M!CE budgets unchanged?

Data from SOTC MICE Survey reveals that 25 per cent of corporates are looking at foreign destinations for MICE and 39 per cent indicated their MICE budgets would remain the same. SD Nandakumar, President & Country Head (B2B & Foreign Exchange), SOTC Travel, shares more insights.

Business environment is now rapidly different from the first two decades. For the MICE segment, there has been an increasing shift with preference for virtual and digital experiences and in the short-term, hybrid events have become a preferred event format. In addition to corporates in India, there has been a demand for virtual events from corporates based in the ASEAN countries. We have successfully conducted a large number of virtual events for corporates based in the ASEAN countries. We are seeing a lot of interest among corporates across industries for their senior team members/CXO-level meetings, and with the success of this, incentive travel and events are likely to begin.

Shift to India for MICE

India has emerged as one of the most preferred MICE destinations. Warm hospitality, rich historical and cultural heritage, best business hotels and developing infrastructure are the key reasons for the growth of domestic MICE. There has been pent-up demand for domestic MICE, and destinations like Ooty, Munnar and Kashmir are being preferred.

We do see a shift in preference for bigger brands for trust and reassurance with the future of MICE travel. There has been optimism among corporates to visit destinations and venues with a clear focus on hygiene and safety. Our innovative initiatives launched during the lockdown: MICE Plus, Hybrid Virtual MICE and our Assured Safe Travel Program have been receiving strong appreciation across our corporates – seeking the expertise of our MICE Teams in their business plans for the future. The fundamental opportunity that exists and the demand that we fulfil is the interaction between the corporate and their partners (for employees/dealers/suppliers/customers). There is a need for personalised face-to-face business interactions, product launch events, supplier/customer meets to generate feedback. To cater to this growing demand, MICE events will surely be organised.

Data shows positive trends

Many countries are seeing a gradual re-opening for the MICE sector and as per customer insights and data obtained via sustained corporate engagement and the SOTC MICE Survey, 25 per cent of corporates are looking at foreign destinations for MICE travel and 39 per cent of the corporates indicated that their MICE budgets would remain the same.

SOTC has successfully delivered an international MICE group of 750 delegates to Dubai in January 2021 and has been receiving interest from corporates for MICE tours to international destinations such as Dubai. In addition to international destinations, SOTC MICE has witnessed an encouraging response for domestic destinations for a group of 40-250 delegates to domestic destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Ooty, Bengaluru, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Kashmir, Hyderabad, etc. With an opportunity to rethink and reimagine offerings to customers, SOTC MICE has elevated the next level of MICE experience for the next generation with its latest innovation – MICE Plus. It presents the extra edge and skill to handle the needs of domestic and global clients of the MICE segment. MICE Plus has been curated with inputs from our esteemed corporate customers, global hotel chains, airlines, tourism bodies and also feedback received from our passengers. MICE Plus caters specifically to the current travel requirements.