Surviving conventionally
Industry players in India are very optimistic about the year ahead with few markets looking to go back to normalcy at the earliest or by beginning of next year.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) had reported back in 2018 a very optimistic viewpoint on the M!CE industry. As per their report, India is a late entrant in the M!CE segment with a small share of the global pie. Of the total 12,563 international meetings in a year, it hosts only 175 or just 1.4 % to rank 24th worldwide. Despite its late entry, M!CE tourism in India was pegged at `25,000 crore with an eight per cent growth year-onyear, according to the FICCI report titled ‘India Inbound Tourism: Unlocking the Opportunity'. The industry was estimated to have a space of 5 lakh sq.mt., which was expected to cross 15 lakh sq.mt. over the next two to three years. Growth figures for global M!CE tourism were pegged at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% and were expected to reach 1.2 trillion dollars (about `70 lakh crore) by 2023. All these figures were scrambled with the onslaught of the pandemic.
Manish Dayya, General Manager, Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre (NHCC) and Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) explains, “The entire hospitality industry is adversely affected due to the pandemic. There is a steep decline in M!CE business travel leading to major cancellations and pace lost at both NHCC and HICC not just in 2020 but also until Q3 of 2021 with no clarity on how Q4 would pick up.” Sharing a rather unique position, V Anbu,
Director General & CEO, IMTMA and BIEC and President, UFI explains that when the pandemic first hit India in March 2020 and a countrywide lockdown was announced, by then BIEC had completed its exhibition calendar for the year 201920 and all subsequent shows were rescheduled to late 2020. However, despite the extended lockdowns the pandemic wasn't eradicated completely due to which exhibitions and events weren't held throughout the financial year 2020-2021. There were some signs of recovery in the first quarter of 2021 but the second wave of the pandemic caught us off-guard resulting in shows getting further postponed.”
Convention centres across the country were all fighting the same storm with a little ray of hope but no respite. As Shahnawaz Shah, Marketing Manager of Sheri-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) explains, “When things were getting back to normalcy, we were the first convention centre to open. We welcomed small gatherings of 30 people to begin with which grew gradually to 500 and then even 700 people following all the COVID rules and regulations. Furthermore, SKICC being an exclusive facility in the far north of the country used to be abuzz with M!CE activities with almost four events, big to small per week and at times two to three smaller events in a day. However, things changed to just a few events and very limited participation due to restrictions and apprehensions.”
Interestingly, despite all the limitations and hurdles, the M!CE industry is always being considered very resilient. Industry players are very optimistic about the year ahead with few markets looking to go back to normalcy at the earliest or even stretched to the end of this year or by beginning of next year.
THE FOCUS FACTOR
Interestingly, the optimism is based on past performance wherein there have been sectors which are stronger performers than the others. As Anbu explains, “Shows relating to engineering have always had predominance in the exhibition industry. They attract huge participation from exhibitors and visitors across various industries that focus on technology, innovations and new products.”
In contrast, the Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre (JECC) is a mixed bag when it comes to segmentation. Sumit Joshi, Head – Marketing & Sales shares his view stating that all International Chambers, Export Promotion Councils, associations, trade bodies and respective Ministries and Departments are promoting their industryspecific expertise and schemes to boost the economy through M!CE activities. For Jaipur in particular, there is huge potential and demand to organise M!CE activities in sectors like Gem & Jewellery, Travel & Tourism, Medical & Pharma, Textile & Garment, Cement, Construction & Building Material among the many others. Taking on a different approach, Dayya feels that the buzz is within the social segment. “We at NHCC & HICC have developed a unique offering mainly under Vivaah at Novotel by leveraging our network across the country. Novotel is providing guests an opportunity to connect with family and friends with the same wedding feast delivered under Dawat by Novotel or be it a gift hamper from the bride and groom delivered across the country under Shagun by Novotel. The wedding guests also have the option to join in the virtual celebrations, while maintaining social distancing norms. Subsequently, we have also started hosting hybrid events for which we are completely equipped from a technological standpoint.”
THE NEW NORMAL
Despite being optimistic and looking at the silver lining, the one thing which is a constant for a long time to come are the COVID norms. The new normal in any industry is all about safety, hygiene, sanitisation and social
There is a steep decline in M!CE business travel leading to major cancellations
The second wave caught us off-guard resulting in shows getting further postponed
distancing norms and convention centres are no different. Humayun Bakshi Javed, Director of SKICC is of the opinion that guest behaviour has certainly changed. Visitors are weary of entering a premise. All necessary precautions need to be considered such as thermal screening, negative RT-PCR reports and masking up. These factors are mainly for the external divisions, internally we have to make sure we maintain a COVID protocol atmosphere with necessary sanitisation and hygiene. This has become more of a norm. Taking it a notch differently, Dayya shares that in only a few months, the travel and hospitality industry has become nearly unrecognisable compared to the days of early 2020 due to COVID-19's impact. Health and safety are front and centre for customers and that is what will derive business in future.
ADAPTION – THE NEW BUZZWORD
‘Change is the only constant' – this holds true for the
M!CE industry but with all the precautions set in place industry players would have to go the extra mile now in a post-COVID era to boost numbers. For SKICC, it will revolve around safety and security of the guests. “The safety of delegates will be our primary priority. In keeping with this focus, we will ensure that a healthy atmosphere is maintained in the conference centres by continuing thermal scans on a daily basis, pre- and postevent sanitisation and limit the number of attendees in order to maintain social distancing. The other areas of focus would be the kitchen, cooking of meals and ensuring the staff wear a protective gear,” adds Shah.
Anbu is of the opinion that convention centres would have to keep an extra budget and adopt technologybased solutions to enhance customer experience. Proper planning and investments need to be made to create a safe environment for events in future. Few shows and conventions can now be held in hybrid mode with technology playing a big role. For example, trade shows are building their own apps to enable exhibitors to communicate with visitors in real time through push notifications, contactless technologies for transactions during the show are being explored and artificial intelligence powered matchmaking solutions will help learn about the professional goals and interests of visitors, exhibitors and sponsors.
It is certain that technology will surely play a very big role in the years ahead for M!CE events. However, as Dayya says, convention businesses will have to adapt and change to suit the new environments. There will be a higher focus on smaller domestic events along with increased focus on virtual or hybrid events. Digitisation and flexibility of venues
We welcomed gatherings of 30 people to begin with which grew gradually to 500 people
will be highly important. Subsequently, venues located in safe destinations with flexible spaces and advanced technology are likely to attract large-scale international events.
MOVING TECH FORWARD
The pandemic has brought to the forefront technological advancements and adoptions, which in many cases would have taken years to implement. Convention centres like JECC and SKICC are placing their bets on implementation of new technologies which generate faith in stakeholders. As Joshi says, “We keep ourselves updated with new technologies which support and benefit our industry.”
Adding further Shah says, “Technology has changed the way the tourism industry functions in future. Today, it is all about e-bookings, video conferencing and virtual meetings. Conference bookings are now done online as virtual tours make it possible by showcasing the infrastructure, allied and ancillary services.”
Huge investments are being made by convention centres focusing on tech integration to create impact and engagement. Dayya asserts that the shift has begun to virtual with emphasis on complete experiences over transactions, and in-venue cloud-based systems rather than terminal-driven access. The focus should remain on being a cost-effective partner while providing solutions that increase attendee engagement.
STRATEGISING AHEAD
With all factors well in place, the M!CE industry is surely looking optimistically for the right time. Industry partners are charting out strategic plans to ensure a boost in numbers. Anbu is of the opinion that BIEC has an advantage as shows of varying scale and size can be held, sometimes concurrently as well. The venue has been equipped with all the necessary guidelines and processes to conduct any show. Subsequently, there are a good number of shows lined up for 2021-2022, all of which will be held in the new normal adhering to all SOPs.
From a hospitality point of view, Dayya explains, “In the current uncertainty and due to the second wave, socials will remain the key focus along with staycations and transient segment.
A lot of focus will be on promotional activities to attract individual travellers and families with a host of recreational activities being introduced to engage our guests of all ages.” Javed assertively states that once the situation is under control, we will go for an aggressive campaign to attract M!CE organisers, associations and state boards. Kashmir is our USP with its beautiful landscapes, fresh air and adventure activities galore for postconvention attractions.
Concluding on a futuristic point of view, Joshi says, “The pandemic has given us a lot of time to rework our strategies and interact with industry leaders via webinars. Keeping the demand in mind, we are planning to launch our own shows, yes of course with government and industry support.
We are also open to co-organise and support, if respective industry players bring their existing shows to JECC or launch new shows.”
For Jaipur in particular, there is huge potential to organise M!CE activities in some sectors