RUSSIA and the CIS countries are emerging as hot markets for MICE into India even as longhaul sources such as the US and UK have slowed or stabilised.

Alpcord Network Travel & Conference Management Company managing director, Chander Mansharamani, said despite there not being any promotional activity on the MICE front in Russia thus far, numbers had been on the rise.

“The Ministry of Tourism is conducting its regular roadshow in Russia in September and for the first time, there will be a MICE component. We’re expecting 18 to 20 Indian participants.

“India is a new destination for the Russians and we’re getting small meetings at the moment. These are from the pharmaceutical, power and IT sectors and they are spread out to Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata,” he said.

Mansharamani added that he had seen about five per cent growth from the market this year, which could climb to 10-15 per cent next year.

Travelite (India) director-business development, Amrita Ahluwalia, said the DMC used to depend on the “wow market” of the US for incentives, but was now focusing on Russia and the CIS countries, as well as the Middle East and South America.

She surmised that the Russian market was growing by 20 per cent year-on-year.

“I have a feeling that the US will become a thing of the past,” said Ahluwalia. “The value of the US market is decreasing; same for the UK. Clients used to commonly ask for palace hotels and villas, but are now exploring even three-star options.”

Mansharamani said while he had not seen much of an impact on meetings from the West, budgets had been affected, with clients booking hotels that were one level lower, such as a five-star instead of a five-star deluxe.

Read more in TTG Show Daily – IT&CM India 2012

Additional reporting by: Linda Haden

FROM November 1, the Greater Busan CVB will come under a new umbrella tourism body that will look at nurturing conventions, incentives and leisure groups for South Korea’s second-largest city.

Speaking to the Daily, Greater Busan CVB manager, tourism marketing, June Kim, said the Busan Tourism Organization (its working name for now), would act as a “control tower” for all things related to tourism including marketing and development.

“The mayor sees the MICE industry as a key driver of economic growth for Busan, and with this change, we will see a centralisation of efforts and less wastage of funds,” she said, adding that suppliers and trade associations now held their own promotions.

Busan Metropolitan City exhibition and convention division deputy director, Ha Young Ho, pointed out that this would also mean Busan growing its presence at international tradeshows independent of the Korea Tourism Organization, such as its participation at IT&CM India. While it only has a booth in this inaugural edition of the show, the intentions are for a standalone pavilion next year.

He said: “We see potential in the Indian market because it is so big. Both Busan and India are also strong in IT, so there is an opportunity to tap that area for meetings and incentives.”

Read more in TTG Show Daily – IT&CM India 2012

TO counter the effects of the sliding Indian rupee in a price-sensitive Indian market, some sellers at IT&CM India are tossing in value-adds to stimulate MICE business from India.

Most of these value-adds help to reduce the cost of pre- and post-show programmes.

For instance, The Puteri Pacific Johor Bahru, Malaysia is promoting a US$100 value-added package that twins Singapore with the southern Malaysian city. The deal, valid till mid-September, includes a night’s stay with breakfast at the hotel, entrance tickets to Universal Studios Singapore and two-way transfers.

Indian delegates extending their stay in Hong Kong with their family can take advantage of a Sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck promotion – valid till next month – which offers free entrance to a child for every two adult tickets purchased. The attraction’s managing director, Josephine Lam, said she would be meeting with an Air India representative and Indian outbound specialists at this show to develop special packages.

In Indonesia, Samabe Bali Resort & Villas and Grand Mirage Resort Thalasso Bali are offering Indian clients a stay-three-pay-two promotion till October 2013. Ralf Luthe, general manager of Samabe Leisure Hospitality Group, which manages the two hotels, hopes the promotion will attract more incentive groups from India.

Luthe noted that with weaker buying power, fewer Indian clients were buying optional programmes such as spa treatments. “Indians are also seeking savings by eating in restaurants outside the hotels,” he added.

Indian MICE buyers told the Daily that most Asian sellers have been supportive, sweetening deals with complimentary VIP lounge access, late check-outs, room upgrades and flexible cancellation policies.

Travel Tours Group vice-president, Joseph K Jose, said Asian DMCs had been willing to renegotiate and offer value-adds such as shopping vouchers.

Read more in TTG Show Daily – IT&CM India 2012

INDIAN travel firms have fallen out of love with Western Europe, with unfavourable currency exchange rates, new taxes and airfare hikes making this once sought-after destination increasingly untenable.

Kunal Sawhny, vice president – business development, Blue Moon Travels has seen the volume of Indian clients headed to Western Europe plunge by 30 per cent in the past 12 months.

He said: “More and more companies are watching the pennies since the softening of the rupee in the last year. Some are looking to alternative, less expensive destinations in Eastern Europe, such as the Czech Republic, which offers corporate clients something different, while others choose not to hold MICE programmes in Europe altogether. They decide to host an event domestically or in regional destinations such as Thailand and Singapore, which are relatively less expensive.”

New service taxes introduced on July 1, which impose an additional 4.994 per cent administration fee whenever an airline reservation or change to an airline booking is made, have also served to curb demand among Indian firms for Western Europe, particularly for incentive programmes.

Classis Travel & Tour’s director, Rajendra Dhumma, said: “With airfares to Western Europe costing around US$1,000 to US$1,200 at one go, these extra taxes can really pile up, making companies think twice about holding an event in Western Europe.”

Meanwhile, airfares in India have been creeping upwards, driven by escalating fuel costs. Based on national news reports, airfares in India have risen by 30 to 40 per cent in the last six months. “These airfare hikes have hurt our India to Western Europe business, which dropped by 10 per cent in the last year,” said Dhumma.

As these debilitating factors continue to take their toll, India to Western Europe MICE traffic is anticipated to fall further in the coming months.

“Looking at the faltering Indian and global economy, we can assume that traffic from India to Western Europe will see little chance of an uplift in 2013. However, the situation might change if airfares dropped and currency exchange rates improved,” said Mitesh Dani, director, Parul Tours & Travel.

AIR Astana has bumped up the frequency of its Almaty-New Delhi flights, in response to growing demand fuelled by greater trade and financial co-operation between Kazakhstan and India.

Now available once a day except on Thursdays and Saturdays, the three-hour, 45-minute flights will continue to be serviced by Airbus A320 aircraft in a 148-seat, two-class configuration.

“Business and leisure traffic between Kazakhstan and India has continued to grow strongly in recent years, and Air Astana is delighted to respond by providing extra services to Delhi,” said Ibrahim Canliel, vice president of sales & marketing at Air Astana.

Air Astana is offering return economy airfares from Almaty to Delhi starting from US$337 per pax, including taxes, while a business-class return ticket costs at least US$1,308, taxes in.

The Kazakh flag carrier has been running Almaty-Delhi flights since September 4, 2004, and has carried close to 200,00 passengers on the route since.

JAPAN Airlines (JAL) is planning to kick-off two new routes using the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, including the world’s first and only nonstop flights between San Diego and Asia, and services to Helsinki in March next year.

The Japan flag carrier is scheduled to commence Tokyo (Narita)-San Diego flights on December 2, 2012. Operated four times a week initially, the service will be boosted to a daily in March 2013.

The second new route, four weekly flights between Tokyo (Narita) and Helsinki, will take off in March 2013. The service will increase to a daily in the middle of financial year 2013.

Meanwhile, JAL is also planning to ramp up frequencies on flights within the region.

The carrier’s Tokyo-Singapore service, operated using the 787-8, will take on another daily frequency from October 28, raising the number of weekly flights on the route from 14 to 21.

Furthermore, frequency on its Narita-New Delhi route will be raised from five to seven flights per week starting October 29, while aircraft servicing the route will be upsized to Boeing 777-200ERs (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 25, 2012).