Breaking the CONVENTION
Santanu Guha Roy, GM, Director of Sales & Marketing, Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Alibaug, on breaking the norms
Please share the latest trend in MICE industry in India.
MICE movements today are slowly breaking past conventions of a conference. Today it's become more about workshops, interactions, team bonding, games, night outs and likes which is good as it promotes a sense of oneness and bonding within the team. Although at a very nascent stage, corporates are looking at ways to beat the rigmarole and look at unique ways to hold a conference, some in the wilderness, tent camps, you name it.
Your viewpoint on highlighting MICE as a growth factor in the Indian Tourism industry. Asian MICE market has been one of the biggest growth stories with a rate of 38 per cent rise since 2006 which accounts for approximately US$ 60 billion. Last year, ICCA placed India at the 35th position in the rankings worldwide and the ninth position in the Asia Pacific region. The major cities which hosted the events were Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Cochin.
How has the year 2016 benefitted the MICE industry as a whole?
MICE has benefitted with an increase in supply of rooms in cities like New Delhi, Pune, Bangalore. New hotel ventures are coming up every day which is a positive sign for the MICE industry. The latest entrant is 7 Apple Hotels Pvt Ltd., the owning company of Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Alibaug, which has opened budget segment hotels in cities like Aurangabad, Baroda and one in Pune. Today, MICE travellers also have the option of doing a budget meet if they choose to and this will further open up vistas for those corporates who were constrained due to star hotel prices. The addition of room inventory has also seen a correction in market prices.
What are the facilities provided by you for MICE events?
We have two separate conference halls to cater to the requirement of our guests, with an attached pre- function area. Besides we have an in- house dedicated resource to take care of all AV requirements, stage set up etc to make sure that our guests have a seamless experience with Wi- Fi facility. We are the only hotel to be strategically located between Pune and Goa which are two prime destinations from Mumbai. The hotel also has unique features like an olympic size swimming pool, an oversized spa with 20,000 sq. ft of spa area, operated by ESCENZA.
Asian MICE market has been one of the biggest growth stories with a rate of 38 per cent rise since 2006