30 Minute Interview

‘India has the capacity to have several convention centres’

One-of-its-kind facility Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) saw as many as 174 bookings last year and will be host to more than 200 events in the coming year. Philip Logan, general manager of HICC, speaks with Vyas Sivanand about the Indian MICE potential.

Philip Logan General Manager of HICC

HICC is a property, the likes of which India has never seen before. Why did Emaar and Accor feel that such a facility could succeed in India?

I have a good analogy for that. India has last recorded figures of 1.2 billion people. Even if you say that only 10 per cent are into business, it makes for 120 million people. I come from a country called Australia where there are 22 million people and only five million people in business. We have nine convention centres running at 60-80 per cent occupancy. India has just one such facility and we have already achieved break even in year one in terms of bottomline. We have bookings right through 2012. I think India has the capacity to have several such convention centres.

India has always taken the support of statistics. How relevant do you think the figures are for HICC?

In the first week of February 2007, we have the national ophthalmologists' conference here. Currently there are about 4,500 registered delegates out of a potential 7,000 ophthalmologists. In the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre where I used to work before, we had the World Ophthalmologists' conference with only 3,500 delegates. So the amount of delegate capacity in India is enormous.

Specific to meeting, incentives, conventions and exhibition (MICE), could you elaborate on the potential that each holds in the country?

Within the MICE business, for meetings and conventions, India is a no-brainer. India has always been an incentive destination, but it has never been sold that way. Exhibitions are just so backward here but the market is also right for exhibitions. So all segments of MICE have enough opportunity in India.

What other states is Accor looking at for managing such facilities?

Governments from Orissa, Goa, Pondicherry, Kerala, Rajasthan, etc have approached us. We have had 22 CMs coming to Hyderabad and asking us for such a facility in their state. But it takes time. HICC is one facility that shows that if you get your act together, it can really make a difference.