Shreya Shimpi
The Melbourne Convention Bureau visited India for their India Sales Mission 2026 to showcase their diverse offerings to the India market. The event held in Mumbai commenced with a knowledge session for the travel agents, followed by one-on-one meetings with representatives from Melbourne’s leading hotels, venues and experiences.
Representatives from Melbourne present at the event were Joanna Garrie – Director, Melbourne Convention Bureau; Mellissa De Baize – Sales Director, Crown Hotels; Rosemary Earles – Business Development Consultant, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre; Johanna Little – Event Sales Executive, Phillip Island; and Caitlin Tepper – Business Development Executive, Chadstone, Melbourne Cricket Ground , to name a few. The knowledge session, followed by the interaction, gave the travel key insights into everything that Melbourne and Victoria have to offer to Indian MICE groups. The knowledge session, followed by the interaction, gave the travel key insights into the diverse offerings of Melbourne and Victoria for the Indian MICE groups.
Joanna Garrie, Director, Melbourne Convention Bureau, spoke to BOTT in an exclusive chat during which she shared her insights on the significance of the India market, recent MICE trends, and more.
What is the objective of your visit to India?
Our objective is to educate and showcase why Melbourne and Victoria are the ultimate incentive destinations. MICE agents have many destinations to choose from, but when we interact with the travel agents, it helps them increase their knowledge about Melbourne and Victoria, and it helps us and our partners learn a lot more about the Indian market. This helps them cater to this significant market. It is a two-way education, but gives us a one-on-one opportunity to interact with the agents and promote our destination better.
How important is India to you as a source market?
India is our second-largest source market, China being the first. India is growing at a faster and more impressive rate than China. The population here, the growth of the middle class and the companies undertaking incentive programs offer us a lot of opportunity here.
What are your strategies to increase your footprint in the India market?
We have 2-3 Familiarisation programs where we bring travel agents from India to Melbourne to help them understand the destination first-hand. We do paid advertising campaigns and media opportunities. We invest in having an office here, which is important, and we do it through Beautiful Planet. Melbourne hosts ‘AIME-Asia Pacific Incentive and Meetings Event’ in February, in which we invite Indian agents.
What are the recent trends among Indian travellers being observed in the MICE landscape?
Indian travellers often prefer to club two destinations such as Melbourne-Sydney into a single itinerary. They are increasingly seeking adventure and immersive experience-led travel. While Indian cuisine remains a preference, they are becoming more open to exploring local culinary offerings.
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