Maharashtra Convention Bureau and Jio World Convention Centre Empower Mumbai as a Global MICE destination
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23rd Sep, 2025
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Bandra Worli Sea Link
Photo Credit - Jio World Convention Centre
India has entered a new phase in its tourism and business events journey. In 2025, India became the world’s fourth-largest economy according to global economic rankings, reflecting its growing influence on international markets. This momentum is supported by a strong domestic base and expanding sectors such as knowledge industries, infrastructure, and business events. In Mumbai, the opening of the Jio World Convention Centre (JWCC) in March 2022, a world-class venue designed to host exhibitions, conventions, meetings, and major cultural and social gatherings, marked a turning point in the city’s capacity to welcome large-scale international events. That capacity is now reinforced by the announcement of the Maharashtra Convention Bureau (MCB) earlier this year. Maharashtra, home to India’s financial capital as well as one of the most culturally dynamic states, has created the bureau through its Directorate of Tourism (DoT), Government of Maharashtra, to position itself as a leading destination for global business events.
A New Convention Bureau is Born
The MCB was announced at IMEX Frankfurt 2025, a move backed by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) to formalise and promote the state’s potential in the global MICE industry. Its creation reflects an understanding that successful business events rely on both infrastructure and destination appeal. Nowhere is this more visible than in Mumbai, Maharashtra’s capital and India’s financial powerhouse.
Mumbai contributes over 6% of India’s GDP and serves as the base for major financial institutions, banks, and stock exchanges. The city also hosts a concentration of national trade and professional associations, making it a natural magnet for conferences and industry gatherings.
Central to Mumbai’s business appeal is the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), a planned commercial district that has grown into the city’s leading corporate address. Strategically located between the airport and the historic city centre, the district hosts multinational headquarters, consulates, and high-end hotels. This is also where the Jio World Convention Centre (JWCC) is located, an expansive venue that has redefined Mumbai’s capacity to host large-scale international events.
Jio World Convention Centre
Spanning over one million square feet, the Jio World Convention Centre offers three modular exhibition halls, two convention halls, a ballroom, and 27 meeting suites and business lounges. Expansive pre-function areas, a dedicated registration hall, and the Sky Deck, an indoor-outdoor venue, provide further flexibility. The design allows for seamless reconfiguration, from international trade fairs and scientific congresses to gala dinners and cultural performances. Fully integrated 5G infrastructure supports hybrid formats and real-time interactivity.
The Jio World Convention Centre is located within the multi-faceted precinct Jio World Centre (JWC) that combines business, culture, and leisure within an 18.5-acre facility. The JWCC is complemented by multi-disciplinary cultural hub, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre which includes performing and visual arts spaces, and two luxury retail complexes: Jio World Plaza within the precinct and Jio World Drive a few blocks away. Together they create an environment where delegates can move seamlessly from a conference to an evening performance, or from a meeting to high-end shopping and dining. Landscaped public areas such as the Dhirubhai Ambani Square and Jio World Garden provide additional space for informal networking. The precinct’s location in Mumbai’s BKC, part of the city’s development model, ensures accessibility from different parts of the metropolis and from the Mumbai International Airport, a 30-minute drive, serving over 80 international destinations. The BKC is served by the Aqua Line, a new underground metro designed to improve public transport and ease connectivity, and will soon be connected to the Yellow Line. The district also links directly to Mumbai’s eastern and western express highways, ensuring fast connections to the airport and accessibility to key parts of the city. Together, these links reinforce the JWCC’s competitiveness as a host venue.
The JWCC’s upcoming calendar includes international conventions, corporate meetings, live events, exhibitions, leadership summits, and creative industry showcases, underscoring its versatility. Combined with the MCB’s coordinated destination marketing, Mumbai is positioning itself as India’s business events capital and as a contender for global association meetings. Confirmed association events include the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Asia-Pacific Regional Congress 2025, the Asian Seed Congress 2025, WordCamp Asia 2026, the ICANN85 Community Forum 2026, the International Baccalaureate Global Conference 2026, and the International Union of Architects (UIA) 2027 International Architecture Forum.
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A City of Ideas and Connections
Mumbai’s advantage for event organisers lies in its intellectual capital, supported by the premium infrastructure of the JWCC to host events of every scale and type. The city is home to leading institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), part of a network of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) widely regarded as among the world’s most renowned schools for engineering, technology, and related fields. Alongside the IITs are Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), and the University of Mumbai, along with research hubs like the Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA). These centres of excellence generate a steady pool of expertise, innovation, and talent that associations can tap into when planning conferences, building local chapters, or expanding membership.
Alongside this academic depth, Mumbai brings together decision-makers in finance, media, manufacturing, and technology, creating an environment where associations can connect across disciplines and foster lasting partnerships. Innovation districts in Navi Mumbai and beyond link local talent with global markets, providing fertile ground for association programmes seeking thought leadership and long-term impact.
A Memorable Experience for Delegates
For delegates, Mumbai offers cultural depth and sensory variety. The Victorian Gothic and Art Deco ensembles of the city centre, a group of remarkable architectural buildings set along a peninsula in the Arabian Sea, are UNESCO World Heritage sites, alongside the nearby Elephanta Caves. Day trips extend to the Ajanta and Ellora cave complexes, while the Western Ghats present delegates with hill stations and protected reserves that shift from tropical wet evergreen forests to grasslands vital for biodiversity conservation. Maharashtra’s culinary traditions, from the seafood-rich Malwani coast to the spice-laden Kolhapuri curries, find expression in restaurants across the city, offering visiting delegates a taste of the state’s regional diversity. Among the city’s landmarks, the Gateway of India stands as a ceremonial arch built in 1924 on the waterfront, facing the historic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the 17th-century Great Maratha King and the founder of the Maratha Empire. Together, these three sites blend heritage with modern hospitality. As a gateway to India, Mumbai is exceptionally well connected to domestic destinations and makes onward travel across the country straightforward for international visitors.
HQ readers can meet the Jio World Convention Centre team at IMEX Las Vegas (Booth No. F725) and ibtm World in Barcelona (Booth No. K21) to learn more about how the Jio World Convention Centre can support organisers in bringing their next global event to Mumbai. More information and pre-scheduled appointments are available via the JWCC’s IMEX profile page.Editor’s note: HQ covered the launch of the Maharashtra Convention Bureau at IMEX Frankfurt. Read the full report here.
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UNESCO World Heritage sites
Photo Credit - Jio World Convention Centre
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