Delhi in need of upgrade

Convergence India is one of the largest and longest-running communications events in South Asia and the organiser, New Delhibased Exhibitions India, has every reason to be pleased with the progress of the exhibitioncum- conference and plans further expansion. The 13th edition of Convergence India was held at Pragati Maidan in March and already Exhibitions India is gearing up for a major boost for next year. "We have held Convergence India annually since 1992. The event has grown from 1,000sqm to 5,000sqm, and from 100 exhibitors to 300. We have ambitious plans for 2006, increasing the space to 10,000sqm and 500 exhibitors," said Prem Behl, managing director, Exhibitions India. "India is experiencing unprecedented growth in the telecommunications arena. This growth is estimated to lead to an expenditure in India of more than US$50 billion over the next six years. The same growth is expected on broadband and high-speed internet." All seems to be going well for Behl and his team as far as Convergence India is concerned. However, he conceded that the venue, Pragati Maidan, is a forced choice. "We have continued to host the event here and will do so in future due to various reasons," he said. "Availability of space is one. We also require air-conditioning to house the technological and electronic equipment, and a dust-free hall. There is simply no other location within any of the major cities to conduct this sort of exhibition. "As far as New Delhi is concerned, there is going to be an excellent facility in Greater Noida (in the national capital region), but due to Pragati Maidan's more accessible location we have no other option." Pragati Maidan is managed by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), a government agency. The venue, located in central Delhi, offers 62,000sqm of covered exhibition space in 16 halls and a further 10,000sqm outdoors. Growing exhibitors Overall, Convergence India is growing. According to Debasish P. Choudhury, manager, Exhibitions India, in 2005 there were 307 exhibitors from 27 countries, 50 per cent of whom were from abroad. There was also 18,000 visitors across the three days. Nearly 10 per cent of visitors, speakers and exhibitor staff were from foreign countries. The fee was US$125 per delegate per day or US$300 per delegate for all days. There was a 20 per cent discount on offer for group registration for four or more from the same company. However the Exhibitions India team isn't satisfied with the existing venue and it has plenty of reasons. "The challenge is not hotels as far as Pragati Maidan is concerned," said Behl. "It is the fact that halls aren't up to international standards. The management of this venue is neither exhibitor-friendly or organiser-friendly. Even for visitors, there are problems." For instance, Behl said that he had to deploy teams prior to the event to ensure that the exhibition space was clean, facilities for the toilets were fine, walls were clean, the hall was bird-and mosquito-free, taps and drainage were working and the environment outside the hall was clean as well. "This really shouldn't be my responsibility. We had to do a lot of work to lift the standard," said Behl. Catering was also a problem. "I had people (during the event) complaining to me about the lack of options for food. Exhibitors required refreshments inside the hall but there was no space there," said Behl. "Even the out-side kiosks and food weren't up to what exhibitors from foreign countries expected." Mixed responses However one of the exhibitors, Rajiv Debbad, regional manager, sales and marketing, MagnaQuest Technologies, was less critical than Behl. He said: "Convergence India was conducted well. Nonetheless, one complaint remains that it could have done better in terms of attracting visitors. All the attributes — exhibitions, conferences, food, travelling — have been above average." Hyderabad-based Debbad, who was there Increasing…growing exhibitors numbers from abroad Services…mixed review on venue facilities CONVERGENCE INDIA KEY FACTS Event: 13th Convergence India Date: 22 to 24 March, 2005 Organiser: Exhibitions India Space: 5,000sqm Exhibitors: 307 Visitors: 18,000 for two days, said: "I didn't face any problems and the stay was comfortable." Although benefiting from its central location, Pragatai Maidan suffers from entrance accessibility problems. The organiser said there was no convenient way in which visitors could get inside the venue and that it lacked transport and a visitor-friendly taxi site. "Our visitors had to park outside the gate (the main gate is 250m from the hall) where parking spaces are difficult to find and then walk a long distance, crossing through hectic traffic. There were a whole lot of infrastructure challenges," Behl said. For convenience, Exhibitions India chartered vehicles to ferry visitors from the main gate to the hall. However, outside the venue they didn't offer hotel or travel assistance. "Any service that is not under my control is not offered to exhibitors. We don't offer travel support or arrange hotel accommodation, because if there is a poor experience it would reflect badly on us," said Behl. "It's not my job to create infrastructure in the hall or to receive visitors at the airport." So what is keeping exhibitors' interest in Convergence India? "We have to ensure we provide them with top-quality visitors," Behl said. VERDICT WINNIE HUNG, KODAK VERSAMARK (ASIA PACIFIC) Singapore-based Winnie Hung, regional marketing manager, Kodak Versamark (Asia Pacific), said the exhibition facilities, infrastructure for local transport and options for hotel accommodation are below average in New Delhi. She has visited India several times but said that the progress in the city is too slow. Hung was in India for three nights, along with her colleague from Thailand, and stayed at the Hyatt Regency in southern Delhi. Apart from being an exhibitor, Hung was also one of the speakers at the conference .She said that if there is indeed any comparison to be made between India and China about facilities for exhibitions and conferences, then China is ahead. "Every city in China is coming up with an exhibition centre of world-class standard," she said. She added: "Over here (at Pragati Maidan), the hall is air-conditioned but there is a fear of mosquitoes. I do eat in cafes and restaurants when I visit other countries, but not here. "The food at the hotel was fine but not fantastic. The hotel itself is nice - it was booked through our corporate account . "As for local transportation, we chartered a car for our stay here. The venue seemed to be quite far out. I don't know what hotels are closer to the venue." Though Delhi has many flyovers and anti-pollution traffic measures are now imposed, with work on a metro underway, Hung said the traffic and transportation system in the city was still too chaotic. "Hotels here aren't cheap either" she added Hung agreed that while one can get away with US$100 to $125 per night in a five-star hotel in places such as Hong Kong and Singapore, it's tough in cities such as New Delhi and Bangalore to find rooms at the same price.