Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA) – a pan-India body of agencies specializing in Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) business, celebrated unprecedented six years of achievements on May 25th. National Coordinator – Jagdeep Bhagat along with the members of the association interacted with the media through a Virtual Press Meet to talk about NIMA’s journey, and his vision for the growth of the association and the MICE segment.
NIMA had been instrumental in conducting various training sessions and knowledge workshops for the betterment of various strata of MICE industry. It had collaborated with UBM, and MICE @ SATTE 2019 was powered by NIMA. Informa Markets and NIMA once again partnered and NIMA Powered MICE @ SATTE 2020 pavilion in January 2020. NIMA has also partnered with Messe Berlin Singapore as its Knowledge Program Partner for the inaugural edition of ITB – India in April 2021 to be held at Mumbai.
Speaking on the occasion, Jagdeep Bhagat, informed that collaborating with the State Tourism Boards to develop MICE sector across all the potential states of the country by utilizing the opportunities available in the destination will be the prime focus of NIMA. The association is closely working with International Tourism Boards as well.
“A team will be constituted to interact with the States’ Tourism Officials and find the ways to identify the resources and promoting the MICE tourism products of the partner state. We will be drafting, formulating, conceptualizing, analyzing all those efforts which are required for the MICE sector to grow within the states,” informed Bhagat.
He further said that NIMA has decided to close the State Chapters and start collaborating with local associations for better understanding and mutual growth. Along with the State Tourism Boards, NIMA will be partnering with the local stakeholders for quick dissemination of information and connecting points between the association and the destination. “Closing the state chapters does not mean that we are not working in the states but we are adopting different methodology”, explains Bhagat.
He also highlighted that demanding the ‘Industry Status’ for tourism and hospitality sector is top of the agenda followed by creating MICE representation in all State Tourism Boards, and recognition of MICE as an established segment is next on the agenda for the near future. According to him, despite being a single most important vertical within the overall travel and tourism MICE has not been properly tapped by destinations and suppliers of the country.
Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA) is a conglomeration of MICE operators from various parts of the country who work together for the growth and betterment of the industry. Established in 2014, NIMA is only ‘not for profit’ network dedicated for the benefit of MICE operators in India and it doesn’t charge any membership fees from its members. Currently it has over 150 members out of which more than 30% are from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
