When you have an economy growing at a perceived 7 – 8%, the desire for Indian companies or to help itself to an International curated event just gets catapulted! The needs of the Indian Corporate to woo its employees and clients alike and Indian millionaires to show-off their newly acquired status by hosting their children’s weddings have created a market-space, seldom exploited before!
Planning a board meeting at Gambling Meccas of Las Vegas and Macao to organizing a fun-filled dealer rendezvous on the Ibiza water-front no longer raises eyebrows. Well, even our well-oiled Swamis have discovered new occasions and added to their followers by holding their Satsang’s and Yoga discourses in the middle of the high-seas, aboard some of the finest luxury cruise-liners!
“Navigating Horizons: The Rise and Future of Indian Outbound Tourism” published by Nangia NXT in association with FICCI said “Our research indicates that India’s outbound tourism sector is experiencing rapid growth. According to the report, spending is anticipated to surge from USD 18.82 billion in 2024 to a remarkable USD 55.39 billion by 2034. The report reveals that wellness tourism, adventure travel, and niche tourism sectors are on the rise. Indian travellers now seek personalized and unique experiences beyond traditional tourism. As technology and digital platforms continue to influence travel planning, the market is expected to grow even more in these areas”.
With a rising urban and young population, the inclination towards exploring destinations away from India is expected to continue to grow. Demographic trends thus are likely to support growth in outbound tourism in the near future, it added.
The growth figures augurs a favourable response from the National Tourist Offices, who are vying for a piece of the Indian action. The Indian mission of the United States, a destination previously perceived as a major VFR market, has now undertaken, as per Export USA, activities to stimulate the MICE market and counter perceptions of the US being a difficult destination due to concerns about visas, costs and distance.
The Indian MICE market will grow exponentially and if numbers do indicate, it is poised to be the fastest growing MICE market in the world! If destinations are serious about adding numbers and attain their statistical ‘Nirvana’, it will hold in good stead to focus on MICE movements! Indian traditional businesses prefer short-haul destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia (mainly Bali), Sri Lanka and Dubai. What will endure as a MICE Destination catering to the needs of the Indian MICE market, here are a few attributes:
Easy and Cheap Visas: Bulk of the Indian MICE market is highly cost-driven. The rule is simple, the higher the cost of visas, the lower the destination preference. Preference for Visa on Arrival / E-Visas / Group Visas. Long visa approval time over 7 days will help you stay uncompetitive. Indians love free visas! There was one wedding group from Kolkata, which took over 20 helpers to lift the luggage of guests! The higher the number of documents for the visas, the less popular the destination gets. Credit to the US Consulates in India, they sometimes offer Group Visa interviews for Indians. Indians, would be probably the only consumer anywhere in the world, wherein, if not for the cumbersome visa procedures, can actually plan and execute an event in Europe on a week’s notice!
Direct flights and connectivity: Three – Four hours of flight-time are ideal, but not a compulsion! If you are looking at bigger group movements from India, the higher the connected cities are with the destination, more chances of one bagging the event. Multiple Airline embarkation points are nice, but never underestimate the power of an Indian wedding group, where at one instance, a planner had to charter three aircrafts to ferry marriage guests from Kolkata to Port Louis in Mauritius, paying three times the average fare!
Indian Food: What is about Indians and their food preference? Well, it is what it is..Indian food is mandatory for big groups, though some will surely try the local fare. Get your list of Indian restaurants out, speak with the Convention Hotel on getting Indian food. Educate them about preference for Indian food, Jain Food, Indian Vegetarian food (not Asian Vegetarian). Also explore opportunities for Indian Chefs to fly down to help cater for the group. At most Indian mega weddings, having an Indian Maharaj being flown down is almost certain! The One big Gala Dinner can be a raucous affair, running late into the night (on a heady mix of noise, music and unlimited alcohol), especially if you are catering to a dealer meet! One Cruise-liner found it the hard way, when they had to refund fare to other guests, who were clearly discomforted by the behaviour of some of the members of this elite group recently! Availability of Hard liquor is important while Wine and Cheese are for those from a nearby planet! Your catering manager will have his hands full, but that’s the way it is! Do not see this change in a hurry! and of course, dinner starts any time after 8.00 pm and at most times goes on till dawn.
There is a growing market for upmarket, luxurious, boutique small meetings. Even in this case, it should be noted to include a vegetarian and Jain menu. The Indian luxury market is predominantly vegetarian, with over 80% of the top 500 Richest people in the country belonging to communities that can relish, endure and nurture Vegetarianism! Remember, meeting a South African DMC, who had started working with the Indian market, remarking that for the first time, he came across a term called ‘Non-Vegetarian’. If catering to a South Indian group, don’t forget to offer Curd Rice, you’ll win them over for life! Well, just some food for thought!
Hotels and Event Infrastructure: Paramount! Indian companies rarely choose anything less than a four-star hotel’ Preference is given to hotels with good ratings, service standards and above all, flexibility. Big groups – get ready for requests for triple sharing, late-check outs (it can vary from 30 minutes to 12 hours!) and last-minute cancellations / additions, etc. Room-dining and baggage services are expected! The request is simple – Best in the ‘value-for-money’ deal-class. India is probably the world’s biggest last-minute market and one’s ability to adapt would only enhance your ability to win-over! Indians cherish helpful assistance over the stiff upper-lip extreme professionalism.
Unique MICE Offerings: The market for unique meeting spaces, though on the upswing is still small! Jungle Safari camps, Meetings in Antarctica with the Penguins, Breakfast with the Orangutans, Weddings on the turquoise waters and other bewitching settings, etc., all offer tremendous niche opportunities and a growing market!
India’s passport ranking as per the Henley Passport Index for 2025 and Indian passport holders can travel to 57 countries without a visa. With roughly only 7% of Indian citizens having a passport still calculates to about 100 million people and that is still a sizable number to target. India’s passport ranking as per the Henley Passport Index for 2025 and Indian passport holders can travel to 57 countries without a visa. With only about 2% of the population having travelled abroad or even own a passport, the potential is immense and only poised to grow. The Outbound MICE Market from India, is in no mood to slow down! The onus to tap a market, where the rewards to the economies are immense by hosting an Indian MICE traveller, clearly lies with discerning destinations and convention-bureaus! and of course..more MICE to catch!
