Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 20 (ANI): The Maharashtra Convention Bureau (MCB), Jio World Convention Centre (JWCC) and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) have launched a Conference Ambassador Programme to help bring more international conferences, congresses and business events to Mumbai.

The initiative aims to bring together India's association leaders and industry professionals to champion international conference bids and strengthen Mumbai's position as a global destination for business events and knowledge exchange.

Under the programme, selected Conference Ambassadors will identify potential international association events, build support among local and international stakeholders, contribute industry expertise to bid documents and represent Mumbai's proposals before international decision-making bodies.

JWCC will support the ambassadors through the bidding process, relationship-building activities and marketing initiatives. It will also provide assistance through a Conference Ambassador Grant for eligible bidding expenses, including bid preparation, international travel, site inspections and other qualifying activities.

The Maharashtra Convention Bureau is supporting the programme, while ICCA has joined as the Knowledge Partner. ICCA will provide industry expertise and its international association network to support ambassadors during the bidding process.

The programme comes as India's business events sector continues to expand. According to the Events Industry Council's 2026 Global Economic Significance of Business Events study, conducted with Oxford Economics, business events in 2025 brought together 1.65 billion participants across more than 180 countries and generated USD 1.3 trillion in direct spending.

Including indirect and induced impacts, the business events industry supported USD 3.1 trillion in total business sales, USD 1.8 trillion in total GDP and 24.2 million jobs worldwide.

Maharashtra Tourism Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Khandare said the programme would support the state's efforts to strengthen its position in the global business events sector.

'The Conference Ambassador Programme represents an important step in advancing Maharashtra's position in the global business events landscape,' Khandare said.

He noted that India's position in the ICCA rankings has improved from 37th in 2022 to 26th in 2025, reflecting the country's growing potential as a destination for international conferences and congresses.

'Winning these events is about much more than bringing delegates to our cities; they create platforms for knowledge exchange, professional collaboration and innovation, while generating wider economic value across sectors,' he said.

Since opening in 2022, JWCC has hosted several major international conferences and congresses, including the World Congress of Accountants, International Baccalaureate Global Conference, ICANN Community Forum, Asian Seed Congress, Global Fintech Fest, International Olympic Committee Session and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India.

The convention centre has also secured a pipeline of international events for Mumbai, including the International Congress on Occupational Health 2027, FDI World Dental Congress 2027, IDF World Dairy Summit 2027, URO Asia Congress 2028, World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology Congress 2029, World Congress of Anaesthesiologists 2030 and the 50th SICOT Orthopaedic World Congress 2030.

The Conference Ambassador Programme is open to active association members and industry professionals based in India. Selected ambassadors will receive bid assets, site inspection assistance, publicity support, government relations, networking opportunities, peer learning and expert pitch coaching.

The organisers said the programme is aimed at creating more opportunities for India's professional community to help secure major global conferences and generate wider economic and knowledge-sharing benefits for Maharashtra and the country. (ANI)