A look at M!CE& luxury outbound

The panel discussion on the sidelines of UNITE 2020 analysed the Indian luxury and M!CE outbound market and how suppliers can identify them and cater to their needs perfectly. Only the right partner with the right knowledge of the market will help secure business.

MahendraVakharia, MD, Pathfinders Holidays

If you want to deal with the Indian market, you need to have a lot of patience and be aware of the nuances of our culture and our way of life. One segment which is very important and is fast catching up is luxury. The outbound traveller from India is also spending a huge amount of money – especially on shopping. Sometimes, shopping takes over the total budget of the trip.

Nagsri Prasad Sashidhar, Chief Happiness Officer, NAGSRI

Luxury is very innate to the Indian community. It resonates with our culture, our heritage and even when we take a holiday, because we know how to appreciate and enjoy luxury. We as agents need to decide whether we talk about experiences or we talk about hotels or we talk about a combination of both. But, do not short-change the Indian clientele; instead, marry the right product to the right client.

Loveleen Multani Arun, Founder & Director, Panache World

There are a lot of myths surrounding this market. But, it is a very rewarding market once you get through this love-hate courtship that happens in the beginning. Get over this initial hurdle. India has a lot of people, and the good part is that a lot of them still book through travel agents. Approach the market slowly and steadily. Do your research and find a good partner in India.

SanJeet, MD, DDP Publications

India is a unique market. Just because we speak English does not mean that we do business the English way. Many countries live within India; we have so many different cultures and it changes every 200kms. Who is going to guide the suppliers? When it comes to M!CE, this becomes important especially for dealer conferences. Also, Indians are late starters and they don’t book holidays like other markets do.

Tanuja Pandey, Founder Director, MICE Online (MOL)

India is the second largest M!CE source market from Asia. The biggest challenge for the hotels and the suppliers who are catering  to the Indian market is how to identify the right partner. We all talk about big groups from India, but that’s not going to happen for the next one and half years. Also, it is going to be a mix of online and offline.

Inputs by Hazel Jain