Prasenjit Chakraborty - Mumbai In the last decade, there has been a significant improvement in infrastructure development in India and the number of 5-star hotels in the country has grown by 3 fold. In addition, India is hosting the G-20 summits in a grand way, will also encourage many global players to consider India as a great destination for MICE, says Shylender Jindal, Founding Chairman & CEO, Skil Travel, while speaking with Prasenjit Chakraborty.
Q.1. Brief us about your journey.
It’s started with a passion to give people the best in travel services. 20 years ago I was fearless and committed to give the corporate world the best travel solutions. To this day relentlessly the passion and commitment has been the same. The journey has been a fairytale for me. The more I gave the more I got! I thank the universe to be so generous.
Q.2.How is the MICE business evolved over the years?
With increased infrastructure and avid use of technology, MICE in India has transformed to a very large extent. Now the entire focus is on creating unique & memorable experiences. Also, Virtual & Hybrid events have taken over in a big way.
Q.3.What are your USPs that give you an edge over your competitors?
First and foremost, our 21 years of standing in the Indian Hospitality Industry. Because of our Travel background, venue sourcing & in-house logistics is our biggest strength. We have a great design team in-house which has a rich experience of ideating & executing more than 5000 events. We have one of the largest partner networks because of which we are able to handle events of any size and scale. From Leh/Ladakh to Pondicherry, from a 25 pax Global Leadership Meet or a German Delegation to an 18000 pax event for an Indian tech giant, our teams have successfully executed all types of events. Our unique gifting options, our artist management capabilities & team building offerings also act as our biggest differentiators. While executing a MICE, SKIL Events can deliver everything from a pin to a plane, that’s why our clients love us.
Q.4.What is the role of technology for the success of your kind of business? Have you tied up with any technology company?
Absolutely. Not only for logistics and accommodation management, we are actively using technology for enhancing the guest experiences at our events in multiple ways. Our guests can get all event details, their flight PNR’s, room details, chauffer details on the app which we customize for our events. Apart from admin activities, we also use a lot of AR/VR based technology elements at our events as we are the pioneers in that space for corporate events. Some of the commonly used elements are virtual paparazzi walls, interactive brand legacy walls, VR based engagements and many more.
Q.5.What are your plans to expand footprints in India?
With god’s grace we have already gone past our pre-covid numbers and we are looking at phenomenal growth in the next two years. We just opened up our second office in Bangalore. Next in line are Dubai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. In terms of our employee strength, we were reduced to 35 employee count during covid and now we are 120 plus.
Q.6. India’s outbound MICE market is considered one of the fastest growing globally, but when it comes to incoming MICE travels India stands way behind. What is your approach to change the scenario?
It is mostly a perception issue. Earlier the reasons were poor infrastructure, limited connectivity (airports) & unavailability of skilled workforce. However, in the last decade, the scenario has changed completely. Some of the new airports in India are the best in-class. Number of 5 star hotels in India has grown 3 folds, and the talent in the MICE industry knows no bounds. Also, India hosting the G-20 summits in a grand way will encourage a lot of global players to look at India as a great MICE destination.
Q.7.Organising MICE events require a very high degree of professionalism and service quality. How do you ensure this?
Oh, it does. Basis our 20 plus years of experience in this Industry, we have zeroed it down to 3 things – People, Process, Technology. And we take immense pride in sharing that SKIL Events by far has the best of the best in all three domains.
Q.8.What are the trends in corporate MICE events?
Sustainable Gifting, tech-driven engagements, Unique Team-Building Activities, Well thought-of Itineraries, Undiscovered destinations, Focus on wellness & wellbeing, Personalized experiences & Experiential events, are the trends in corporate MICE events.
