Rajasthani platter for MICE
Archana Gupta, Hotel Manager, The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa, enumerates the scope of MICE in Rajasthan, while sharing the hotel's offerings for the segment
Kindly tell us about the banqueting spaces offered?
Surrounded by the picturesque Aravalis, The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa is a short drive from the Holy Lake as well as the famous Brahma Temple. Pushkar is 11 kms away from Ajmer and 158 kms from the Jaipur International Airport, 53 kms from the Kishangarh Airport and is also connected by rail to Ajmer Junction.
The Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa has four versatile function rooms and a pre-function area, a total of more than 900 sq mts of indoor space featuring a comprehensive range of amenities and services. Two sprawling venues offer almost 1,700 sq mts for themed weddings and corporate events.
How is Rajasthan as a state gaining hold as a suitable MICE destination?
Due to the connectivity from key metro cities which are the feeder markets for MICE, Rajasthan gets quite a lot of traction from the domestic MICE segment. With opening of the convention centre in the state capital, international MICE has gained popularity as well and is one of the preferred states in India. Do you have any special incentives/packages for groups?
Some of the current incentive/ package includes Triple Choice Offer, Honeymoon on Us to name a few. In the Triple Choice offer the organiser can choose 3 rewards from the bouquet of 5 incredible offerings for each of their event bookings wherein as the name suggest on booking a wedding with any Marriott hotel the guest can choose a honeymoon destination based on the eligible spend.
What kind of specialised services are offered to the MICE groups?
Single point of contact (SPOC) or an Event Concierge is one of the biggest USP that we offer to the MICE groups hosted at the resort. With a SPOC the organiser can concentrate on other aspects of the MICE than just the hotel.
Highlight the impact of GST on the MICE sector. Your views.
GST has impacted severely on the MICE activities and it’s quite early to comment whether it will be beneficial in the long run or not. However, with increased accommodation cost one of the other anomalies that emerged post GST roll out was that MICE activities and other events held in hotels outside of home state are not eligible for Input Tax Credit (ITC). Most companies are considering holding events in the same state where they are registered under GST. MICE tourism is too important a segment for the nation to overlook.
The good connectivity with metro cities, gets Rajasthan a lot of traction from the domestic MICE segment