The MoTCE strategically spotlights wedding and honeymoon destinations, particularly Bali, during international tourism exchanges and sales missions across Indian cities. This targeted approach aims to showcase Indonesia’s allure and diverse offerings in the wedding and honeymoon segment. Additionally, the ministry collaborates with Indian-focused travel agents, tour operators, DMCs, and accommodations, facilitating the promotion of their products and direct transactions with potential Indian buyers at international travel shows and sales missions.
Sindhutrisno adds, “We also encourage airlines to open direct flights from India to Indonesian destinations. In 2023, there will be IndiGo, which opened the Mumbai-Jakarta route last August, and hopefully, in December 2023, Vistara Airlines will follow with the New Delhi-Denpasar flight. These routes are expected to support wedding and MICE groups from India.”
France eyes weddings & incentives
The incentive and wedding segments are two key growth areas for France and have seen a robust rebound since the pandemic. Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India, reveals that France has played host to five high profile weddings organised in Paris and the South of France in the last two years leading to heightened visibility and a strong positioning of France as a premier destination for outbound Indian weddings and festivities.
She says, “We have a focused strategy and action plan to further develop this segment alongside key stakeholders in France. As far as the MICE segment is concerned, it is mainly incentives. In the last two years, France has received several incentive groups with sizes ranging from 200 to 2500 guests. In addition to Paris and the South of France, we have also had a renewed interest in French regions and one such exclusive group chose Deauville in Normandy as their destination. These positive developments affirm that France is well equipped to cater to the demands of the incentive market and we are confident that the destination will receive many more weddings and incentives in the near future.”
As a national tourism board, Atout France serves as an intermediary, connecting key promoters in India with its network in France, including hotels, event companies, and local tourism boards. The goal is to facilitate exchanges assist with itinerary suggestions and ensure seamless coordination, including visa support for wedding and MICE groups. With years of focus on the MICE segment, Atout France actively promotes France as an incentive destination through events and participation in industry events like EPEX and ITB India.
Atout France India office also works closely with the Chamber of Commerce & Trade Commission to stay in touch with the French corporate community most susceptible to conducting their incentives in France, as well as conduct bespoke events/communication to EO/YPO groups and such organisations that have the propensity to choose France as their incentive destination.
High-quality visitors for New Zealand
Tourism New Zealand also has an incentive programme that it looks at on a case-to-case basis. Angela Blair, GM International, Tourism New Zealand, says, “We are seeing exponential growth in MICE travel and have signed up a few incentive groups from India. One of things we look for are high-quality visitors – and several things define them. It’s the range of activities they take part in, how they travel across seasons and across regions, it’s the way they engage with our culture and our community, as well as the care they show to our environment. Our Indian visitors are very much set in that. They participate in a high number of activities when they visit.”
wedding focus for malaysia
For Malaysia, weddings is also a huge focus right now. Noriah Jaafar, Director, Tourism Malaysia, says, “We want to promote Malaysia is a top wedding destination. Towards this, we will be participating in the Wedding Travel Show in Udaipur. We are ready to accept weddings as we now understand all the requirements that they need. We have already received some 3-4 weddings at Lexis luxury resort.” MICE, particularly incentive groups, is also key. “In the past, incentive groups would spend around three to four nights which has gone up to four to five nights in Malaysia. For the FITs, it has gone up to seven to eight nights now,” Jaafar adds. Malaysia has announced Visit Malaysia Year in 2026 and will soon begin promoting it in India.
Australia sees a lot more inquiries
Post-Covid India has been performing well and looking strong for Australia. Kristian Nicholls – Executive General Manager Bidding, Business Events Sydney, says that it was one of the first markets to bounce back with medium to large incentive group movements and inquiries. “It is a primary and key market for Sydney. Pre-Covid, around 20% of our incentive group business came out of India, generating around 10-12% of our total direct expenditure each year. We’ve also got an incredible events line-up. Australia is considered an aspirational destination, and there is a lot of pent-up demand for travel to Sydney, so we are projecting the numbers from India will continue to grow over the next two years.”
Incentive groups have traditionally been Sydney’s strongest MICE market from across Asia. “The insurance and financial sectors have dominated the market for some time, as has health and beauty. However, we are seeing some significant growth in manufacturing and automotive clients out of India in particular. From markets outside Asia, Sydney is popular for association conferences and meetings,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Joanna Garrie, Director (Corporate Meetings & Incentives), Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB), is also excited about the Indian market. “There are overarching numbers out of India, which is one of our largest markets at the moment – both from a leisure and MICE perspective. There is a big market opportunity for us here in India and we have a representative agency in India in Beautiful Planet. We noticed that the MICE side of the business from India was starting to increase and the bureau wanted to make sure that it got maximum business by being active in this market. We have a financial incentive programme for corporate clients. The scheme caters to at least 150 people or more who are travelling for at least two nights in Melbourne,” she explains.
Korea focuses on ‘Bleisure’
Myongkil Yun, Director, Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) India, says, “In 2016, we received 1.9 lakh arrivals from India but in 2019, it fell to 1.4 lakh. The good news is that the post-Covid recovery is close to 70% and we hope to reach 90% of the pre-Covid level by December 2023. Our target number this year is to cross 1.3 lakh arrivals from India. MICE traffic from India makes up for almost 70% of the total numbers. To encourage this, we will develop new packages targeted at bleisure travellers.” Seoul has the Han River, so there are a lot of Han River dinner cruise. It is also one of the unique venues for MICE.
South Africa back in favour
India remains a core market for South African Tourism globally and holds much promise. Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism, says, “With our marketing efforts, we have managed to stay top-of-mind and excite Indian businesses, while also incentivizing them with some great deals. Our multi-pronged, experiential approach helps us directly dial-up decision makers, while also enabling our trade partners to sell the destination effectively. This year, we are aiming to achieve an increase of 35% in MICE travellers from India over the previous year’s arrivals. We witness huge demand for MICE tourism to South Africa from leading corporates in India and have had multiple groups travel to the country in the past on various occasions. More often, we receive long lead inquires from group sizes varying from 2,000 to 4,000 pax, especially from the financial, IT, beauty, insurance, coal, and mining, pharmaceutical, entertainment, and sporting sectors in India.”
In 2022, MICE and business travel motivated 41% of overall tourist visits to South Africa from India, out of which MICE alone encouraged 18% of travellers. Keeping up the momentum, this year South Africa Tourism hosted the second edition of the MICE Think Tank program for corporates in India to provide them with an in-depth understanding of the overall MICE market. Such programs, Nkani feels, help the NTO educate the decision-makers on various business-oriented facilities that the destination has to offer.
Size matters
Ramon Julian S. De Veyra Jr, Market Specialist IV (Europe, Africa, Middle East, and India Division), International Promotions Department, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines, was part of a big delegation that was visiting India to meet the travel trade here and promote MICE among other things. He says, “The Mumbai response to the roadshow was overwhelming. The Filipino delegation was very happy with the response. Our MICE department also helps our stakeholders with regards to souvenirs, meet and greet, entertainment, and even reception. This depends on the size and profile of the MICE guests. This is under our enhanced MICE Plus programme.”
While Philippines is still building its market share in India, there is Sentosa that has been a favourite among India leisure travellers for decades. Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) is now looking to tap newer segments from India – namely MICE and the wedding segment. “While we have just started marketing weddings in Sentosa, we have seen Indian weddings take place in the past, but that happened very organically. We have now appointed an Indian wedding planner in India, so hopefully we will start to see more weddings take place at Sentosa. We also recently participated in a wedding roadshow along with Singapore Tourism Board and have engaged with many wedding planners and organised family trips for some of them. We can curate and organise weddings using our hotels. We also have caterers that specialise in Indian food,” Chin Sak Hin, Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Financial Officer, Sentosa Development Corporation says. To sweeten the deal for Indian couples, SDC will offer incentives which could range from complimentary pyrotechnic displays or drone light shows.
Fiji also eyes this high-value segment
“Wedding and MICE groups contribute significantly to Fiji’s tourism revenue. These groups often spend more per capita than leisure travellers, as they book multiple rooms, hold events, and engage in various activities during their stay. Positive experiences from wedding guests and conference attendees can lead to repeat visits and word-of-mouth recommendations,” says Sunil Menon, Country Manager – India, Tourism Fiji.
Fiji’s tourism industry experiences seasonal fluctuations, with a peak during the dry season. Wedding and MICE events help spread tourism demand throughout the year. Overall, while leisure tourism is still a core part of Fiji’s tourism industry, wedding and MICE groups play a vital role in diversifying revenue streams, attracting high-value visitors. Tourism Fiji together with the Tourism Vuvale often offer incentives to attract weddings and corporate events/ MICE groups.
Menon adds, “We do have an incentive programme and currently our team is working on putting together a new incentive for FY 2024-25 in tune with the global market requirements. Tourism Fiji employs various strategies and initiatives to attract weddings and corporate events/ MICE segments to the destination. These strategies are designed to promote Fiji as an ideal location for such gatherings.”
“Indian weddings certainly have the potential for increasing tourist visits from India to Indonesia”
Wisnu Sindhutrisno, Director of Tourism Marketing for the Asia Pacific Region Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy (MoTCE), Republic of Indonesia
“We have a focused strategy and action plan to further develop this segment alongside key stakeholders in France”
Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India
“We are seeing exponential growth in MICE travel and have signed up a few incentive groups from India”
Angela Blair, GM International, Tourism New Zealand
“It is a primary and key market for Sydney. We are starting to see a lot more enquires now that airline capacity is returning”
Noriah Jaafar, Director, Tourism Malaysia
“We are seeing some significant growth in manufacturing and automotive clients”
Kristian Nicholls, Executive General Manager Bidding, Business Events Sydney
“There are overarching numbers out of India, which is one of our largest markets at the moment”
Joanna Garrie, Director, (Corporate Meetings & Incentives) Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB)
“MICE traffic from India makes up for almost 70% of the total numbers”
Myongkil Yun, Director, Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) India
“We are aiming to achieve an increase of 35% in MICE travellers from India”
Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism
“The Filipino delegation was very happy with the Mumbai response”
Ramon Julian S. De Veyra Jr, Market Specialist IV (Europe, Africa, Middle East, and India Division), International Promotions Department, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines
“Hopefully we will start to see more Indian weddings take place at Sentosa”
Chin Sak Hin, Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Financial Officer, Sentosa Development Corporation
“Tourism Fiji employs various strategies and initiatives to attract weddings and MICE segments to the destination”
Sunil Menon, Country Manager – India, Tourism Fiji
