Monaco Tourist and Convention Authority, Société des Bains de Mer, Le Méridien and Fairmont join forces for unique event in India

Representatives of the luxury tourism industry came from across India to gather at a palace in Udaipur for a seminar on Destination Monaco.

Indian visitors spend almost 5,000 nights a year in the Principality, and the Tourist and Convention Authority and its hotel partners are watching the Indian market, which has enormous potential for development, very closely.

The Authority has had a representative office in Delhi, with contacts throughout the country, for the last five years. From 5 to 7 September 2014, it organised a high-level event in the princely state of Udaipur, in Rajasthan Province.

Udaipur is known for being one of the last states where there is still a Maharaja symbolically on the throne, and has a number of palaces such as the Oberoi Udaivilas, where the representatives from Monaco invited the 40 leading professionals in India’s private luxury travel industry to a seminar.

The delegates came from across India (including Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and, of course, Delhi) to take part in this session where they heard presentations about Destination Monaco.

The seminar offered a complete overview of Monaco’s history and tourism potential, with a particular focus on the issues of luxury and safety which are so important to the very wealthy clientele that these professionals generally deal with.

Techniques for selling the destination were also on the agenda, and the presentations delivered by Monaco’s leading hoteliers on this topic were very warmly received.

 The seminar concluded with a dinner at the Palace of the Maharaja, Sriji Arvind Singh Mewar, heir to a dynasty which stretches back more than a thousand years and himself the owner of a chain of hotels. The Maharaja agreed to host the delegates at his Palace, which was once used as the set for the film Octopussy. His son, Crown Prince Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, graced the evening with his presence. The dinner closed with a fantastic performance by Indian dancers and singers, on a stage draped in the colours of Monaco erected in the grand ceremonial hall.

This was another Tourist and Convention Authority event aimed at making Monaco even more appealing to the high-end international market.