September 17, 2015 TnH Global 0

MP: Finding a MICE foothold

With as many as four properties including the iconic Noor-Us-Sabah, location of movies like Rajneeti, Satyagrah, Arakshan and Chakravyuh, WelcomHeritage boasts of one of the strongest presence in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Sunil Sikka, Head of Marketing and Business Development, WelcomHeritage, shares his view on the state’s growing profile as a MICE destination.

How do you view MP as a destination for meetings and incentives?

Madhya Pradesh is emerging as a destination for meetings and incentives. The State is strategically located in terms of connectivity as it has good air, train and road connectivity with presence of leading hospitality chains, WelcomHeritage being one of them. Madhya Pradesh is also rich in natural and cultural heritage with large number of sanctuaries, several national parks and three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Therefore, while conducting meetings and conference at key locations like Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur, a range of off-site incentive packages can also be arranged. In my view, Pachmarhi and Bandhavgarh should be the best places for small conferences. At present Madhya Pradesh has many hotel chains that have efficient MICE offerings which will definitely take a hike in the coming years.

Highlight any event or development that you think is changing MP’s profile as a destination for the domestic and international event organizers?

Madhya Pradesh is called the heart of India because of its location in the centre of the country with the presence of many hotel chains, sanctuaries, national parks, world heritage sites, natural beauty and good air and rail connectivity. The highways have also improved a lot as earlier the roads of Madhya Pradesh were no less than a nightmare. All these factors play an important role to promote a destination for domestic and international event organizers. In recent years, Madhya Pradesh has been successfully promoted as a part of Incredible India marketing campaign which has contributed a lot for the tourism. Also, leading hotel chains are marking their presence in Madhya Pradesh with MICE facilities which attracts big multinationals to conduct their meetings and conferences at this destination.

In the last few years, the state has also seen a rise in number of bollywood films being shot here because of the beautiful destinations like Khajuraho, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Indore.

How are your hotels positioned to cater to this segment of travellers?

WelcomHeritage has presence in four cities of Madhya Pradesh namely Bhopal, Pachmarhi, Bandhavgarh & Pench and all these destinations offer conference and banquet facilities to cater to the needs of travellers looking for MICE options. WelcomHeritage Jungle Home, Pench and WelcomHeritage Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Bhopal offer a capacity of 300 and 450 people respectively with all facilities and these two hotels are positioned to offer MICE solutions to the travellers.

What are your key offerings in this area? Please also mention your various properties MICE related USPs in brief ?

WelcomHeritage has four properties in Madhya Pradesh from all three categories namely Legend, Heritage and Nature Resorts. WH Noor- Us-Sabah Palace, Bhopal, A Legend Hotel; WH Golf View, Pachmarhi, A Heritage Hotel; WH Jukaso Salvan Resort, Bandhavgarh and WH Jungle Home, Pench are Nature Resorts.

WH Noor-Us-Sabah Palace has a USP of Conference and Banquet facilities. It has conference halls catering to the needs of different segments – Emperor, a pillar-less hall that accommodates up to 450 people, Viceroy Hall for 150 people, Diwan-e-Khas for 50 people, Baithak for 40 people and Sadat for 35 people. Similarly, loaded with modern conference equipments WH Jungle Home, Pench has a conference hall with a capacity of 300 people.

WH Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Bhopal is also an appropriate destination for film shooting. Famous bollywood movies like Rajneeti, Satyagrah, Arakshan and Chakravyuh were shot at the property.