by Vijaylakshmi
The time has come for the triumphant return of the Economic Times MICE & Wedding Tourism Summit & Awards, its second glorious edition orchestrated by the ET Travel World. This prestigious summit, to be held on the 28th of June, 2024, at the opulent Aurika Hotels & Resorts in Mumbai, promises an experience brimming with fascinating engagement and insightful knowledge for all esteemed stakeholders within the travel, tourism and hospitality realms.
Packed with powerful sessions with top speakers in the industry, the exclusive ‘by invitation’ event will focus on MICE and weddings destination potential and offer an exclusive opportunity to the participants to meet buyers, sellers and veterans from the segment and exchange knowledge and learning.
The 2nd edition of the Economic Times MICE & Wedding Tourism Summit on the idea of “Reshaping the Industry” is poised to enter into the future of events, exploring how AI and purpose-driven design can boost profits and create impactful experiences. Throughout the day-long Summit, varied discussions will cover topics related to MICE, business & corporate travel, event management & wedding planning alongside trends in the evolving meetings, exhibitions and related services landscape.
Pre-pandemic, in 2019, the global market size for MICE was in excess of USD 808 billion, and the market size of MICE in India was INR 37,576 crore, of which nearly 60 per cent came from the MIC (Meetings, Incentives, and Conferences) segment. Of these, 65 per cent were B2B events. Based on the latest projections, by the end of 2024, business travel spending is expected to reach USD 1.4 trillion and make a full recovery from the pandemic in the succeeding year.
Likewise, the booming destination wedding tourism market, valued at USD 26.8 billion in 2022, is projected to reach to a staggering USD 103.5 billion by 2033, is a key focus. Explore how technology is transforming weddings, with tools for remote planning, invitations, RSVPs and updates. Learn how to craft meaningful events through insightful case studies and expert speakers. This interactive summit fosters innovation and collaboration in the dynamic MICE and wedding tourism industry.
Corporate giants, esteemed government bodies and both domestic and international tourism boards will gather, poised to ignite a firestorm of innovation and dialogue. The future of travel, tourism and hospitality awaits. This day-long spectacle will set new benchmarks, boasting a program rich with thought-provoking panel discussions, culminating in awards ceremony.
Notably, the event is supported by a robust network of sponsors and partners, including Yatra For Business and Cinnamon Life as Associate Partner; MP Tourism State Partner; ATPI India, Jordan Tourism Board, EBIX Travel & Holidays Ltd Event Partner; EEMA Knowledge Partner; Jim Beam as Beverage Partner, AURIKA hospitality partner; supported by Site India, NIMA, TAAI, ICPB, TAFI.
Key industry leaders such as Sabina Chopra, Co-Founder & COO of Yatra Online, Sabbas Joseph, Founder Director of Wizcraft International and Samit Garg, President of EEMA and Co-Founder & MD of E Factor Experiences, will captivate the audience with riveting keynote addresses while sharing an overview on MICE, Business Travel, Corporate Travel, Events and Wedding industry. Dr Ilayaraja T Additional Secretary Tourism, Govt of MP & Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation will also be present at the event to share his thoughts on government initiatives and policy measures.
For a dynamic exchange of ideas with an impressive roster of speakers, industry titans and thought leaders, will grace the stage with a compelling series of sessions and fireside chats. A total of five panel discussions and two fireside chats will delve deep into crucial topics like MICE’s global impact, innovative transformations in corporate travel, mastering client satisfaction, harnessing global trends, crafting trans formative methodologies for impact, navigating competitive markets and the seamless integration of technology in wedding planning.
Speakers across panel discussions include: Tanuja Pandey, Founder & Director, MICE Online, Sunila Patil Founder & Chief Product Officer, Veena World, Siddharth Kapoor, Associate Vice President, EbixCash Travel & Holidays, Sonika Jain Vice President Commercial, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), Sanjay Pai , VP Facilities, Corporate Travel, Hospitality & Director Aviation, Larsen and Toubro(L&T); Gaurav Nagwekar, Head Travel Logistics & Corporate Service Administration, Reliance Industries; Ajay Bhatt, Group Head-Corporate Services, Godrej; Haneet Singh Anand, Chief Welfare Officer, Director & Head-Corporate Administration, Crisil; Senthil Arasu, AVP – Procurement, HDFC Life; Sridhar Keppurengan, Business Head, Cross Border Payments, India & South Asia, Visa; Bharat Mehhrotra, Director Account Management India, ATPI.
Other notable names speaking at the event are Srikant Kanoi, CEO & Founding Partner, Ethereal Celebration Management; Alessandro Aldo Cabella, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams Sri Lanka; Vinod Janardan, Founder & MD, Team Rustic; Gavin Dcosta, Co-Founder & Director, Trip Navigator; Jude Dsouza, FCM Meetings & Events Leader India, Raghav Roy Kapur, Founder, The Livewire Experience; Martin Da Costa, Founder & CEO, Seventy Event Media Group; Dhruv Davar, CEO, Inextis Events; Harkaran Singh, General Manager, Aurika Mumbai Skycity; Neil Sanghavi, Co-Founder & Director, Oxygen Entertainment.
Notable names in the wedding and events industry such as Aarti Mattoo, MD, Momentum Experiences and Events; Anam Zubair, Director of Consumer Marketing, Wedding Wire India; Itchha Talreja, Founder, Itchha Talreja Designs; Devanshi Patel, Founder, Shreem Events; Ashi Jain, Co-Founder, Event Casa, Mahesh Shirodkar, Founder, Tamarind Global; Parthip Thyagarajan, Co-founder & CEO, WeddingSutra.com, Sushill S Wadhwa, Founder & CMD, Platinum World Grroup and Manuj Ralhan, General Manager, Novotel Jaipur Convention Centre & Jaipur Exhibition & Convention Centre (JECC) are also part of discussions at the Summit.
Capping off the conclave, awards ceremony will celebrate outstanding achievements and recognise industry leaders in innovation. Following a rigorous selection process overseen by a distinguished set of Grand Jury this year will reveal winners in different categories. Notably, the winning candidates underwent a meticulous selection process facilitated by EY, the official tabulating partners.
The 2nd edition of the Summit builds upon the success of its maiden edition which was organised last year in June. The event witnessed over 300 delegates engaging in impactful conversations that charted the industry’s future course.
