Indian incentive players look beyond Europe for business

THE softening European economies and resulting dip in incentive business from the region are forcing Indian incentive houses to turn their attention to other source markets.

Incentive specialists who spoke to TTGmice e-Weekly at last week’s SITE Global Conference 2015 revealed that average spend had also declined.

“Europe has been a major source of incentives to India for the last few years but the number of such events has gone down and the average group spend has fallen 10 to 20 per cent. So that’s why we are trying now to open new markets like the US (and Australia),” said Anup Nair, managing director of Incentive Destinations.

Several Indian DMC opined that it is important for new markets to be sought especially since the inbound incentive market for the country is relatively small, with about 40 to 50 groups annually.

“Inbound incentive volume isn’t high and the market has not grown the way we wanted,” said Amaresh Tiwari, managing director of Seasons & Vacations, adding that Latin American markets are now on his radar.

Indian incentive specialists are hopeful that New Delhi’s hosting of the SITE Global Conference 2015 will help draw global attention to India and kick-start business growth.

“The conference is going to be a big advantage for India. The US economy is improving (and US) participation at the event made up about half of the total attendance. We are looking at this conference to open up more avenues for the incentive business into India,” commented Nair.

Kadambini Mittal, regional director, global sales, India & Subcontinent of Marriott Hotels India, agrees. “Domestic market has been a major source of incentive business for us, but we expect the conference to increase our international business,” she said.

Tiwari expects India to benefit from a 20 per cent growth in inbound incentives next year as a result of global exposure through the conference.

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