India MICE Vision: The existence of disparities in exhibition space in the Tier-2 cities

A growing thrust for India as a MICE destination is exhibition marketplace development, as a considerably larger proportion of exhibitions leads to a higher proportion of repeat business, international buyer sales, and economic transaction value than other MICE sectors. This is because exhibitions account for a relatively larger proportion of MICE economic value globally, at 35-45% as compared to meetings & conferences.

The Present Scenario of Exhibition Infrastructure in India:

The exhibition capacity in India has increased considerably in the last ten years. According to industry figures:

• The total indoor exhibition space is 460,000 – 510,000+ sqm, while additional outdoor spaces for holding exhibits together amount to over 700,000 sqm.
• There are only ~5-6 exhibition centers that provide indoor exhibition space of above 50,000 sq. m. in the country, and large exhibition halls are mainly concentrated in Delhi & NCR.

Tier 2: The Exhibition Space

Deep Gaps in Scale and Density

By comparison, the number of exhibition floor space within tier-2 and tier-3 equivalent cities remains far behind when measured against tier-1 capacity:

• Most Tier 2 exhibition and convention centers (for example, CIDCO Exhibition Centre, Coimbatore Trade Fair Complex, Jaipur Exhibition & Convention Centre), Messe Global Convention Centre Pune will provide 5000-20000 sqm indoor space though the total complex may be bigger.
• Eastern and Central areas represent even lesser at the 5% of the country’s indoor show floor space capacity.
• Regardless of whether new exhibition centres are planned (for example, an incoming modular indoor exposition hall in Science City, Kolkata), they are fractional compared to metro anchors.

In contrast, international competitive show markets such as Germany and China have multiple halls of more than 150,000+ sqm, as well as a total show floor size of 200,000 – 10,00,000+ sqm in each exhibition centre.

Impact of the Tier-1/Tier-2 Gap on Market Dynamics

Such differences have the following implication:

• Large events’ preferences lie in the Tier-1 category: Large Indian Exhibitions as well as the flagship event for the industry choose Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, or Ahmedabad (Tier-1/large Tier-2 group), for both infrastructure as well as accessibility reasons. The recent trend has been that the major exhibitions from Mumbai have shifted to the NCR due to various reasons related to logistics & permits, etc.
• Tier 2 – There may be halls available in Tier – 2 but the total available space is rarely more than 20,000 sqm this makes business-to-business expos impossible
• Disparity in carrier and logistics: This entails the lack of proper cargo handling facilities and international flights in tier 2 cities, thus discouraging large exhibitors from hosting large shows away from the metropolitan areas (a prime force in the exhibitions business).

Dollar Value of Exhibition the Exhibitions are among the top revenue-earners in MICE:

• Estimated trade show industry value in the trade exhibition segment in India is poised to be in the range of ₹85,000+ crores (approximately USD 10-11 billion a year).
• The overall B2B events market in India is estimated to expand at an approximately 11% to 12% CAGR until 2030.

In light of this, however, the disparity in the size of the exhibition halls between Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities has remained a bottleneck. Furthermore, if medium to large exhibition halls (35,000 to 100,000+ sqm) are not developed at a quicker pace, Tier 2 cities can potentially organize just regional or specialist exhibitions, but not global events.

For making equal opportunities in MICE and exhibitions available in India:

1. Mid-sized exhibition halls (30,000 – 70,000 sqm):

A minimum thresholds in order to invite modest sizes of B2B exhibitions of Tier-1 cities.

2. Coordinate logistics and connectivity Parallel investments in handling, customs, and air or rail connectivity would enhance Tier-2 markets as functional exhibition marketplace destinations.
3. The cities with robust manufacturing hubs (textile in Surat/Jaipur, engineering in Coimbatore, food processing in Lucknow) may house sector-specific shows, if aided with suitable indoor space.

Conclusion: While it is no secret that India has an emerging and world-class exhibition industry, unfortunately its indoor floor space remains predominantly in Tier 1 cities, thereby hindering the rise of Tier 2 cities.

Filling this deficit with purpose-built convention centers (30,000+ sqm) in key locations would help share the global impact of exhibitions evenly across India’s MICE platforms.