The truth is that it is all of the above and then some. With a booming economy and a rapidly growing middle class ready to spend their hard-earned, India is becoming one of the “hot” destinations and is already well geared to cope with association and corporate meetings. On a familiarisation trip for five senior event planners organised by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Qantas and Indian destination management company TCI, it became clear that India has great potential for corporate events.
True it is not always an easy destination, but is one that will deliver life-long memories for any visitor willing to take the rough with the smooth. Our trip began in Kochi, at the Le Méridien Cochin Resort & Convention Centre, a deluxe property just outside this historic city in the southern Indian state of Kerela. The resort has a long track record for hosting conferences and events and presented a lavish dinner and traditional dancing around the pool on a balmy evening.
A major attraction for Kerela is the houseboat fleet which operates on the hundreds of kilometres of “backwater” which lies parallel to the coast. The decorated timber and coir houseboats typically have two or three cabins, but can provide day trips for larger groups. Meals are provided from scratch from the houseboat kitchen as the boat quietly cruises the waterways.
In one-and-a-half decades of travelling to many countries to report on conference destinations, I’ve invariably had the big festival or some such celebration occur “last week” or “next week”. Not so in Mumbai. We arrived on the final afternoon of Ganesh, the most explosive of India’s celebrations in which the elephant god is processed through the city streets to the sea where it is ceremonially dunked while bands of youngsters turn the city of some 20 million into party central. Given the population of more than one billion in the world’s largest democracy, it comes as a surprise to discover the annual inbound tourist market is about 20 per cent less than the number of international visitors to Australia. There are fewer than 100,000 hotel guest rooms and the cranes are working hard across the country to rectify this situation – especially in the light of the burgeoning Indian middle class. At the luxury end of the accommodation market, the news is good for event planners considering an incentive or corporate meeting. With an average of two staff to every guest, the service levels in the deluxe hotels are exceptional.
Starwood’s two Sheratons in Mumbai are everything you’d expect from this prestigious hotel group. The Maratha Sheraton adjacent to Mumbai’s (or Bombay as the locals still prefer to call it) international airport has a collection of restaurants that could only be matched by Crown in Melbourne. And this at an airport hotel.
The Indians clearly see food as central to existence, much like the French and Italians. Not willing to take a chance with local eateries, the fare served in Le Meridien Kerela and in the Sheratons in Mumbai was nothing short of sensational, though it became something of a challenge to keep up with the flow of dishes which kept coming. The standout meal – and absolutely perfect for the opening event – has to be Peshwari at the Sheraton Maratha in Mumbai. The typical Indian fare included a naan bread that was around one square metre in size. Seeing one elephant-headed god immersed, you really don’t need to witness the next 5000, so we repaired to the cool comfort of Shashin Tendulkar’s restaurant and sports bar which sits way up on the celebrity stakes in Bollywood central.
We’d been on a curry, curry and curry diet for the past three days so it was no contest when I spotted lobster thermidore for around $16 Aussie on the menu. It might date from the 1970s, but done well as this one was, it’s still a sensational dish.
The processions were still in full tilt at 1am as we made our way along Marine Drive (those English names are so comforting in a town like Bombay). I’d been to Sri Lanka (India Lite) and the less enticing of Asian cities such as Jakarta and Manila, but Mumbai is in a league of its own in the squalor stakes. But this is really not an excuse to give it a miss. It’s not an easy city but has some fantastic public buildings, great energy and one can sense enormous camaraderie amongst its communities. Almost without exception the women are immaculately dressed in the most beautiful saris – including in the most desperate of slums. This is a port city thousands of years in the making and it displays all the worldliness of a Melbourne or Marseilles. We stopped downhill and upwind of the Towers of Silence where the bodies of deceased members of the Parsi minority community are laid out as a feast for the Mumbai birds of prey.
Textiles, silks, leather goods and silver are dirt cheap, but buyer beware. I came across a store in a hotel shopping arcade and selected some beautifully designed Indian silver platters. While my three purchases were being wrapped out back for the trip home, the elderly store owner gave me a 15 per cent discount for my bulk purchase and we had pleasant chat on matters Mumbai. Imagine my surprise and chagrin when I opened my purchases with a flourish back home to discover that the packer had “forgotten” to include one of the platters. I’m quite philosophical about it. Mumbai and India gave much more than it took and sparked a strong desire to return.
Qantas flies three times a week direct to Mumbai from Sydney and has agreements with Indian domestic airlines which simplify bookings. Qantas groups sales manager Joyce Weir in Sydney is well equipped to assist with arrangements. The Airbus used has the Spacebed in business class.
Regional director - Australasia of the India Tourist Office, Shanker Dhar, can’t help but wax eloquent on his favourite destination. “Can words describe 3.2 million square kilometres of the Indian subcontinent? Can pictures capture a terrain as diverse as verdant forests, golden deserts and the majestic Himalayan range? Can stories tell you all you want to know about the complex cultures of the Indian people, their languages and dialects, their rituals and traditions? To feel her magic, be touched by her spirituality, be amazed by her entry into the space age just to join in her celebrations, you have to be in India.”
India and Incentives
When you want to build stronger relationships with a business partner, make a client feel truly special, offer an unforgettable reward to a top achiever, or give your employees the royal treatment… what better than to bring them to unparalleled lands of the Gods and gurus, of mysticism and majesty, of history, geography and culture. India is brought alive with magic and splendour through the special incentive programs. Imagine a program that takes your client up the ramparts of an ancient fort on the back of an elephant, swaying to the sound of beating drums. Where lunch in gardens overlooking the Taj Mahal is accompanied by the sweet music of a flute. Where thousands of oil lanterns light up the night as the boat docks on the banks of the holy river Ganges at Varanasi. A program which finally reveals what it means to be on top of the world on a flight over the one and only, Mount Everest. Other exclusives include special royal welcomes for your clients, the choicest travel arrangements, luxurious accommodation, gala theme evenings, entertaining cultural shows and awe-inspiring excursions.
India and Meetings
India is today much more than just an exotic holiday destination. A land of living contrasts, it is also a dynamic nation surging ahead in the new global economy. With the latest technologies, the best of venues and state of the art business facilities, it meets the highest global standards for conference and meetings and combines them with a 5000 year old cultural heritage, as only India can do. Giving you the opportunity to host your event aboard royal trains like The Palace-on-Wheels and The Royal Orient, amid the majestic Himalayas, near ancient heritage sites and other incredible locations. And offering delegates the chance to visit sights like the Taj Mahal, participate in fascinating Indian festivals and shop for exotic handicrafts. India is not just one of the world’s oldest civilizations, it is also the world’s largest democracy, and has made amazing progress in the recent years. Accessible for national and international delegates, India is one of the world’s most fascinating countries for any meeting, incentive program, conference or exhibition. Nowhere else in the world can you find such a fantastic combination of the old and the new, where traditional concepts and microchips survive amicably. Holding an event in India offers an extensive range of conference technology, sophisticated accommodation and dining services, and a varied range of exotic locations for pre and post tours.
The India Convention Promotion Bureau
“A good place to start is the India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB)” Shanker Dhar says. “It is India’s apex body whose mission is to showcase India’s ability to hold conventions and conferences of all shapes and sizes.” Sponsored by India’s Ministry of Tourism, the members of the bureau also include Air India, Indian Airlines, major Hotels, Convention Venues, leading Travel Agencies & Tour Operators, Professional Congress and Event Organizers, Educational Institutions and State Tourism Development Corporations.
The ICPB is meant to be a catalyst to provide support to conference planners, organisations, associations and other trade bodies, during the bidding process for international conferences as well as to undertake marketing activities overseas. This organisation is a member of Union of International Association (UIA), which is the premier world organisation in the conference industry.
For more information please contact Shanker Dhar, Regional Director-Australasia, Government of India Tourist Office, Sydney. Phone (02) 92644855 Email shanker_dhar@indiatourism.com.au.
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