Micetalk august 13

Rs. 100

Volume IV Issue 8 August 2013 60 pages A DDP Publication

Mega Event in Macau IIFA

Sales Tips by

Shiv Khera

Event Organisers What sets them apart

Vancouver

Meeting options

DDP Publications Private Limited New Delhi: 72, Todarmal Road, New Delhi 110001, India Tel: +91-11-23731971, 23710793, 23716318, Fax: +91-11-23351503 E-mail: micetalk@ddppl.com Mumbai: 504 Marine Chambers, 43 New Marine Lines, Mumbai 400 020 Tel: +91-22-22070129, 22070130 Fax: +91-22-22070131 E-mail: mumbai@ddppl.com UAE: P.O. Box: 9348, Sharjah, UAE Tel: +971-6-5573508, Fax: +971-6-5573509 E-mail: uae@ddppl.com All information in MICEtalk is derived from sources, which we consider reliable. Information is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. The contents of this publication contain views of authors and are not the views of DDP Publications.

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Mega event IIFA 2013 organised at the Venetian in Macau

Editor & Publisher

SanJeet

Editor-in-Chief

Deepa Sethi

Desk Editor

Neelam Singh

Correspondent

Neha Oberoi

Photographer

Simran Kaur

Design

Alpana Khare Neeraj Aggarwal Diya Kapur

Advertising

Gunjan Sabikhi Geetika Pathak Shovan Kanungo Udit Pandey Yogita Bhurani

Advertisement Designer

Vikas Mandotia Nitin Kumar Aarushi Agrawal

Production Manager

Anil Kharbanda

Circulation Manager

Ashok Rana

MUMBAI: Advertising

Harshal Ashar

reader’s

page

contents 14 Cover story

Event Organisers What sets them apart!

8 Facts Dear Reader, Tourism related to events is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global industry today. There is an unbounded increase in international events and festivals - luring MICE activities with bigger event venues, more tech-savvy convention centres, incentives for event organisers and corporate houses, and bleisure (business + leisure) activities aplenty.

MICEtalk spoke to many National Touism Offices (NTOs) to discover how they are promoting MICE activities and attracting business groups to their individual countries. It’s an exciting time for MICE! Malaysia is fast becoming an incredible destination for MICE events, as is Mumbai. If you are planning a MICE event, do read about these destinations and what they offer for the MICE sector.

India, as a country, has a keen sight on the industry today. We also spoke to the India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) to understand their plans for the future. Technology, which plays a big role in these events is reinventing itself constantly… we keep you updated.

The first impression you make in a meeting is so important in our service industry. We get you tips from our expert, Sheetal Kakkar, on how best to deal with it, and Shiv Khera tells us how to stay above the sales blues…

Keep reading MICEtalk for your business event news.

Deepa Sethi

12 mice initiative

Special MICE packages by NTOs

24 MICE Country Malaysia

30 Let’s Talk

NTOs luring Indian MICE travellers

34 MICE City

Vancouver, Canada

MICE Hotel 38 Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi 46 Jaypee Palace Hotel & Convention Centre 40 Domestic mice Mumbai

44 Sample This

Hyatt Regency Gurgaon

50 Yours Officially

Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, ICPB

52 Etiquette Talk

to the editor...

MICETalk is a unique magazine serving India’s ever growing MICE market. I ensure apart from me, our business managers also read those interesting articles. Do keep up your good work!

Prasant Saha Managing Director Conferences & Incentives Management (I) Pvt. Ltd MICETalk has been a respected publication with readership among MICE planners and service providers. The magazine is informative with opinions and articles relevant to the MICE planning industry.

Aditya Shamsher Malla Director of Sales and Marketing Shangri-La’s-Eros Hotel

Master the first impression

54 Technology

Multi-window projection display for events

56 Movements 58 Events

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facts

Club Med Australia unveils new destination for MICE market

facts

Gold Coast Business Events, the New Name for GCCB

Capitalising on the growing demand for group travel destinations in Asia, Club Med’s concept ‘Rent-a-Resort’ has become increasingly popular.

Building on its existing Asian presence in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan, Club Med is launching a second resort in China in September 2013. Club Med Guilin, located in a breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage site, boasts luxury facilities for up to 480 guests. The Resort has unique features, including a lakeside sculpture park and a stunning limestone cave that hosts atmospheric candle-lit events.

Gold Coast Tourism Corporation has renamed its Gold Coast Convention Bureau division as Gold Coast Business Events. The name transition is effective immediately while marketing collateral and assets will adopt the new title progressively over coming weeks.

Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter said the name change was a straightforward alignment with the division’s contemporary role in the evolution of the Gold Coast as a leading business events destination.

Adelaide will host 6 major international events

New corporate events venue in Dubai

Developer Limitless have opened its new conference, meetings and corporate events venue in Dubai. The Galleries – Business Lounge offers an alternative to hotel business facilities across 700 sqm of space and can accommodate up to 80 people with its boardrooms, meeting rooms and internet stations. The development includes a separate lounge and relaxation areas which are available for private hire for up to 120 people.

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Adelaide Convention Bureau will host 6 major international conferences in coming years. They are Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (2014), STEMFEST 2014, Global 29 STEM states, International science based conference (2015), International Convention of Asian Scholars (2015), International Symposium on Supportive Care in Cancer (2016) and an international food based symposium (2017).

Special MICE programs by Royal Caribbean cruises Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd introduced a bouquet of special MICE and ship charter programs that are ideal for Indian organizations and travellers. These ship charter programs offer an unmatched experience allowing customization of the itinerary, shore excursions, onboard events, in-suite amenities, stateroom television & public area broadcasts, dining room menus, corporate dĂŠcor throughout the ship and brand logo on food & beverage items, photos, Daily Program, Sea Pass Cards amongst others.

Royal Caribbean Cruises offer a very vast array of onboard amenities and activities ranging from an onboard surf simulator,

zip line, ice skating rink and rock climbing wall to full sized sports courts, a mini golf course, fitness center and sports deck.

Many of these ships have unique themed neighbourhoods and concepts like Boardwalk or Royal Promenade are very effective.

There is plenty in way of entertainment and dining options from Broadways, DreamWorks Experience, musical stage productions, aquatheatre, comedy shows to 24-hr rooms service, chef demos, multiple specialty restaurants and cafĂŠ. The Casino is extraordinary and the Day Spa, multiple whirlpools and adults only solarium allow deep relaxation.

facts

World Travel Market (WTM), the leading global event for the travel industry, is inviting the industry’s most senior buyers to apply for Buyers’ Club membership for WTM 2013.

WTM Buyers’ Club (formerly WTM Meridian Club) is WTM’s exclusive business club for the travel industry’s most senior buyers with direct responsibility for purchasing.

Auckland wins top international hospitality education conference

Cruise conference and trade show to be held in Singapore

facts

WTM Invites for Buyers’ Club Membership

Auckland University of Technology and Auckland Convention Bureau have jointly secured the major tourism and hospitality Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education conference, which will take place over three days in June 2015. The conference is expected to attract 400 international academics and inject more than $750,000 into the Auckland economy.

The third annual Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific Conference and Trade Show, run by the organizers of the annual Cruise Shipping Miami event, will be held from October 8-10, 2013 in Singapore in Marina Bay Sands. It is the only show focussed on the entire Asia-Pacific region. With cruise lines continuing to home port more of their ships in Asia and Australia, as European cruising stalls, the growth opportunity for Australasia based suppliers in ship repair, refurbishment and design sectors are anticipated to soar.

Business opportunities at ITB Asia

With a significant increase in National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) participation, visitors will experience a world of opportunities at ITB Asia 2013, the Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market, which will be held from 23-25 October at the Suntec Singapore Exhibition & Convention Centre. Organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore), ITB Asia reports an increased demand for exhibitor space and is completely sold out, four months ahead of the event.

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cover story

Organisers of Events What sets them apart!

Neha Oberoi

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cover story

The events sector of MICE has grown rapidly over the past decade and its scope ranges broadly from organising small community projects and conferences to mega events. In an emerging sector, with a horde of players there’s bound to be a lot of competition. Staying ahead of this scenario can be tough but isn’t impossible. MICEtalk ventures out to find out from the major players of this sector what sells in this time of cut throat competition and how do they compete with each other.

In order to stay ahead and establish yourself as a major player that stands out in the crowd, one needs to develop awareness, artistic specialties, and technical know-how. If you can communicate effectively and nurture relationships, keeping your business at the forefront of your clients mind, you will find yourself with more requests than you can fulfill. Basically, it’s about differentiation, expertise and the cost factor. The services that are being offered are almost the same. So to make the distinction there are a few keys. Let’s explore:

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Cover story cover

Providing one point of contact helps

Another player with a strong hold in the industry, TUI talks about creating a sole contact to cater to all the vagaries of an event. Naveen Rizvi, Senior VP, TUI, informs “As one of the leading MICE organisers, our biggest USP is that we have one point of contact for all the MICE requirements of our client.

Whether it’s a conference or an event in India or overseas, we have one relationship manager coordinating with the client for everything. This is a big comfort factor and enables easy coordination, both for us and the client as well.”

Innovative approach pays

Losing market share due to discounts and lower prices is a common trend and all players in the market have to survive this. Pankaj Malhotra, Director, Corporate Sales & Operations, Epic India Tours & Events Pvt Ltd, opines, “Being prepared for cyclical turns by offering a range of products and a quality of service that is exemplary is the answer to such cases. As with most live scenarios, events will have changes in plans and scope before the big day. Failure to keep a track of the tiniest change can mean an escalating budget, or an increased timeline. Flexibility for last minute requirements, value-added combinations/rather than over-commitment is what we work on. We believe in innovations supported with a strong and timely line of production as we believe ‘INNOVATIONS soon change into INVOICES’. ”

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cover story

Differentiation is the key

Every player has different stakes in the game and has a different unique selling point. For Rajani Nair Deb, Chief Marketing Officer, KW Conferences, it is recognising their knowledge power. “We’ve had the first-mover advantage with running conferences for large associations and by sticking to our product line we’re providing a service sample of high impact deliverables. You can have the smartest people in the world working at your company, but most people won’t know it unless you share this information. Building your credibility by sharing your knowledge across multiple platforms is the best way to show people that your company is the best in the business.”

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cover story

Providing a seamless system

Kalpana Uberoi, General Manager - Business Development, Kuoni, feels, “The essence of holding strong in the wake of the current economic maelstrom and savage competition is developing a diverse skill set that can help you get ahead of the competition. The idea is to broaden your scope. We, at Kuoni, have our avant garde technology to fall back on. Events can be dogged by cost overheads, poor scheduling and customer dissatisfaction due to a range of factors related to planning, communication and resource allocation. We have a seamless and user friendly online system that caters to all these common errors and provides us with a secure payment gateway, manages our events, streamlines the revenues and expenses and gives us that nudge to keep ahead of the game. Besides being a global power and financially stable with the buying power in the market to ease its way in the industry, it’s the people and the processes that speak for us.�

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cover story

Believe in delivering the best

Geo Thomas, Founder and CEO, Acme Events India, further adds to the discussion, “We let our work speak for itself. This attitude of delivering the best always has, in the past six years, resulted in a client base that is loyal, trusting and repetitive. Needless to say, our regular clients are always given superlative importance. Besides this obvious approach, we also have developed some processes that clients have been highly appreciative about. Event management is one industry where there may be ambiguity till the final day of the event and these processes help to reduce that as much as possible for our clients. For example, carrying a model stage set to show the client how the stage lay out, where the AV screens can be placed, etc., or providing a 3D walk-through of the entire event venue including the entrance, parking lots, stage, green rooms, audience seating,etc. This provides a clear view to the client as to how the entire event venue will look. Technology innovation is our USP. We try to implement these innovations in most of our events. Recently, Acme Events India became the first event management company in the world to use a voice-based feedback mechanism to obtain feedback about the event.”

Quality service matters

Tanuja Pandey, National Head, MICE, Network 18, reiterates the need to stand your ground and focus on the maintenance on quality whether it’s with the people or the processes followed for the MICE activity. As long as my properties and vendors are happy working with me we’ll continue providing great service and the cycle continues. We’ll remain quality conscious of our service.”

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Meeting the expectations

Amit Saroj, Director, Attitude Events Pvt. Ltd, sums it up for us perfectly saying, “We have to do all of it and even more in case of existing clients to ensure the expectation levels are met and exceeded.

1. Outreach: You have to be at the right place at the right time and in order to do that you have to continuously increase your outreach in the market. Continuously meeting the customers is the basic but an effective strategy.

2. Quality: We have to understand the requirements of each client and deliver well to ensure repeat clientele. The same chutney does not go with all clients.

3. T echnology: The way of doing business and conducting conferences has changed and we have moved from paper to mobile applications for communication. As a company, we change continuously to get the latest technology for our clients.

4. P eople: We have a strong team and that helps us build a strong platform for handling multiple events.

Continuous training and exposure to international events, helps us to achieve the commitment necessary to deliver and go that extra mile.”

The key to a successful event is getting the right people with the right skills. All the planning in the world won’t overcome a lack of talent. Event managers need full insight into the skills and workloads of all of their resources, including vendors and outsourcers, who often get left out of skill assessment.

MICE country

Malaysia Truly For MICE Anita Jain

An increasing number of Indians are opting for Southeast Asian countries for their holidays and business. One of the hotspots in the region – Malaysia has come out to be a popular MICE destination with enhanced air connectivity from India, unique offerings for every segment, excellent infrastructure for events and last but not the least, offering a ‘truly Asian’ experience.

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MICE country

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MICE country

H

aving a MICE event in Malaysia is not only practical, but also a memorable experience.

Easily accessible from major Indian cities and backed with an established number of meeting venues and a wide range of purpose-built convention centres, Malaysia has chaired and played host to major conventions, entertainment and sporting events on a global scale, empowering its standing status as a premier business destination.

Meetings, Conventions & Exhibitions

Located next to the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) is at the heart of over 12000 hotel rooms, extensive shopping and entertainment facilities and convenient transport connections. Its facilities include two auditoriums, 9,710 sqm exhibition space, a grand ballroom, conference halls, banquet halls and 20 meeting rooms.

KLCC also houses three properties – Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur (643 rooms) and Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur (571 rooms) while Impiana KLCC Hotel & Spa is right opposite KLCC (335 rooms). It also has Aquaria KLCC which gives an underwater ‘edu-tainment’ experience.

The popular Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, located in Sarawak is inspired by the surrounding

why Malaysia?

• Easy accessibility • Unmatched meetings, events and conference facilities • Wide range of affordable world class accommodation • Cost effective standards of living • Financial and socio-stability • Excellent transport infrastructure and network • Diverse culture for an unforgettable local experience • Cultural mélange

rainforest jungle providing an excellent location for business and leisure. Spread over 36,000 sqm, the centre can accommodate 1500 delegates in the plenary, 2000 pax in the banquet hall and houses a total of 14 meeting rooms.

Other MICE venues in Kuala Lumpur are Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Centre, Dewan Mutiara Centre, HGH Convention Centre, KL Live Event Hall, MATRADE Exhibition & Convention Centre, Mid-Valley Exhibition Centre, Sime Darby Convention Centre, Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, Take 2 KL (Joint-venue offering

by Hilton Kuala Lumpur & Le Meridien) and many more.

Want to organise a MICE event out of the cement jungle than consider the eastern side of Malaysia – Sabah & Sarawak which are in East Malaysia, just one and a half hour’s flight away from Kuala Lumpur

India and Malaysia India being an important market for Malaysia’s MICE industry, Tourism Malaysia recognises the importance of reaching out to relevant audiences. Manoharan Periasamy, Director, Tourism Malaysia, informs, “With the booming economy in India and the rising tide of investments, enormous business opportunities have been unleashed in India in sectors such as IT, medicine, telecommunications, banking, insurance, oil, petroleum, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agro products, food, and water management.“

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MICE country

different MICE options Choices to hold functions or events are plentiful in Malaysia with a choice of environment whether in the city centre, up on a highland resort, on beautiful scenic islands or beach resorts or even in the quiet tranquility of a forest resort. Kuala Lumpur, Genting Islands, Lankawi, Sabah, Sarawak and Penang are the top MICE destinations in the country.

New MICE Perspective

by Malaysia based Pacific World Destination

Venue

Capacity (pax)

Feast Village

1000

Sepang International Circuit

Welcome Centre – 18000, Support Paddock – 25,000, Individual Paddock – 500 each and Rooftop – 1000

Central Market

500

Meetings: Arrange a meeting at the KLCC, a multiple award winning convention centre with outstanding facilities, in the centre of Malaysia’s thriving capital.

Incentive: Visit the Wild Men of Borneo – the Orangutans at Sandakan or go sailing for an exclusive Barbeque lunch on-board to experience the secluded beaches around the 99 islands of Langkawi Conference: Hold a conference at the spectacular Sabah International Convention Complex (accommodates 6,600 pax in theatre style and 400 exhibition stalls at one time) complete with an integrated five-star meeting hotel.

Event: Host an event at the Sepang International Formula One Circuit or with a bird’s eye view of Kuala Lumpur from the famous ‘Skybridge’.

Hutong

600

For Incentive Trips

Tamarind Hill & NEO Tamarind

160

unique venues across Malyasia Kuala Lumpur

Penang Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

170

Khoo Kongsi

800

Sire Museum

70

Fort Cornwallis

600

Pinang Peranakan Mansion

100

Suffolk House

100 (Indoor), 300 (Outdoor)

Sabah Kampung Nelayan Restaurant

500

Mari Mari Cultural Village

200

Sarawak Old Court House

180

The Junk

70

Sarawak Cultural Village

90-2000

The Original Carwash

150

Langkawi

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Panorama Langkawi

100

The Cliff Restaurant & Bar

100

Laman Padi

200

Royal Langkawi Yacht Club

120

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Malaysia offers a wide range of unique experiences for high achiever incentive groups. There are activities like cooking classes for food lovers, hands-on pewtersmithing workshops, get in local Malay costume and experience the local culture, white water rafting or even the F1 driving experience. One can also opt for themed events or dinner parties. For example: Headhunter longhouse theme party, Colonial fine dining, Malaysian theme night in the rainforest of Janda Baik, Cocktails in the caves or even a tropical beach party. Sabah is one of the less explored destinations which offer a perfect mix of business and leisure activities.

MICE initiative

Special MICE packages by NTOs The fact that MICE is growing at an unprecedented rate is acknowledged by the industry and others. Now we’re in a sphere where we need to understand what are the new initiatives in the market to capitalise this market share. MICEtalk brings forth special MICE offers by two of the more enterprising NTOs to gain the early bird advantage.

Thailand Vichaya Soonthornsaratoon, Director of Meetings Industry, TCEB The TCEB works diligently to attract MICE traffic to its doors. There are several variants which pave the way for corporates and others. Such as: • Event special fast-track immigration Navritu Account Manager MGTO

Vichaya Soonthornsaratoon Director of Meetings Industry TCEB

for VIPs • Exclusive police escort • Giveaway items, pillow gift, etc.

Macau Mr. SanJeet, MGTO, India Representative Our Incentive Travel Stimulation Program for incentive groups has been extended till the end of 2013. Under this program, an incentive group with a minimum of fifty non-local participants is granted a financial subsidy on actual consumption.

We are also promoting Macau’s multifaceted image as a wedding destination

• Cultural performance • CSR activities GROUP SIZE

SUPPORT

30-100 pax

Souvenirs, MICE lane service for VIPs

101-300 pax

Souvenirs, MICE lane service for VIPs and cultural performance

Over 300 pax

Souvenirs, MICE lane service for VIPs, cultural performance, and financial subsidy

special incentive scheme 2013-2015* *For Corporate Meetings & Incentive trips

to attract Indian wedding planners and

• Scheme A: Once in Thailand (one-off support)

couples to Macau for their weddings. The

• Scheme B: Thailand Step Up (progressive support)

applicants eligible for this scheme are also granted the same amount of support.

• Target: Mega Incentive Event • Group size: min 1,000 overseas delegates • Length of stay: min 3 nights

All the incentive programs require the groups to stay at least two consecutive nights in Macau. Our Incentive Program for students is slightly different with a minimum of forty non-local participants.

Key Criteria • The organisation must contract a local Thai event organiser to manage the event, or • The event must be held at a certified ‘Green Venue’ or • The event must include a CSR activity in the program

MICE city

Vancouver

Offering excellent meeting options Vancouver’s strong appeal for meeting planners rests in the city’s balance between accessibility to destinations worldwide, meeting spaces that can accommodate a range of attendee numbers and tastes, and year-round activity options for postconference gatherings. Not only does Vancouver meet all these criteria but it also achieves top ranking in all three. MICEtalk delves further to bring to you what the city offers for all things MICE. 26

MICEtalk August 2013

MICE city

V

oted as one of the world’s most livable cities, Vancouver has received a number of awards and accolades for its attraction to meeting planners and visitors worldwide. Besides exuding a cosmopolitan city flair and scenic locales, it also offers an award-winning convention centre, first-class hotels and exceptional cuisine and creates a one-of-a-kind experience for delegates. Due to its easy accessibility to the Asia Pacific region, the city witnesses higher attendance from delegates of this market.

Major Convention space

Vancouver Convention Centre offers 466,500 sqft of function space and 72 meeting rooms. With a central location in downtown Vancouver’s scenic waterfront, the Convention Centre is within easy walking distance of 19 convention hotels whose diverse spaces allow planners to host events ranging from conferences to in-house board meetings.

Other unique venues

The cliff facing Capilano Suspension Bridge Park reception deck provides an array of indoor and outdoor venues for hosting meetings and events. The Canyon house banquet room is ideal for meetings with a seating capacity of 110 persons. The Canyon lookout is an outdoor venue featuring a 300 feet deck above the river and with a view of the forest and mountains.

(Seating capacity 130) The Vancouver Art Gallery, housed in a turn-ofthe-century courthouse offers a Courtroom 302 as an unusual space to conduct your meeting. This unique space retains a historic bench and wainscoting.

Timber Room, perched atop Grouse Mountain, the Peak of Vancouver, the Timber Room with

green meetings Known for pioneering innovative sustainability programs like Green Peace and OceanWise, and with an intention to become the world’s greenest city by 2020, Vancouver promotes ‘green’ ways of meeting by providing: • Recycled paper • Colour-coded recycling bins for paper, metals, plastics and glass • Vendors who have donation programs in place for leftover food, decorations and merchandise samples • Carpool or shuttling options for travelling attendees • Numerous water stations so attendees aren’t tempted to bring in their own bottled beverages

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MICE city

Vancouver has a number of high-profile, top-ranked Indian restaurants, including Vij’s, Copper Chimney and more to attract the Indian palette

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adjoining deck is perfect for presentations and meetings. Situated on the top floor of the Peak Chalet, it offers a fantastic view.

Full room capacity: 105 Plated Banquet, 100 Buffet, 105 Reception, 40 Boardroom, 80 Classroom, 105 Theatre. Outdoor Patio: 60

Outdoor Venues

Enjoy your meeting in marquee tents that look out over a panoramic view of Vancouver and nearby mountains. Options are the Plaza, Paradise Park (right beside Grouse Mountain’s World Famous Lumberjack Show), or Rusty Rail. (Capacity: 500+)

MICE city

amazing race Experience some of the most popular Vancouver landmarks including Granville Island, Chinatown, Robson Street, Vancouver Art Gallery, and more through Amazing Race Vancouver, an interactive and entertaining option to see this spectacular city. This can be easily themed or customised, can last from 1-4 hours, and is suitable for groups of 10-1000+ people.

Sightseeing and team building options

There are a series of beaches, parks, cultural sites, galleries, museums, boutiques, restaurants that might interest the first time visitor. For the more adventurous delegates there are options of kayaking, rafting, salmon fishing, walking through rain forests and hiking on Vancouver’s north shore.

Shopping

From high fashion boutiques, designer label, accessory and jewellery stores, to extensive shop-till-you-drop malls, there’s something for everyone. Some of the popular shopping areas are Burnaby - Metropolis at Metrotown, Chinatown, Granville Street, Downtown & Gastown and Commercial drive.

accommodation options There are more than13000 guest rooms available in downtown Vancouver alone.

Hotel Century Plaza Hotel & Spa Coast Coal Harbour Hotel Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites Fairmont Hotel Vancouver Hyatt Regency Vancouver Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel

Meeting Space 7963 sqft 8000 22000 37000 45000 48652

Guest rooms 7800 220 269 556 644 733

let’s talk

NTOs luring Indian MICE travellers Neha Oberoi

Awareness of India’s growing economy in the last couple of years, has made other countries heed the MICE potential of India and there is more and more speculation from their national tourism offices (NTOs) to up the ante in the industry.

MICEtalk talks to some NTOs that are prominently focussing on promoting their countries as MICE destinations and finds out how they are doing it.

Indonesia highlights its MICE facilities Sanjay Sondhi

Country Director-VITO In Indonesia, Bali and Jakarta are prime MICE destinations but some other cities like Batam, Medan, Padang, Palembang, Bandung Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Solo, Mataram, Balikpapan, Makassar, Manado, etc. are also potential MICE destinations.

Current Strategy We give sales trainings to travel agents and tour operators emphasising the MICE facilities available in Indonesia. We also organise ‘creative economy educational trips’ for potential MICE tour operators to Indonesia in association with the Ministry of Tourism.

Recently we had organised a sales mission in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai where we invited MICE tour operators to meet the Indonesian stakeholders, i.e. hotels, resorts and tour operators from Indonesia. Road shows help Indonesian sellers/stakeholders to meet Indian buyers and network under one roof. It is a great platform for both and is helpful in increasing tourism to the destination.

We give sales trainings to travel agents and tour operators emphasising the MICE facilities available in Indonesia

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let’s talk

Spain offers big support for MICE Arturo Ortiz Arduán

Tourism Counselor, Tourism Office of Spain - Mumbai As per ICCA Rankings 2011, Spain is the third most popular destination worldwide for conference tourism with 463 meetings conducted per year. Barcelona and Madrid have a long tradition in this sector, but today almost all Spanish cities (Valencia, Seville, Bilbao and Malaga) have conference centers and facilities equipped with stateof-the-art technology for all kinds of conventions and congresses.

Current Strategy We work closely with tour operators and travel agents to promote MICE tourism in Spain by giving them appropriate and timely training seminars on the destination in their offices. We participate in SATTE (South Asia’s Leading B2B Travel & Tourism Event) in Delhi and organise a road show every year.

We advise corporates and create an awareness about Spain as an important MICE destination for them.

We work closely with tour operators and travel agents to promote MICE tourism in Spain by giving them appropriate and timely training seminars on destinations in their offices

Future Plans

We will build business relations between Spanish tour operators and the Indian market by organising road shows both in India and Spain. This year, a road show will be conducted in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore (24-26 September) with a foreseen participation of about 20 Spanish companies. Following this, we are organising a Trade Familiarisation trip for travel agents/tour operators to Madrid, World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in Spain and to Ibiza to further promote these destinations amongst travel agents. They are also given an opportunity to perform inspection visits.

Visa Support for MICE groups We work closely with the Spanish Embassy in Delhi and the Spanish Consulate in Mumbai to enable smooth and quick processing of visas for MICE groups. Currently, the Spanish Consulate in Mumbai is processing visas within 5 days from the date of application which is also applicable for MICE groups and business travellers to Spain.

MICE facilities 1. Easy access and transport within MICE cities 2. Destinations with something for everyone 3. Modern equipment and services within MICE spaces 4. Wide range of hotels 5. Incentive programs

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let’s talk

Turkey’s pan India advertising campaign Ozgur Ayturk

Culture and Tourism Counselor of the Turkish Embassy in India Being the 6th most popular destination in the world with more than 32 million visitors annually, Turkey is becoming a very attractive MICE destination for more and more Indian associations and companies day by day.

Current Strategy Recently, we have launched a pan India advertising campaign to reach out to Indian tourists by showcasing the enchanting and rich experiential offerings of Turkey, called ‘Million Reasons’. The campaign includes a 30 second TV advertisement supported by online, print and outdoor elements. It has been designed to reach out to the Indian travellers so that they can see Turkey in all its glory.

We have also started the e-visa system for the citizens of 94 countries including India.

Indian citizens who hold a valid Schengen visa or a valid visa from any of the OECD member countries or a valid residence permit in these countries can get their e-visa by using www. evisa.gov.tr without going to the Embassy or the Consulate.

Future Plans We are launching our new website very soon. We also a have a whole array of contests and activities planned for promoting Turkey as the ideal tourist destination.

Apart from these, we are planning a 5-cities road show in association with Turkish Hoteliers Federation and Travel Agents Association of Turkey.

As Turkey’s tourism board, we regularly participate in trade shows and conventions and hold seminars for travel agents to market Turkey as an attractive destination by offering advice regarding accommodation, venues, transportation and other services.

Britain incentivises sales of packages Shivali Suri

Country Manager, India, Visit Britain We are working on an ambition of 500,000 visits by 2020, which is a 40% increase in visits from 2011. Our holiday visitors showed a growth in the first three quarters and were 10 per cent higher than 2011. Since we will be focussing on markets such as India, Brazil and China our market plan involves focussing on five elements: access, travel trade, value, image and product. The MICE industry especially is a key facet in the Indian market and needs to be carried forward. We’ll be working on ensuring there are more tour operators to actively promote Britain. This will pan out into introducing cooperation with Indian travel trade to incentivise sales of British packages. Road shows provide ideal forum for increasing strategic engagement with the key travel trade.

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let’s talk

Thailand promotes MICE through Road shows Runjuan Tongrut

Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), New Delhi At TAT, we promote MICE through road shows and product presentations. In addition to basic destination information, the content is regularly updated based on latest travel trends, market reports and development of the Thai travel industry that keeps evolving with new experiences and destinations. It’s a platform to update new partners India with new destinations, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The content

offers information for special interest groups, business events and to learn more about the market and how to work one-on-one with our partners.

Apart from these, we are planning a 5-cities road show in association with Turkish Hoteliers Federation and Travel Agents Association of Turkey.

Thai travel industry keeps evolving with new experiences and destinations

Australia organises regular destination training programs Nishant Kashikar

Country Manager India, Tourism Australia In-depth destination knowledge is extremely critical for travel agents, since they are viewed as destination experts by consumers planning a holiday. Roadshows are an essential tool in developing this knowledge.

In order to enhance awareness of tourism in Australia and to aid travel agency staff in planning itineraries and handling customer queries, Tourism Australia organises regular destination training programs for frontliners of travel agencies based in key Indian markets.

We work closely with our State and Territory Tourism Organisations (STOs) on these roadshows and also leverage them to provide regular product updates to travel agents and educate them on aspects such as increasing length of stay, spends and dispersal. The training roadshows are conducted annually across the six major cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. These programs are also supported by the Aussie Specialist Program (ASP) - a certified online destination training program for the travel trade.

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expert talk

Learning to Sell Lessons to be learnt from Shiv Khera

Shiv Khera

Success is not measured by how high we go in life, but how we bounce back after we fall down. In the selling profession, there are more rejections than approvals. Even the best salesperson cannot sell to 100 per cent of his prospects. For the amateur salesperson, rejection becomes very stressful and he may take it personally. This will lower his self-esteem resulting in de-motivation and inaction.

J

ust because a person has said no to buying your product today does not mean that he will not buy it in future. It could be because the customer may not want to buy the product at that particular period of time.

Law of Averages

The law of averages can be explained by the risk-andreward ratio. If the client feels that the risk is greater than the reward (trust) in dealing with you, your chances of closing the sale go down. The reverse is just as true. If the rewards (trust) are greater than the risk for the prospect, your probability of closing the sale is higher. Your objective is to reduce the risk factor and increase the reward factor, which will raise your closing ratio and improve your average.

But just as a client considers the risk-and-reward ratio, a salesperson himself also faces the risk of rejection every time he makes a call. If his focus is on the reward, his chances of remaining motivated are higher, because let’s face it, every rejection does hurt our self-esteem. Rejection can be intimidating

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and shake the confidence of even a seasoned salesperson.

Fear of Failure

Fear of failure is worse than the failure itself. In fact, it drags a person to failure. Whether the client will buy from me or not is a question that might be constantly nagging the mind of a salesperson. This increases the worry of whether one can sell the product to the customer or not; raising self-doubt which leads to more failures and starts off a spiralling downward chain reaction. Negative people are driven and controlled by fear, which most of the time may be imaginary and leads them to expectancy of failure. ‘Didn’t I tell you that I wouldn’t be able to do it?’ They prove themselves right and failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Is Success Really a Matter of Luck?

To amateurs, meeting targets and deadlines is stressful and de-motivating. Bad sales people are always on the verge of quitting the company or waiting to be asked to leave the company.

expert talk

Winners do things in spite of problems, and losers permanently make excuses. They always wait for things to happen, they never make things happen.

Lose that loser’s profile and stop wasting time waiting for an inspiration. Achievers and non-achievers are given the same time - 24 hours a day, same company, same product; and yet why is it only 20 per cent people make 80 per cent of the sales?

Quick nuggets of wisdom

• Mental toughness - The sign of a good professional is that whether it is a good day or a bad one, their output and performance is constant. On good days, it comes easy, but on bad days, it takes a lot of effort.

They however, do not compromise on their quality and standards. To them NO = Next Opportunity.

That is called mental toughness.

• Confidence - Have you ever wondered why some people pay more attention to some sales people and less to others? The salesperson’s self-confidence makes the buyer feel that the seller has something

important to say, and is more likely to give him uninterrupted and undivided attention.

•P ersistence - Persistence is the ability to bounce back after every rejection. Experience shows that 80 per cent of the sales are made after the fifth call and 80 per cent of the people quit before the fifth call. However, you have to distinguish between being persistent and being a pest. Do not become too pushy, start nagging and irritate the prospect.

There is an old saying – ‘If you keep doing what you have always been doing, you will keep getting what you have always been getting.’ If you expect different results, it makes absolute good sense that there is a need to change the input—also known as yourself.

For more information visit www.shivkhera.com

Shiv Khera is the author of international best seller, YOU CAN WIN, which has sold over 2.62 million copies in 16 languages. He is also the founder of Qualified Learning Systems Inc. USA and is an internationally renowned speaker and Business Consultant.

MICE hotel

Attracting more MICE

Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi Being near Delhi International airport, Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi is perfectly suited for business travellers. With a widespread area dedicated to exclusive meetings and conferences, the hotel offers lucrative packages for various kinds of residential conferences. These packages give an opportunity to corporate houses and MICE Planners to organise meetings and conferences at the hotel within their budgets.

MICE Space

The elegant banquets at Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi – Crystal Room, Ebony 1 and Ebony 2 – provide an ideal space for conventions, celebrations, parties and weddings. Crystal is an ideal banquet space for conventions and parties of up to 800 people. Ebony 1 and 2 are smaller meeting rooms that can host up to 30 people each.

Technology Quotient

Contemporary in style and decor, its banquet halls

are equipped with the most modern technologies available anywhere in the world. Blending modern and sophisticated technology with artistic splendour and luxury are the futuristic sound and lighting systems that operate on a single touch of an I-pad with the capability of high definition multiple formats inputs. All this is neatly done in a manner befitting the decor. Seamless Wi-Fi Internet access on demand makes it an ideal venue for business conferences.

CCTV cameras are installed all over the halls for security purposes.

Other facilities available Photographers, Flowers and Decorations, Full Bar Service, Custom Designed Menus, Entertainment

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MICE hotel

USP of the Hotel All the banquets come with the unique advantage of being served by a wide range of cuisines and the service hallmark of ‘Yes I Can’.

Special offerings

The hotel provides different experiences throughout the day in all breaks right from welcome till evening dinner (example, themes on arrival/welcome, first tea break, lunch break, evening break and dinner). This experience is cuisine based like regional Indian, Mediterranean, Thai, Italian, Spanish, Lebanese, etc., and element based like Citrus (Sweet & Sour), Saffron (Not just threads), Cinnamon (Sweet Wood), Beans (Humble

& Healthy), Cardamom (Aromatic Tablet), Peppers (Hot), Mango (Sinful Stone fruit).

In the Banquet Buffet, the hotel offers interactive live cooking sessions and there are many options available from which the guest can choose based on the requirement and cuisine preference – Mexican Tortilla bar, Turkish Shawarma, Italian Ravioli, Asian Dim sums, Spanish Paella Bar, Thai Curry Station, Tawa Taka Tin, Lebanese Mezze bar, etc.

meeting room capacity Venue Meeting Rooms

Social

Conference Seating

Area (sqft)

Cocktail Reception @8sqm/pax

Sit Down

Theatre

Classroom

Boardroom

U-Shape

Crystal

7260

800

350

600

450

192

174

Crystal 1

1232

100

50

70

60

42

36

Crystal 2

1232

100

50

70

60

42

36

Crystal 3

1232

100

50

70

60

42

36

Crystal 4

1376

120

50

70

60

42

36

Crystal 5

1312

120

60

70

60

42

36

Crystal 1&2

2420

200

100

150

90

88

75

Crystal 2&3

2420

200

100

150

90

88

75

Crystal1,2&3

3608

350

180

225

160

102

75

Crystal 4&5

2688

350

180

225

160

102

75

Ebony 1

675

30

28

30

24

24

16

Ebony 2

650

30

28

24

24

24

16

Dimensions and area are approximately rounded off, upwards or downwards, to the nearest digit.

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domestic MICE

access Being the financial hub of India, Mumbai is well connected to cities across the globe and hosts one of the highest number of international and domestic conferences in India attracting business tourists.

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domestic MICE

Mumbai

A Leading MICE HUB Since Mumbai is also the gateway to southern and western India, the international traffic has significantly been on the rise. Considering its popularity as a MICE destination, here’s a deeper view into what makes the city a popular MICE destination.

Bandra–Worli Sea Link

Executive meeting room in Sofitel Mumbai

M

umbai, a key business hub and home to a number of national and international company headquarters, caters to large business arrivals. Driven by trade events and conferences throughout the year, the city handles the same with major convention centres and hotels.

MICE venues of the city

The Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre (BEC) is the largest exhibition centre in Mumbai, ideally situated along the Western Express Highway in Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station

post-event activities Mumbai is full of historical landmarks such as the Haji Ali Dargah, a magnificent mosque, Babulnath Mandir, Mahalaxmi Temple, Elephanta Caves, the early 20thcentury Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, and many more.

Delegates with families can frequent Mumbai’s Essel World and Fantasy Land theme parks, and the sharks at Taraporewala Aquarium. There are a number of options for visiting nearby hill stations for example Mahabaleshwar, Matheran, Khandala, Lonavala, Karla, Panchgani, etc.

domestic MICE

B-leisure in the city Strongly positioned as a luxury destination, Mumbai sees a lot of business traffic. Other than being a transit hub for international travellers heading to Goa, Kerala Backwaters or tourist attractions in the Aurangabad circle, there are many attractions for MICE travellers in Mumbai itself for those extending their stay for more touristic visits.

Goregaon, within 10 minutes from the airport and walking distance to the train station. BEC consists of four halls occupying over 45,000 sqm of centrally air-conditioned space for conducting exhibitions.

The halls are Wi-Fi enabled, have ample height, good lighting, well-designed ventilation and strong flooring to withstand even the heaviest machinery.

Highlights of the centre: International lounges, business communication centres, site offices, service centres and sufficient parking space within the complex.

World Trade Centre, Mumbai

It offers specially designed meeting rooms where you can accommodate from as few as 10 to as many as 300 people, in either Conference or Theatre seating for hosting corporate meetings. Center Point, the Business Centre of the World Trade Centre offers fully furnished offices and executive suites - backed by secretarial and communication facilities. The Business Cabin space varies from 100 sqft to 220 sqft and a view across the Southwest Bay and the Arabian Sea.

Unique venues

The auditorium of the Nehru Planetarium can be used for conferences and company meetings, provided it is not being used at that time by the Nehru Centre.

Bandra Kurla Complex is the new home to some

hotels with MICE space Westin, Garden City 2952 sqft, capability of 10 separate break out rooms and outdoor space. Natural lighting Four Points by Sheraton 9 meeting rooms, 5005 sqft meeting space Grand Sarovar Premiere 4 meeting rooms ITC Grand Central Large ballroom to accommodate 750 people Ramada Powai Hotel & Convention Centre 4284 sqft meeting space

of the most important financial institutions and offers excellent MICE facilities.

Trident, Nariman Point, has 8955 sqft meeting space. It also provides special weekend meeting packages. Their special feature is wall size windows to enable ample natural light.

Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel has 230,000 sqft of indoor and outdoor space. Its 12,500 sqft Executive Lounge includes a sun deck terrace, foot reflexology, library, boardrooms and central bar.

Shopping in Mumbai

Mumbai is a one-stop shopping centre for practically every kind of product and handicraft that India has to offer, from hand-woven cloth and leather to antiques, silver or designer wear. The most prominent shopping malls of Mumbai are Nirmal Lifestyle Mall, Phoenix Mills and the Bandra flea market for bargains. South Mumbai, including Colaba, is well known for street shopping.

View of Mumbai from Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel

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Hyatt Regency Gurgaon

New MICE address in NCR Neha Oberoi

Hyatt Regency Gurgaon is the new upscale business hotel, epitomising authentic hospitality and offering the perfect combination of intuitive service, enhanced technology and a range of flexible MICE packages for its business delegates. With MICE hotels mushrooming at a rapid pace, it needs to be seen what is the new ‘special’. The Hyatt Regency with its plethora of avenues both with MICE and the new buzzword of bleisure has staked a firm hold in the industry. MICEtalk finds out more about the new multi-purpose convention property.

Strategic Plan

Hyatt Regency intends to work with airlines and convention centres to ensure that they reach out to potential clients and provide encompassing solutions.

They also partner with an array of entertainers on their panel who are of international repute. They offer various genres and types of entertainment to provide solutions and options for the most discerning of guests.

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MICE offer • Buffet Breakfast • Use of suitable conference venue from 9 am to 5 pm • In room Internet usage for residential guests • One night complimentary for every 25 room nights • One upgrade to a Regency King Suite • 15 percent discount on audio-visual equipment • One hour welcome cocktails (IMFL only) hosted by the hotel for a maximum of 100 residential delegates • Double Hyatt Gold Passport Planner Reward Points Valid till 30 September, 2013

sample this

Largest MICE space in Gurgaon

The hotel features the largest multi-purpose MICE space spread over 40,000 sqft. It comprises of the massive Regency Ballroom (20,710 sqft) with a floor to ceiling height of 28 ft., as well as eight meeting rooms, a boardroom, and a dedicated pre-function area for each venue. Built to accommodate up to 3,000 guests, this pillar less ballroom is equipped with the latest technology, surround sound system and conferencing facilities to provide an unparalleled experience.

Multiple dining options

The property boasts Lavana, the signature fine-dining restaurant, serving authentic Awadhi cuisine, The Lounge, a casual and cozy lounge, The Long Bar, a stylish and intimate bar and Kitchen District, the vibrant multi-cuisine restaurant.

“There is a need for large event spaces, which can cater to large groups and events in Gurgaon, considering the number of multinationals headquartered in this city. We believe that the Hyatt Regency Gurgaon can bridge this gap. With the opening of this hotel, we endeavour to provide encompassing experiences, unparalleled services and a larger canvas to paint any event.”

Federico Mantoani General Manager Hyatt Regency

location

The first Hyatt property in NCR, Hyatt Regency is strategically located off the Delhi – Jaipur National Highway 8, at a short drive from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi and is close to the Industrial Model Township (IMT) of Manesar.

The hotel houses the highest inventory of 451 well-appointed guestrooms in the city including 37 luxurious suites

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Jaypee Palace Hotel & Convention Centre

Attracting MICE in a BIG way

Agra has emerged as an ideal choice destination for MICE with the Jaypee Palace Hotel and Convention Centre Agra, offering conference facilities of international standards. Famous for hosting top domestic and international conferences and conventions, and with superior banqueting facilities, the hotel is also a venue for residential weddings and parties.

W

ith 341 well appointed guest rooms and suites to accommodate the needs of large and small MICE groups, this magnificent hotel blends five star luxuries with Mughal opulence to give its guests an experience of a lifetime.

Meeting Facilities

The hotel is located just 2.5 kms away from the Taj Mahal, in the main tourist district of the city, on Fatehabad Road.

The hotel provides extensive convention facilities like exhibition space, multi-lingual interpretation, satellite uplink, hotline terminals, audiovideo recording and editing facilities, external broadcasting room, projection centre and sound control, press and telecommunication room and pre function areas.

The hotel has Wi-Fi and state-of-the-art business support facilities. The Business Centre has boardrooms, meeting rooms and cabins with a secretarial centre, which doubles up as a reception desk that is strategically located to handle enquiries.

The centre also offers facilities like computers, laptops, Internet, telephone, photocopiers, facsimile, telex, and paging among other services.

Convention space

Meeting support

Past events

Large corporate houses and MNCs in India have conducted their conferences and hosted several prestigious International events in Jaypee Palace Hotel Agra, such as the CII Conclave Global Conference (January 2013), World Tunnel Conference (2012), International Conference for Fertilisers Association of India (2011), etc.

Located near the Taj Mahal

The Jaypee Palace Convention Centre can accommodate up to 1500 delegates, and offers contemporary

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conferencing facilities with 10 breakaway options to accommodate between 30 to 400 delegates.

MICEtalk August 2013

The hotel has in-house event coordinators to ensure the smooth running of an event, from start to

MICE hotel

finish. The facility is also known to lend a helping hand to companies who want to engage in various team-building activities. The hotel also provides customised MICE Packages as per the needs of the customers.

Luxurious accommodation for VIPs

Jaypee Palace Hotel has an exclusive Presidential wing with a grand Presidential Suite and two Executive Suites designed to suit the needs of Heads of State, Corporate Leaders and highly discerning dignitaries. The wing features a private controlled access, an exclusive motorcade parking, private dining room with menus specially personalised by the Executive Chef, a private kitchen, specialised security systems and a host of individualised services.

Post-event fun

The leisure and recreation facilities at Jaypee Palace Hotel include a swimming pool, a Health Club with a Gym, Jacuzzi, Turkish Bath, Aerobics Room, Tamaya - the Ayurvedic Spa, Lawn Tennis and Squash Courts, Billiards and Table Tennis, a Joggers Track and a Discotheque.

Special attractions

• Special packages for sightseeing, which include luxury transport, city guides and even entrance fees to various monuments • Fully equipped Leisure Mall with Bowling Alley, Games Arcade, Mini Theatre, Children’s Den and a Snack Bar for guests of all age groups.

• Private helipad with a facility for three simultaneous landings

“To increase the flow of the international conferences, we as the city of TAJ, and a city dotted with a large number of heritage sites, need to do much more to create awareness internationally of the world class infrastructure and capacity available in Agra.”

Manju Sharma Director - Jaypee Hotels

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‘Export’ industry status for conventions on cards Megha Paul

In a tete-a-tete with Micetalk, Vice Chairman, India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) talks about the recent initiatives taken for boosting the MICE industry in India

Chander Mansharamani Vice Chairman ICPB

How has this year shaped up for the convention industry in India?

This fiscal year has begun on a good note for the convention industry. India has been ranked 25th in the best convention destinations of the world. This ranking was given by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in its last AMEX meet in May. Last year, India was ranked at 33. Hence, this is a big gain for the entire industry.

Also, ICPB recently had a meeting with the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, in June.

They have agreed to give the convention industry an ‘export industry’ status soon. This will be a game changer.

In 2013, being the Silver Jubilee year, what new initiatives would be rolled out by ICPB?

ICPB has geared up for its 25th year of existence with a slew of initiatives that will be rolled out in the next few months. We have already done a research on the economic impact on a particular city when it hosts a convention. Post this, we will do regional workshops during the 25th year of ICPB in most state capitals. The idea is to involve the state governments and private stakeholders in these workshops. Earlier, people were talking about the usefulness of conventions but nobody had really approached the states to educate them on the economic benefits of the same.

Along with the regional workshops, ICPB will host road shows in many cities. We will invite local buyers and enlighten them on how they should bid for international exhibitions and how ICPB can help them in preparing such bidding documents.

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yours officially

Which are the cities that you are targeting for these road shows?

The road shows will be conducted in six cities starting with Mumbai in August. This will be followed by Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Jaipur in the coming months. The order in which ICPB will host the road shows will also depend on the availability of the state governments but the idea is to complete them by the end of March 2014. Chairman ICPB and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Anand Kumar is in touch with the state officials for the same.

What are the main challenges that ICPB faces in promoting the MICE industry in India? How do you plan to tackle them?

Most of the foreign organisations feel there are two roadblocks in bringing international conferences to India. Firstly, there are too many permissions required and secondly, visa rules need to be made less stringent. Regarding this, ICPB had a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Govt of Maharashtra and Principal Secretary-Tourism, Govt of Maharashtra and decided that a nodal agency for one-window clearance is needed to grant all these permissions. In principle, the Maharashtra Government has agreed that they will appoint Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) as a nodal agency for getting all the permissions. In Delhi, we are requesting the Ministry of Home Affairs to appoint ICPB as a nodal agency for visa purposes.

How important is manpower training for the MICE industry in India?

To bid for international MICE, training to match international standards is imperative. The first training

The key features of the Vision Document include creating awareness among Indian conference organisers and professional conference organisers to bid for international conferences. session by ICPB for mid and high level managers was conducted in Delhi in July at IHC. Members and nonmembers, including hoteliers, event organisers, etc. attended the training. Going forward, this session will take place every three months.

When does India see the establishment of a concrete MICE policy?

Since there is no existing MICE policy in India, we are meeting the Ministry of Tourism for a brainstorming session to introduce the same. ICPB recently unveiled its Vision Document for a long-term strategy which we have kept as a base document for the policy. The key features of the Vision Document include creating awareness among Indian conference organisers and professional conference organisers (PCOs) to bid for international conferences to make the world aware that India can hold big international conferences.

The idea is to have the MICE policy in place by the last week of September or October when we host our Convention.

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etiquette talk

Master the First Impression Often we say that we don’t judge a book by its cover but are constantly swayed by presentation! Within minutes, or even seconds, we have made up our minds.

Research shows that within a few seconds of meeting a person, we have decided whether we like the person or not and spend the balance time collecting data to back our decision. This is in tune with what Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his best-selling book Blink about how we make decisions literally in the amount of time it takes us to blink!

Can you make a great impression in the first seven seconds of meeting a person?

According to research, seven seconds is the average length of time you have to make a first impression.

Shital Kakkar Mehra Practitioner of Corporate Etiquette and International Protocol in India

Studies show that people who walk 10-20 per cent faster than others are viewed as important and energetic.

Pick up the pace and walk with confidence!

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Understand what Forms First Impressions

In your first meeting, you do not have time to waste and it will help you if you understand how people make their first judgment and what you can do to control the results. In face-to-face meetings, 93 per cent of how you are judged is based on non-verbal communication - your appearance and your body language. Only 7 per cent is influenced by the words that you speak. Clearly, it’s not just what you say - it’s how you say it and how you are looking!

Body Language

Studies show that people who walk 10-20 per cent faster than others are viewed as important and energetic! Pick up the pace and walk with confidence - you never know who may be watching! A smile or a pleasant expression tells people around you that you are glad to be with them. Eye contact says you are paying attention and are interested in what is being said. Leaning slightly forward when speaking makes you appear engaged and involved in the conversation.

In the business environment, you plan your every move yet potential clients and bosses pop up in the most unexpected places and at the most bizarre times.

For that reason, leave nothing to chance. Every time you walk into your place of work, be ready to make a powerful first impression.

You Are Your Best Visual

People first notice your face, then your hair and finally your feet. Whether you notice these things or not, be rest assured that your clients/bosses/prospective clients are! People prefer to do business with people they like – well-groomed, smartly attired and neat works, no matter what your industry or job is.

Greeting with Finesse

The first move you make when meeting anyone in the workplace is to greet them – it can be a handshake, a namaste or the time of the day (e.g. Good Morning or Good Evening). A warm, cheerful greeting is often the beginning of a good business relationship. Offering refreshments like tea/coffee/water is a part of our South Asian culture and is universally appreciated.

Listen! Listen! Listen!

To cement a new relationship, demonstrate that you fully comprehend the needs of your client/business partner. Listen to what’s wanted and summarise and revert with sentences like ‘Let me see if I understand…’

Use People’s Names

A little tip which goes a long way - everybody loves the sound of their own name! When conversing, by using your client’s name initially, you are sending a message that you value that person and their business.

However, remember to reserve using first names for casual set-ups only.

Words Matter!

Although your words make up a mere 7 per cent of what people think of you in a one-on-one encounter, don’t leave them to chance. Words like ‘thank you’, ‘please’, ‘certainly’ can go a long way - say it everywhere, say it to your client, say it to your staff, say it out aloud!

Clients appreciate you when you appreciate them.

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technology

Multi-window Projection Display for Events Highbrow is a leading service provider of comprehensive AV & event production services to conventions, conferences, social events, promotional events and trade shows, etc. At Highbrow the technical team of experts is always involved in the detailed planning for ensuring the smooth functioning of an event and customer satisfaction. Sreecharan Atluri, Managing Director, Highbrow Production Services Pvt Ltd, shares with MICEtalk the latest technological innovation in the field of the events sector.

T

he Audio Visual industry is a constantly evolving sector and the recent technology innovation is the use of Seamless Electronic Backdrop cum multi-window projection display for events. This technique is ideal for building multiprojectors displays for 2D or 3D visualisation & graphics without expensive infrastructure and casual alignment. This is a software based production and playback system for multi-display applications for staging and live events, fast becoming important for live events and staging applications.

With this technology, one can orchestrate stills, animations, graphics, video, sound and live feeds in a single impressive show across multiple display areas.

Whether you want a huge, seamless image or a whole array of displays working together, this astounding solution would make it happen.

Moreover, such a solution has also significantly resulted in the use of integrating with the public social media like facebook, twitter, etc., wherein the public response to the events can be showcased to the live audience in real time, on user created display windows within the picture perfect backdrop.

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Benefits for the participants

The use of Seamless Electronic Backdrop cum multiwindow projection display offers more customised and accurate communication to the audience. These dynamic backdrops in various events facilitate presenter to become more interactive via webcast and use them more effectively and efficiently.

Unique features of these backdrops enable electronic display, which can be customised and changed as per requirements. It enables integration of the complete backdrop area to project one single image or multiple images.

In an interactive forum like Annual General Meetings, Transmit Seminars you don’t have to physically change the backdrop with different themes and it can cover multiple topics at one go allowing you to cost-effectively reach wider audiences with your message. A lot of our national and international customers have benefitted from this technology.

For more information: contact info@highbrow.co.in or visit www.highbrow.co.in

Movements AirAsia appoints Chief Commercial Officer for AirAsia India

Amisha Sethi

has been appointed as the COO for AirAsia India. An executive scholar in Marketing and Sales Management from Kellogg School of management, Northwestern University, USA and an MBA in Marketing from Amity Business School, India, she brings with her over a decade of consumer and brand marketing experience. In her previous roles, she has spearheaded brand marketing for Asia Pacific region at BlackBerry and has also worked for one of the India’s biggest telecom operator; Airtel in Marketing and communications.

Hyatt Regency Gurgaon appoints

Director of Events Ravi R has been appointed as the Director of Events for Hyatt Regency Gurgaon. A product of IHM Bhubaneshwar, he brings with him the knowledge of event planning and management and has been a part of several prestigious large scale events in varying capacities. He comes with 25 years of hospitality experience to position Hyatt Regency Gurgaon as the leading venue to host major corporate events and high profile social gatherings.

Messe Berlin gets new CEO Dr. Christian Göke

takes over as the new chief executive officer of Messe Berlin. A doctorate in law, he replaced Raimund Hosch who retired in June 2013. Göke, who qualified in business and has a PhD in Law, has been COO of Messe Berlin GmbH since April 2000 and previously held posts with Messe Frankfurt GmbH and Roland Berger & Partner.

AIPC appoints President International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) elected Geoff Donaghy as the president to lead the peak association for convention centres worldwide.

A board member for the past eight years and vicepresident for the past six years, Donaghy succeeds outgoing president, Edgar Hirt from Hamburg, Germany.

He has been a strong advocate for encouraging and recognising excellence in venue management.

Courtyard Mumbai International Airport

appoints Director of Sales & Marketing Anang Chaturvedi

is the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Courtyard by Marriott, Mumbai International Airport. Having 12 years of experience in the hotel industry, he started his career with the Marriott family at Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad as one of the core members of the pre-opening team in 2010. Prior to working at Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad, Anang had a considerable stint with Courtyard by Marriott Chennai both in front office and sales from 2006 to 2008.communications.

Fairmont Jaipur gets new Director of Sales and Marketing

JW Marriott Bengaluru

appoints GM Parul Thakur is the new General Manager at JW Marriott Bengaluru. She started her hospitality career with Hilton, New Delhi. After a short stint at Hilton, she joined the Marriott family in 1998, as the first employee of Marriott in India at Goa Marriott Resort. In her new role she is responsible for driving the overall business and growth of the hotel in Bangalore. Apart from this, Parul will also be involved in driving associate engagement, brand standard audits, guest satisfaction and setting new standards in service quality.

Shagun Sethi

was recently appointed as the Director of Sales and Marketing, Fairmont Jaipur. Prior to joining Fairmont, she has worked with The Oberoi Group as a Sales Manager – Key Accounts National Sales. A qualified radio jockey, she has experience of over 11 years in the hospitality industry and has also worked with leading brands such as The Oberoi Group and ITC Hotels.

calendar events

events

EVENT

VENUE

CITY/COUNTRY

DATE

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2013

Yas Marina Circuit

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Nov 1-3, 2013

ICCA Congress 2013

Shanghai

China

Nov 2-6, 2013

World Travel Market

ExCeL Exhibition Centre

United travel

Nov 4-7, 2013

Airtec-Germany

Frankfurt Exhibition Grounds, Ludwig, Frankfurt , Germany

Nov 5-7, 2013

Business Travel Market

ExCeL Exhibition Centre

London, UK

Nov 6-7, 2013

Hong Kong Optical Fair

Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre

Wanchai , Hong Kong Nov 6-8, 2013

ICOMEX

Centro Internacional de Exposiciones y Convenciones WTC

Mexico City, Mexico

Nov 6-8, 2013

Caravaning Brno

ExCeL Exhibition Centre

United travel

Nov 4-7, 2013

Business Travel Market

ExCeL Exhibition Centre

London, UK

Nov 6-7, 2013

ICOMEX

Centro Internacional de Exposiciones y Convenciones WTC

Mexico City, Mexico

Nov 6-8, 2013

Caravaning Brno

Fortezza da BassoÂ

Florence, Italy

Nov 12-13, 2013

International Golf Travel Market 2013

Costa Daurada

Spain

Nov 11-14, 2013

Dubai Airshow 2013

Dubai World Central

Dubai, UAE

Nov 17-23, 2013

World Luxury Expo, Doha 2013

St. Regis Hotel

Doha, Qatar

Nov 17-19, 2013

EIBTM

Fira Gran Via

Barcelona, Spain

Nov 19-21, 2013

Postal Registration No.:DL(ND)/6150/2011-12-13 WPP No.:U(C)-305/2011-13 for Posting on 29th-30th of Advance Month at New Delhi P.S.O. Date of Publication: 22/7/2013, RNI No.:DELENG/2010/34144