INDIA is expected to unveil a national policy for MICE by end-September this year, the absence of which has crippled the country’s endeavour to position itself as an international MICE destination.

India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) vice chairman, Chander Mansharamani, said: “Deliberations for the policy are underway. We recently had a meeting with the additional secretary of the Ministry of Commerce with regards to the finances necessary for aggressive marketing. The ministry is positive about the policy.

“We are working to announce the MICE policy by end of September at the celebrations of ICPB’s silver jubilee…. We have plans to get some top 50 buyers from the world at the function so that we can interact with them and provide a peek into what all we can offer.”

According to ICPB, the new MICE policy will include a system to record MICE-related statistics in the country, a guidebook providing information on India’s various MICE facilities for foreign buyers, and education programmes for state governments on the economic benefits of MICE events.

“We at ICPB feel that we need the support of a city if we are looking to attract international events. In countries like Singapore or Australia, the city goes and bids for a conference, not an individual. So, we need to convince our governments to get international conferences to our cities. We will try to engage local governments and all the stakeholders of the city,” said Mansharamani.

Anup Nair, managing director, Incentive Destinations, said: “(Having a) MICE policy will help the segment. However, it is important that through the policy, the government is proactive in finding solutions to various issues hampering the growth of the MICE market in the country.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism has begun talks with the state government of Maharashtra for the introduction of a single-window clearance system for MICE, and is likely to seek discussions with other state governments once the system is up and running in Maharashtra.

HAVING established a forte in hosting international conventions, Seoul now wants to build up its incentive muscle and will do so by forging close links with DMCs and event planners.

Maureen O’Crowley, vice president of the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), said: “Seoul has done well with the conventions and exhibitions business, having maintained its fifth position on the UIA’s charts (of top international meetings cities for the third year running) and yet with a 10 per cent growth in qualified events.

“Conventions and exhibitions will continue to hold strong for Seoul, so now it is time for us to shift our focus to incentives. The great thing about incentives is that such events materialise much faster than conventions and exhibitions, which take years to prepare and happen.”

O’Crowley said STO would “work closely with DMCs and event organisers” to attract more incentive groups.

“China is also on our radar now, and we plan on getting more incentive business from that market, which is why we participated in IT&CM China this April,” she added.

When asked if the convention city would have to develop new and fun products to appeal to incentive clients, O’Crowley said it was more important to work creatively with what the city already offered.

“It is very interesting how groups are coming up with great activity ideas themselves. In April we had a group from a pharmaceutical company in China and an activity the participants had to do was to take photos that captured determination, confidence and passion – the three key traits of Korean businessmen that the company’s CEO liked. A 150-pax group from McDonald’s in Singapore created their own version of Running Man (a popular Korean TV game show) in Lotte World amusement park.”

GLOBAL association, communications and event management company MCI recently merged with Malaysian professional congress organiser, Console Communications, for a stronger hold on the growing Malaysian MICE market.

Commenting on the creation of MCI Malaysia, Yap Shook Fung, director of Console Communications, said: “It is a natural step for Console to join a big global leader like MCI. We believe it will help in bringing more international events to Malaysia and my team and I are excited to be part of the MCI global network.”

Robin Lokerman, president – MCI Asia-Pacific, said MCI wanted to expand to Malaysia and build its corporate business in the country.

“Malaysia is a growing MICE destination and many of our clients are expressing an interest in Kuala Lumpur and other cities. With Console, we have found a very experienced team to build our business and support our clients.”

Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau CEO, Zulkefli Sharif, called the merger a “timely” one, given the “rapid development of the business events industry and the increase in awareness of Malaysia as one of the major players in the industry”.

“With Console’s strong foothold in the local business events industry and MCI’s global networking and expertise, we believe this merger will be a catalyst to the industry, bringing more prestigious events to Malaysia’s emerging and dynamic business events industry,” he added.

Console, established in 2004, has been managing large-scale conferences in Malaysia and abroad, including Water Malaysia 2013, the 10^th Asia-Pacific Conference on Human Genetics 2012, and Borneo Water & Wastewater Exhibition 2012.

SUNTEC Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre has thrown open its doors to MICE once again after year-long renovation works.

The rejuvenated convention centre now boasts a modernised façade including a three-storey interactive digital wall, and amenities such as free Wi-Fi throughout its premises.

Suntec Singapore hosted the closing of the 8^th Special Olympics Singapore National Games on June 3, and has since also hosted the Liver Symposium, APASL for 3,500 delegates; and a consumer show, the Singapore Book Fair.

Looking ahead, the convention centre has a calendar packed with events for the rest of 2013, including Spikes Asia 2013 and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s SME events.