Need for city-level convention bureaus’

Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and DG, Ministry of Tourism, GoI, says setting up city-level convention bureaus can unlock India’s true MICE potential. The bureaus will boost India’s global competitiveness, streamline services and attract major events, tapping into its vast but underutilised meetings & exhibitions potential.

Surbhi Sharma

India’s MICE sector has long been held back not by lack of venues, but by a fragmented ecosystem, says Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Addressing a session on ‘The Government’s Vision for Bringing Global Events and Exhibitions to India’ at the South India Thought Leaders Conference (SITLC) in Chennai recently, he added “The country needs to shift from a venue-centric approach to an ecosystem-centric one by establishing city-level convention bureaus — a move that could dramatically elevate the country’s standing in the global events space.”

India has only a 5 per cent share in the $850 billion global MICE market. Billa argued that without localised, collaborative institutions, India cannot hope to compete with MICE powerhouses like Singapore, Dubai or Frankfurt. “These global cities have dedicated bureaus that act as aggregators, offering bundled services, single-window clearances and proactive destination marketing — exactly what India currently lacks.”

“The G20 Summit proved that we have the infrastructure and capability to host world-class events. But what we need is institutional architecture that simplifies processes and brings stakeholders — hotels, caterers, AV technicians, florists and venues under one umbrella. You will not be able to achieve this unless you have MICE city bureaus.”

The Ministry of Tourism is encouraging state governments to take the lead in setting up such bureaus. These entities, ideally made up of representatives from government, tourism bodies, hotels and service providers, can be effective engines to attract global conferences, conventions and exhibitions. “The Centre is also open to matching financial contributions from states to help bid for large events,” he said, adding that, “Our goal is to elevate at least 10 Indian cities, especially in South India into global MICE destinations. These cities could leverage their sectoral strengths.”