Business Development Manager – India

About the Role
We are looking for an experienced Business Development Manager to lead market development and business acquisition for a premium international destination in the weddings, MICE and luxury travel space. The role will be responsible for building relationships with key industry stakeholders, identifying qualified business opportunities and taking them through the sales pipeline — from initial engagement to proposal and conversion. This is a relationship-led, target-driven role suited to someone who understands the Indian wedding, MICE, luxury travel or hospitality ecosystem and has strong access to relevant decision-makers.
Key Responsibilities
o Market Development
o Identify and build relationships with high-value wedding planners, MICE operators, luxury travel advisors and DMCs.
o Develop and maintain a focused database of priority trade partners.
o Understand market trends, customer requirements, destination preferences and competitive offerings.
o Identify new channels and partnerships that can generate business.
· Business Development
o Identify live and upcoming wedding, MICE and luxury group opportunities.
o Qualify opportunities based on guest profile, group size, budget, timing and destination fit.
o Conduct one-to-one meetings, destination presentations and business discussions.
o Develop opportunities through proposals, site visits, FAMs and commercial follow-ups.
o Maintain ownership of opportunities through negotiation and conversion.
o Coordinate with internal teams and destination stakeholders to progress opportunities.
· Relationship Management
o Build long-term relationships with senior wedding planners, MICE agencies, travel advisors and corporate decision-makers.
o Regularly engage priority accounts and maintain a clear follow-up pipeline.
o Participate in industry events, roundtables, trade meetings and curated networking opportunities.
o Gather feedback from the market on pricing, connectivity, product, positioning and destination sellability.
· Reporting & Pipeline Management
o Maintain a live business opportunity tracker.
o Provide regular reporting on leads, opportunity stage, potential value, next actions and conversion status.
o Track market activity and provide actionable insights to the wider marketing team.
Ideal Candidate
· 5–8 years of experience in business development, destination marketing, luxury hospitality, MICE, travel or wedding-related businesses.
· Strong understanding of the Indian wedding, MICE and luxury travel ecosystem.
· Existing relationships with wedding planners, MICE operators, travel agencies, DMCs or corporate travel decision-makers.
· Demonstrated ability to generate and convert high-value business opportunities.
· Strong communication, presentation and negotiation skills.
· Comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders and decision-makers.
· Highly organised with strong follow-up and pipeline management skills.
· Willingness to travel within India and internationally as required.
What Success Looks Like
· Building and actively managing a strong network of priority trade relationships.
· Consistently identifying qualified wedding and MICE opportunities.
· Moving opportunities from initial discussion to proposal, negotiation and conversion.
· Building a sustainable India business pipeline.
· Providing clear market intelligence and commercial feedback.
Why Join Us?
· Opportunity to build an international destination business from the ground up in India.
· High-visibility role with direct exposure to senior industry stakeholders.
· Opportunity to work across luxury travel, destination weddings, MICE and hospitality.
· Significant ownership of the India market-development function.

Work arrangement
No