Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and Director General, Ministry of Tourism, delivering the keynote address at the Wedding and MICE conclave in Kochi on Friday.
The country should nurture Wedding and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism with a specialised focus instead of its current inclusion under the generic tourism development initiatives, Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and Director General, Ministry of Tourism, said here on Friday.
He was delivering the keynote address at India’s first Wedding and MICE tourism conclave here. Mr. Billa suggested that the segment should ideally have separate microsites on the country’s leading tourism portals to focus better on its potential.
On the inherent advantages of Kerala in the sector, he said it had the right ambience and infrastructure and the potential business opportunity of ₹1 lakh crore in the Wedding and MICE tourism segment. “What is needed is convergence, by linking the dots to usher in a synergy,” he said. Maintaining that East Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand have long since leveraged the potential of the segment, Mr. Billa said Kerala must take cue from them by setting up a MICE promotion bureau. Hailing the government for its “bold” decision to go beyond general ideas about tourism and diversify the segment, he said that it must now take initiative in creating an ecosystem focussed on it.
“Kerala’s green-friendly policies, the widely acclaimed Responsible Tourism initiatives, and excellent air connectivity have helped the State emerge as a global destination. With the high spend and low carbon footprint, the MICE segment holds immense potential. An array of local enterprises like florists and caterers also stand to benefit from its growth,” he said and also pitched for leveraging new technologies like AI to facilitate quick access to data related to venues and infrastructure in various locations for MICE events and weddings.
More than 675 buyers from within and outside the country are participating in the event in which 75 exhibition stalls have been set up for sellers for trade meetings.
The conclave organised by Kerala Travel Mart (KTM Society) in association with Kerala Tourism will conclude on Saturday.
Published – August 15, 2025 08:30 pm IST
