The industry takes centre stage at the 2nd Annual ET MICE and Wedding Tourism Summit & Awards on June 28. The Economic Times MICE & Wedding Tourism Summit & Awards, organised by ET Travel World, is making a grand return for the second time. Held at the luxurious Aurika Hotels & Resorts in Mumbai on June 28, 2024, the prestigious summit promises to be a captivating engagement and insightful, knowledgeable experience for all esteemed stakeholders in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector. Packed with powerful sessions by top industry speakers, this exclusive, invitation-only event will focus on the potential of MICE and wedding destinations, providing attendees with an exclusive opportunity to meet and exchange knowledge and learnings with buyers, sellers and veterans in the sector.
Themed “Reimagining an Industry”, the second edition of The Economic Times MICE & Wedding Tourism Summit will delve into the future of events and explore how AI and purpose-driven design can boost revenue and create impactful experiences. The day-long summit will feature discussions on topics related to MICE, business & corporate travel, event management, wedding planning, evolving trends in meetings, exhibitions and related services sectors, among others.
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In 2019, before the pandemic, the global MICE market size was over USD 808 billion and India’s MICE market size was INR 37,576 billion, of which around 60% was due to the MIC (Meetings, Incentives and Conferences) segment. Of these, 65% were B2B events. As per the latest forecasts, business travel spending is expected to reach USD 1.4 trillion by the end of 2024, fully recovering from the pandemic the following year.
Similarly, a key focus will be the fast-growing destination wedding tourism market, valued at US$26.8 billion in 2022 and projected to reach a staggering US$103.5 billion by 2033. Explore how technology is transforming weddings with tools for remote planning, invitations, RSVPs and updates. Learn how to plan meaningful events through insightful case studies and expert talks. This interactive summit will foster innovation and collaboration in the dynamic MICE and wedding tourism industry.
Bringing together leading corporations, government agencies, national and international tourism boards, prepare for a whirlwind of innovation and dialogue as the future of travel, tourism and hospitality awaits. This day-long event will set new standards, with a packed programme of inspiring panel discussions and culminating with an awards ceremony.
Notably, the event is supported by a strong network of sponsors and partners, including Yatra For Business and Cinnamon Life as Associate Partners, MP Tourism State Partner, ATPI India, Jordan Tourism Board, EBIX Travel & Holidays Ltd as Event Partner, EEMA Knowledge Partner as Event Partner, Jim Beam as Beverage Partner, AURIKA Hospitality Partner and support from Site India, NIMA, TAAI, ICPB and TAFI.
Key industry leaders such as Sabina Chopra, Co-Founder & COO, Yatra Online, Savas Joseph, Founder & Director, Wizcraft International and Sumit Garg, President, EEMA and Co-Founder & MD, E Factor Experiences will engage the audience with their engaging keynote addresses while sharing an overview of the MICE, Business Travel, Corporate Travel, Events & Wedding industry. Dr. Ilayaraja T, Additional Secretary, Tourism, Government of Madhya Pradesh and Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation will also be present at the event and share his thoughts on the government initiatives and policy measures.
A series of engaging sessions and fireside chats will take to the stage for lively exchanges with an impressive line-up of speakers including industry heavyweights and thought leaders. A total of five panel discussions and two fireside chats will delve deep into vital topics such as the global impact of MICE, revolutionizing corporate travel, improving customer satisfaction, leveraging global trends, devising transformational methodologies to deliver impact, navigating a competitive marketplace and seamlessly integrating technology in wedding planning.
Speakers at the panel included: Tanuja Pandey, Founder & Director, MICE Online; Sunila Patil, Founder & Chief Product Officer, Veena World; Siddharth Kapoor, Vice President, EbixCash Travel & Holidays; Sonika Jain, Vice President, Commercial, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL); Sanjay Pai, Vice President, Corporate Travel, Hospitality Properties and Director, Aviation, Larsen and Toubro (L&T); Gaurav Nagwekar, Head, Travel Logistics and Corporate Services Management, Reliance Industries; Ajay Bhatt, Group Head, Corporate Services, Godrej; Haneet Singh Anand, Chief Wellbeing Officer, Director and Head of Corporate Management, Crisil; Senthil Arasu, Vice President, Procurement, HDFC Life; Sridhar Keppurengan, Business Head, International Payments, India & South Asia, Visa; and Bharat Mehrotra, Director, Account Management, India, ATPI.
Other notables speaking at the event include Srikant Kanoi, CEO & Founding Partner, Ethereal Celebration Management, Alessandro Aldo Cabella, Sr. Vice President & General Manager, Cinnamon Life, City of Dreams Sri Lanka, Vinod Janardan, Founder & MD, Team Rustic, Gavin Dcosta, Co-Founder & Director, Trip Navigator, Jude Dsouza, India Lead, FCM Meetings & Events, 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 and Neil Sanghavi, Co-Founder & Director, Oxygen Entertainment.
The summit will also see participation from prominent figures from the wedding and events industry including Aarti Mattoo, MD, Momentum Experiences and Events; Anam Zubair, Director, 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; Sushil S Wadhwa, Founder & CMD, Platinum World Group; and Manuj Ralhan, General Manager, Novotel Jaipur Convention Centre & Jaipur Exhibition & Convention Centre (JECC).
As the conference concludes, the awards ceremony will celebrate outstanding achievements and recognize industry leaders in innovation. This year, winners in various categories will be announced after a rigorous selection process by a large panel of renowned judges. It is noteworthy that the award candidates were chosen through a thorough selection process supported by EY, the official tabulation partner.
The second edition of the summit will build on the success of the first edition held last June, where over 300 delegates participated in meaningful discussions that will shape the future direction of the industry.
Published on June 27, 2024 at 7 PM IST
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