Representatives from the wedding and Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industries from India, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey will meet at the Inventum Global workshop which kicks off today at the Rixos Premium Hotel in the Antalya Belek Tourism Center.

Sabbas Joseph, president of India's Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) stated that the association consists of about 500 organization agencies, noting that they have organized various trips to Turkey for years at a press conference held prior to the event.

He noted, "We have chosen Antalya for this leaders' meeting and the biggest organizations and communication companies of India are meeting here today. We want to have different experiences. We will see big hotels in the region and cultural and historic sites in Antalya. We do not regard Antalya just as a destination but the starting point of great cooperation - which will bear business and economic opportunities." Underlining that they may plan to build an office in Antalya, Joseph said they will have taken a big step in this regard.

Indicating that the budget of Indian wedding ceremonies outside of India may vary and reach billions of dollars, Joseph noted that Indian companies do not offer organization services for Indian people alone. According to Joseph, customers from various countries come and receive service from Indian event companies. Currently, Indian organizational companies work on roughly 40 international destinations and at least four events are held in each of these locations throughout the year, adding that the size of the sector exceeds billions of dollars.

Joseph continued by saying that "Our experiences and the fact that we convey them to our customers and introduce them to country will help us overcome the barrier. So, we will have recognized a greater number of customers."

Stressing that Antalya is a unique destination, Joseph said, "I regard this as a journey. We will embark on it together in an exciting way. Everyone will see this potential in the near future and we will introduce it to all of our customers."

Joseph also emphasized that common cultural ties, the hospitality of the Turkish nation and mutual understanding are advantageous for them, saying that traditions in Indian wedding ceremonies have changed, emphasizing that previously the bride's family used to cover expenses but both the groom and bride's sides jointly cover expenses now.

Inventum Global MICE Tourism Company Manager Bünyat Özpak regarded the program as, "an unprecedented and goal-oriented organization" held by EEMA in cooperation with Inventum Global, adding that the program is expected to host more than 100 premium wedding agencies from India as well as agencies from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine.

Stressing that they aim for Turkey to get more shares from the sector, Özpak pointed out that the budget of Indian weddings organized abroad can cost billions of dollars.

"Countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Mauritius get the largest share from this cake since the Indian people know these countries very well. Thailand is particularly number one in this regard. Our only problem is lack of publicity," he continued. "They do not know our country. We also want to make up for this lack of publicity with such activities. We want to make Turkey the number one country - instead of Thailand - as soon as possible."