Convening in Lavasa

The International Convention Centre, located in the Lavasa valley appears to be an ideal venue for corporates based out of not just Mumbai but Pune as well.

Location

Located at 3,000 ft above sea level, Dasve is first of the four cities planned at Lavasa. Overlooking the Dasve Lake is the four-year old Lavasa International Convention Centre (LICC), which is conveniently located close to the cities of Mumbai and Pune.

Meeting Facilities

Managed by Accor, LICC is the first purpose-built convention facility in Lavasa. It is spread over 1.5 acres of land with 34,500 sq ft of flexible floor space, which can host everything from meetings, conventions, congresses, launches, seminars and other events with anything from 20-1,500 people. One of the largest centres of its kind in India, LICC is equipped with 16 breakaway halls and meeting rooms to hold simultaneous sessions. The main hall at the convention level can accommodate up to 1,000 guests in a plenary session.

Sachin Malhotra,

Hotel Manager, Mercure Lavasa Convention Centre (MLCC), which is part of LICC, is a recent addition to the company and manages operations of the 130-key hotel Mercure Lavasa as well as the LICC. Explaining how LICC breaks away from the norm in terms of the services that it can offer, Malhotra lists live webcasting and services of an experienced event manager to assist with 360-degree planning and execution of the event as part of the LICC menu.

Team-building activities

Beyond all the MICE paraphernalia, LICC allows delegates to explore various activities— from team-building, adventure sports to nature trails in the thick Western Ghats forest guided by an environmentalist. Among the water sports activities available for delegates are jet-skis, floating hurdle tracks, water volleyball, water basketball at Lake Shore Water sports and a relaxed team outing aboard pontoon boats and a splash pad. Delegates can also watch local craftsmen create bamboo handicrafts and pick up artifacts and souvenirs at the bamboo factory. “We can also organise team-building exercises at X-Trill Adventure Sports Zone that offers paint ball, air rifle shooting, zip-line across the lake and more,” Malhotra adds. Since its opening, LICC has catered to over one lakh business visitors for various conventions, Malhotra reveals. “Last year alone we arranged for more than 200 conventions by companies like Novartis, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Communication, Vodafone, Axis Bank, Max Life Insurance, and Ernst & Young. Out of the total business generated in 201314, MICE segment contributed to nearly 85 per cent of the total revenue for LICC. We foresee a similar growth trend for 2014-15 which would be between 35-40 per cent,” he says.