A crowd gathered at night in Registan Square in Samarkand, in front of the lit-up madrasas

International destination

Central Asia and the CIS for corporate offsites from India: Baku to Tashkent

Tashkent, Almaty, Baku and Tbilisi are three to six hours from Delhi and Mumbai. Compare the region's destinations for corporate groups, from the Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan to Caucasus wine country and the lakes of Kyrgyzstan.

Plan an event in CIS and Central Asia

Flight time: About 3 to 6 hours non-stop from Delhi or Mumbai to Tashkent, Almaty, Baku and Tbilisi; Armenia connects once
Visa: Kazakhstan is visa-free for Indian passports. The rest need an e-visa, which ICE India files for the whole group
Best months: April to June and September to October across the region
ICE India in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Planned by ICE India, with vetted local partners on the ground.

Why companies take groups to Central Asia and the Caucasus

Short flights, small time shift
Delhi and Mumbai have non-stop flights to the main cities, and Tashkent, Almaty and Bishkek keep time within 30 minutes of India, so the first day is a working day.
Heritage guests have not seen
Samarkand's Registan, the old city of Bukhara, Tbilisi's sulphur baths and the Armenian monasteries give a trip beyond the usual skylines and beaches.
Mountains beside the cities
Almaty, Bishkek, Tbilisi and Yerevan each sit within reach of snow peaks or a lake, so a conference morning can turn into a mountain afternoon.
Ballrooms for 500 or more
Baku, Tashkent, Almaty and Bishkek have hotel ballrooms for 500 or more, and a congress centre in Samarkand holds 3,000.
Dinners with a story
A Georgian supra feast, an Uzbek plov lunch, Armenian brandy and a Kyrgyz yurt dinner each give a gala evening a local character.
Indian food in every capital
Each destination below names Indian restaurants, and hotel kitchens can be briefed ahead for vegetarian and Jain meals.

Central Asia and the Caucasus for corporate groups

The region does three jobs for Indian companies. Baku, Tashkent and Almaty handle conferences and dealer meets in five-star ballrooms. Georgia and Armenia offer wine, mountains and monasteries. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan bring Silk Road and nomad stories to incentive groups.

Russia has a guide of its own, with Moscow and St Petersburg for groups of up to 500: read the Russia guide. Six other destinations are covered on this page, each with its own hotels, galas and food.

Your contract is with ICE India in Mumbai and is in rupees, and a vetted local partner in each country runs the ground arrangements for us.

Compare the region's destinations

Flight time, visa and season for every destination in the region. Russia has its own guide.

CIS and Central Asia for groups from India
Destination	Flight from India	Visa for Indian passports	Best months	Best for
Baku (Azerbaijan)	About 5 hours non-stop from Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad; one stop from other cities	Single-entry e-visa, up to 30 days, about 3 working days	April to June and September to October	Incentive trips and conferences of 50 to 1,000, with Gabala and Sheki add-ons
Georgia	About 6 hours non-stop from Mumbai (IndiGo); one stop from other cities	E-visa, or visa-free entry with a valid US, UK or Schengen visa	April to June and September to October; skiing December to March	Wine, mountains and a short flight
Armenia	No non-stop; one stop via Sharjah, Dubai or Istanbul, about 9 to 13 hours from Delhi and Mumbai	E-visa, processed in 3 working days	May to June and mid-September to mid-October	Brandy, monasteries and a walkable capital
Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara)	About 3 hours non-stop from Delhi; non-stop from Mumbai too; Samarkand and Bukhara by train from Tashkent	E-visa in about 2 working days; visa-free with a valid multiple-entry US, UK, Schengen, Canadian, Australian, Japanese, Korean or New Zealand visa	April to May and September to October	Silk Road heritage trips of 5 or 6 nights and conferences of 300 or more
Kazakhstan (Almaty)	About 3.5 hours non-stop from Delhi and Mumbai (Air Astana, IndiGo)	Visa-free for up to 14 days	Late May to June and September to early October	Mountain days beside a five-star city, and winter ski groups
Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek, Issyk-Kul)	About 3.5 hours non-stop from Delhi (Aero Nomad); one stop from other cities	E-visa, up to 5 working days	June to mid-September for the lake	Yurts, eagle hunters and mountain scenery
Russia	About 6.5 hours non-stop from Delhi (Aeroflot); one stop from other cities	E-visa applied for online	May to September	Moscow and St Petersburg galas and conferences of up to 500

More of the region for groups

Six destinations, each with hotels, a gala venue and Indian restaurants for groups.

The Flame Towers rising above the Old City rooftops of Baku, with the TV tower to the left

The red-lit Flame Towers and their reflection in the Caspian Sea at dusk in Baku

Flame Towers ballrooms, a walled Old City and the Land of Fire

Baku, Azerbaijan

Baku suits Indian groups that want a new destination with five-star comforts. Delhi has non-stop flights, the visa is an online e-visa, and Baku runs only 90 minutes behind India. The city has hosted Eurovision, Formula 1 and COP29, and the Baku Convention Center seats 3,500.

A walled medieval Old City sits beside the glass Flame Towers and a Caspian promenade. Groups drive out to Gobustan for rock carvings and mud volcanoes, and to Yanar Dag, where natural gas burns on a hillside at dusk.

Places to visit: Icheri Sheher and the Maiden Tower, the Shirvanshah Palace, the Heydar Aliyev Center and the Ateshgah fire temple, with the Caspian promenade at Park Bulvar.
Team activities: Gobustan by 4x4, Yanar Dag at dusk, and a two-night Gabala and Sheki extension with a cable car, a khan's palace and a silk-road caravanserai.
Gala dinner venues: Sharg Zali at the JW Marriott Absheron seats 600, and the Nizami Ganjavi Grand Ballroom at the Fairmont Baku seats 720. The Gobustan reserve suits unusual evenings.
Indian restaurants for groups: Namaste, Maharani Indian Restaurant, Curry House and Masala Junction. ICE India briefs the kitchens in advance for vegetarian and Jain meals.
Food, souvenirs and shopping: Try plov, dolma and qutab. Bring home Sheki halva, saffron, carpets and copperware from Icheri Sheher, and fruit and spices from Taza Bazaar.

Selected corporate venues in Baku, Azerbaijan
Hotel	Area	Rooms	Event venues	Largest indoor venue (sq ft, theatre)
Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard	Baku Boulevard	813	12	Tagiyev Ballroom: about 14,300 sq ft, up to 1,200 guests
Fairmont Baku Flame Towers	Flame Towers	299	11	Nizami Ganjavi Grand Ballroom: about 10,900 sq ft, 840
Hilton Baku	City centre near the waterfront	309	21	Sevda Ballroom: about 7,260 sq ft, 650
Four Seasons Hotel Baku	Old City edge	171	5	Segah Grand Ballroom: about 6,890 sq ft, 450

Old Tbilisi at dusk with the Narikala fortress, church domes and the river lit up below

The Gergeti Trinity Church on its ridge above Kazbegi, with green hills and cloud-covered peaks behind

Wine country, mountains and a Black Sea coast

Georgia

Georgia gives Indian groups wine country, mountains and a Black Sea coast in one compact country, with Tbilisi as the base. The sulphur-bath quarter, the balconied streets of Old Tbilisi and the wine estates of Kakheti are all within a day's reach.

It stands apart through hospitality and wine. A supra feast led by a toastmaster, the tamada, is the traditional dinner, and qvevri winemaking is on the UNESCO list. Batumi suits seaside conferences, and Gudauri, two hours north, suits mountain retreats.

Places to visit: Old Tbilisi and the Narikala fortress, the sulphur baths of Abanotubani, Mtskheta with its Jvari monastery, Kakheti wine cellars, and Kazbegi along the Georgian Military Highway.
Team activities: A qvevri winemaking session, a khinkali and khachapuri cooking class, churchkhela making and horse riding at a wine estate, finished with a supra dinner.
Gala dinner venues: Château Mukhrani, a royal wine estate about 45 to 60 minutes from Tbilisi with a tamada and a string quartet on request, and the hotel ballrooms listed below.
Indian restaurants for groups: Taj Mahal, Bollywood Masala and Khushi, all in Tbilisi and all serving vegetarian dishes. ICE India briefs the kitchens in advance for Jain meals.
Food, souvenirs and shopping: Khachapuri, khinkali and aubergine with walnuts suit vegetarians. Bring home wine, churchkhela, honey and dried fruit from Orbeliani Bazaar, and crafts from Meidan Bazaar.

Selected corporate venues in Georgia
Hotel	Area	Rooms	Event venues	Largest indoor venue (sq ft, theatre)
Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace	Old Tbilisi, Avlabari	220	12 event rooms	about 10,200 sq ft, 1,050 theatre (Kavkasioni Ballroom)
The Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi	Rustaveli Avenue	214	8 meeting rooms plus ballroom and amphitheatre	about 5,900 sq ft, 550 theatre (Grand Royal Ballroom)
Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel	Rose Revolution Square, Tbilisi	236	9 meeting rooms	about 3,700 sq ft, 350 theatre (Iveria Ballroom)
Sheraton Batumi Hotel	Batumi, Black Sea coast	202	10 meeting rooms	about 10,500 sq ft, 850 theatre (Grand Ballroom)

The columns of the Garni temple, with visitors on its steps beneath a cloudy sky

Khor Virap monastery on the Ararat plain, with snow-capped Mount Ararat rising behind green fields

Yerevan, brandy cellars and day trips to monasteries

Armenia

Armenia offers a compact capital and a landscape of day trips that few Indian teams have seen. Republic Square, the Cascade and the Vernissage market are close together, and Garni, Geghard, Khor Virap and Lake Sevan are half-day or full-day drives.

The Marriott ballroom holds 500 theatre-style, so a plenary for a few hundred fits one hotel, with a second hotel for the overflow. Yerevan is brandy and lavash country, and a cellar tasting or a tonir bake suits a team day.

Places to visit: Republic Square, with its singing fountains in the evening, the Cascade and its sculpture garden, the Matenadaran manuscript library, and the Vernissage market on weekends.
Team activities: A day to Garni temple, Geghard monastery and a lavash bake, a full day to Khor Virap and the Areni wine cellars, and a brandy tasting at Ararat.
Gala dinner venues: The Tigran the Great Ballroom at Armenia Marriott seats 320 for dinner, Masis at Tsaghkadzor Marriott 220, and the Cafesjian Center at the Cascade hires out its spaces.
Indian restaurants for groups: India Palace, beside the Marriott near Republic Square, serves vegetarian and vegan dishes and halal meat. ICE India briefs hotel kitchens in advance for Jain meals.
Food, souvenirs and shopping: Try khorovats, meat grilled over vine wood, with dolma and lavash. Bring home Ararat brandy, dried apricots, ceramics and carpets from the Vernissage and GUM markets.

Selected corporate venues in Armenia
Hotel	Area	Rooms	Event venues	Largest indoor venue (sq ft, theatre)
Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan	Republic Square, central	Not available	9 event rooms	Tigran the Great Ballroom: about 6,300 sq ft, 500 theatre
Radisson Blu Hotel Yerevan	Kanaker-Zeytun hillside	142	6 meeting rooms	Armenia Ballroom: about 2,110 sq ft, 200 theatre
The Alexander a Luxury Collection Hotel	Central Yerevan	114	6 event rooms	Event space: about 5,850 sq ft in all, 200 in the largest room
Tsaghkadzor Marriott Hotel	Tsaghkadzor mountain resort	100	3 event rooms	Masis Ballroom: about 4,400 sq ft, 350 theatre
Hotel Dilijan Resort & Spa	Dilijan	71	3 meeting rooms	Not available, 150 (large meeting room)

Shoppers and traders among the stalls of the domed Chorsu Bazaar in Tashkent

The Kalyan Minaret and the blue dome of the Po-i-Kalyan mosque in Bukhara against a clear sky

Registan, caravanserais and a high-speed train

Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara

Uzbekistan is the Silk Road trip for Indian groups. A non-stop flight of about three hours from Delhi lands in Tashkent, the Afrosiyob high-speed train reaches Samarkand in about two hours, and local time is only 30 minutes behind India.

Registan, Gur-e-Amir and the Kalyan Minaret give a heritage programme few cities can match, and Samarkand's core is walkable. Hotels in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara hold plenaries of 300 or more, and one Samarkand congress centre holds 3,000.

Places to visit: Chorsu Bazaar and the Hazrati Imam complex in Tashkent, Registan, Gur-e-Amir and Shah-i-Zinda in Samarkand, and the Ark fortress, Kalyan Minaret and Lyabi-Hauz in Bukhara.
Team activities: The Afrosiyob train between cities, a Tashkent metro station walk, a plov lunch, and a mountain day at Chimgan, about 80 km from the capital.
Gala dinner venues: The Grand Hall at Silk Road Samarkand takes about 1,500 at a banquet. The Nadir Divan-Begi madrasa courtyard in Bukhara hosts a nightly dinner with a folklore show.
Indian restaurants for groups: The Park, Kaarvan and Raaj Kapur in Tashkent, Dostana in Samarkand and Afsona in Bukhara. Jain meals at The Park and Raaj Kapur need a day's notice.
Food, souvenirs and shopping: Plov is the national dish. Bring home suzani embroidery, Rishtan ceramics and carpets from the Bukhara trading domes and Chorsu Bazaar.

Selected corporate venues in Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara
Hotel	Area	Rooms	Event venues	Largest indoor venue (sq ft, theatre)
Hyatt Regency Tashkent	Tashkent	300	5 meeting rooms plus ballroom	Ballroom: about 9,090 sq ft, 800 theatre
Hilton Tashkent City	Tashkent City district	258	6 meeting rooms	Grand Ballroom: about 7,790 sq ft, 500 theatre
Hilton Samarkand Regency	Samarkand	232	5 meeting rooms	Ballroom: about 5,890 sq ft, 500
Silk Road by Minyoun	Samarkand	241	Congress centre with many halls	Grand Hall: about 37,700 sq ft, up to 3,000 guests
Wyndham Bukhara	Bukhara	212	Event space of about 11,270 sq ft	Ballroom: up to 300
Hotel Bukhara Palace	Bukhara	440	6 event spaces	Conference hall: 300 theatre

The colourful domes of Zenkov Cathedral in Almaty beneath a cloudy sky

A forested valley holding the dark water of the middle Kolsai lake beneath low cloud

Five-star hotels at the foot of the Tien Shan

Kazakhstan: Almaty

Almaty puts a modern city of five-star hotels at the foot of the Tien Shan mountains. Air Astana and IndiGo fly non-stop from Delhi, Indian passports enter without a visa, and local time is 30 minutes behind India.

Medeu, Shymbulak and Big Almaty Lake sit 15 to 30 minutes from the hotels, so a mountain afternoon can follow a morning session. Charyn Canyon, about 200 km away, and the Kolsai Lakes need a full day or an overnight.

Places to visit: Zenkov Cathedral in Panfilov Park, the Kok-Tobe hill by cable car, the Green Bazaar and the Arbat pedestrian street, with the Tamgaly petroglyphs about 170 km away.
Team activities: The Medeu rink and Shymbulak cable car, Big Almaty Lake, Charyn Canyon, and a day at the Huns ethno-village with yurts, a horse show, archery and a baursak class.
Gala dinner venues: The Royal Tulip Grand Ballroom takes 999 at a banquet and the DoubleTree ballroom 300. The Yurta restaurant seats 104 and has a private yurt in its courtyard.
Indian restaurants for groups: The Pakwaan serves pure vegetarian and Jain food and works with tour companies. Silver Spoon has a group buffet with Jain dishes, and Magic Masala is on Abay Avenue.
Food, souvenirs and shopping: Try beshbarmak, boiled meat over noodles, with baursak. Bring home felt goods, dried fruit, nuts and honey from the Green Bazaar, which has traded since 1875.

Selected corporate venues in Kazakhstan: Almaty
Hotel	Area	Rooms	Event venues	Largest indoor venue (sq ft, theatre)
Royal Tulip Almaty	Medeu and Kok-Tobe foothills	165	Grand Ballroom and 3 conference rooms	Grand Ballroom: about 26,900 sq ft, 1,000 theatre
Rixos Almaty	Pine Park area	237	Not available	Alatau Ballroom, divisible into three rooms
InterContinental Almaty	Zheltoksan Street	277	Grand Ballroom and 4 other rooms	Grand Ballroom: about 5,380 sq ft, 550 theatre
The Ritz-Carlton Almaty	Esentai Tower	Not available	6 event rooms	Ballroom: about 8,480 sq ft, 700
Swissotel Wellness Resort Alatau Almaty	Almaty	222	7 meeting rooms	Phoenix Event Hall: about 8,270 sq ft, 400 theatre

Visitors walking among stone figures at the Burana Tower site, with snow peaks behind

A white boat on the blue water of Lake Issyk-Kul, with mountains and a lakeside town behind

Yurts, eagle hunters and a lake in the mountains

Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek and Issyk-Kul

Kyrgyzstan is the mountain and nomad trip: Issyk-Kul lake, snow peaks, yurt dinners and eagle-hunting displays within a day's drive of Bishkek. It suits incentive groups that want scenery and culture more than shopping or nightlife.

Bishkek has two international hotels, and the Sheraton ballroom holds 1,050 theatre-style. On the lake, the five-star Baku Resort and Spa opened in July 2026, with a column-free congress hall of about 11,200 sq ft.

Places to visit: Burana Tower and its stone figures, Ala-Archa national park, Ala-Too Square and the Osh Bazaar near Bishkek, and the Cholpon-Ata petroglyphs and Jeti-Oguz rocks on the lake.
Team activities: An eagle-hunting demonstration at Bokonbaevo, a yurt dinner and night on the lakeshore, and a walk through Skazka, the Fairy Tale Canyon.
Gala dinner venues: The Grand Bishkek Ballroom at the Sheraton takes 525 at a banquet, and the Absheron Congress Hall at Baku Resort and Spa on Issyk-Kul is built for galas.
Indian restaurants for groups: Salaam Namaste, The Host, Gandhi Indian Restaurant and Desi Dhaba, all in Bishkek. Salaam Namaste keeps separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian menus.
Food, souvenirs and shopping: Try beshbarmak, lagman and boorsok, with kymyz, fermented mare's milk, in summer. Bring home shyrdak felt rugs, kalpak hats and dried fruit from the Osh Bazaar.

Selected corporate venues in Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek and Issyk-Kul
Hotel	Area	Rooms	Event venues	Largest indoor venue (sq ft, theatre)
Sheraton Bishkek	Bishkek	Not available	9 event rooms	Grand Bishkek Ballroom: about 6,300 sq ft, 1,050 theatre
Hyatt Regency Bishkek	Bishkek	147	6 meeting rooms	Shayr Ballroom: about 2,870 sq ft, 280 theatre
Orion Hotel Bishkek	Bishkek	84	Karkyra Ballroom and meeting rooms	Karkyra Ballroom: 246 guests
Baku Resort & Spa	Issyk-Kul north shore	111	Absheron Congress Hall	Congress hall: about 11,220 sq ft, column-free
Raduga Resort Center	Sary-Oi, near Cholpon-Ata	Not available	Conference hall and small hall	Conference hall: 200 guests

Events ICE India has run in CIS and Central Asia

Oil and gas distribution company
Sixty-five guests spent six days in Uzbekistan in 2018, taking the Afrosiyob train from Tashkent to Samarkand and Bukhara. They saw the Registan, the Ark fortress and the Kalyan Minaret, and dined in historic caravanserais.

Planning an event in CIS and Central Asia: questions

Which destination needs the least visa work?

Kazakhstan, which Indian passport holders enter without a visa for up to 14 days. Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan use e-visas, and ICE India files them together for the whole group.

Which destination suits a conference of more than 500?

Baku, Tashkent, Almaty and Bishkek have hotel ballrooms for 700 or more. The Silk Road congress centre in Samarkand holds up to 3,000. Armenia and the Kyrgyz lake suit groups of up to a few hundred.

Can we take vegetarian and Jain guests?

Yes. Every capital has Indian restaurants, named in each section. Jain meals need notice, so ICE India briefs hotel kitchens and restaurants before arrival.

Which destinations suit a winter incentive?

Almaty and the Shymbulak resort ski from December to March. Gudauri in Georgia suits mountain retreats, and Karakol on Issyk-Kul has a ski season from late November.

We are a travel agency or tourism body in the region. How do we reach Indian buyers?

ICE India offers India representation to tourism boards, bureaux and destination companies. Read how a mandate starts on the Destination Representation page.

Other regions

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Africa
South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Zimbabwe, for safari and winelands incentives.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Adam Harangozó, Petar Milošević, AseinMad and Xoncha (CC BY-SA (opens in a new tab) 4.0); Frokor (CC BY-SA (opens in a new tab) 3.0); Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY (opens in a new tab) 4.0); Francisco Anzola (CC BY (opens in a new tab) 3.0); Stefan Wisselink (CC BY (opens in a new tab) 2.0).

ICE India runs this from Mumbai

ICE India is a corporate event management and MICE company, founded in Mumbai in 2009. We have delivered 1,500+ events, with 98% client retention.

For Baku, Georgia, Uzbekistan and the rest of the region, ICE India holds the contract in India and uses vetted local partners in each country. A single point of contact runs the programme, end to end.

ICE India plans incentive trips and offsites here and runs conferences for corporate groups. Share your dates and the two or three cities you have in mind, and we come back with venues and a quote. We reply within one working day.

About our MICE services Corporate travel

Central Asia and the CIS for corporate offsites from India: Baku to Tashkent

Why companies take groups to Central Asia and the Caucasus

Short flights, small time shift

Heritage guests have not seen

Mountains beside the cities

Ballrooms for 500 or more

Dinners with a story

Indian food in every capital