NT Reporter
Panaji
With destination weddings and MICE events (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) driving hotel occupancy and tourism revenues in Goa, event managers and wedding planners have said they expect the tourism department’s proposed MICE Bureau to function as a one-stop body catering to the requirements of all stakeholders in the industry.
“The future MICE Bureau must provide information on vetted vendors empanelled with the tourism department, offer single-window clearance, and disclose details of all licences required for holding weddings and events,” Buzz Events founder Jerry Pinto said.
Goa is slated to become the first state in India to have a dedicated MICE Bureau after receiving approval from the Centre, the government said during a tourism industry stakeholder meeting held on May 20.
Pinto said that several international travel management companies interested in hosting events in Goa currently face difficulties in making arrangements.
“Presently, things are a bit unclear. Each hotel has a different contracting system with variations in the licences required. The future MICE Bureau, to be useful, must provide online links to accommodation, departments from which permissions must be obtained, venue halls, vendors and related services,” he said.
He said that incentives sought by the sector could include non-monetary benefits such as memento gifts, discounted transportation fees, traditional welcome dances and river cruises.
“The event industry, despite being a job creator, presently has no ease of doing business in terms of permissions and approvals,” Crosscraft founder Francis Serrao said, adding that the promised single-window system never materialised.
