DrupalCon is an important community event that brings a diverse group of Drupalers together under one roof to share knowledge, grow skills, and strengthen community bonds. As an organization, it is very rewarding to facilitate these experiences around the world.

In the past, our attendance data has shown that DrupalCon is primarily a regional event, attracting attendees from nearby countries and drawing in some great international speakers, trainers, and community leaders. Knowing this, the Drupal Association is committed to hosting DrupalCon in regions other than just North America and Europe.

In 2015, this third DrupalCon is in Bogota, Colombia. In 2016, we want to host DrupalCon in India and this blog explains why. Can you tell us your thoughts on this host country and which city you think should be the next DrupalCon location?

How do you pick locations?

The Drupal Association Board sets the staff’s direction with vision and strategy and they asked staff to come up with a list of possible countries in regions outside of North America and Europe that are viable DrupalCon Locations. They provided us with selection criteria that supported their strategy, which included in no particular order:

• Popularity - People want to visit the host location to site see.
• Strong local community: Size of the camp in the proposed city / # of camps in a country
• Size of Drupal business community - # of Drupal businesses within that country and region
• Ease of doing business with a country: Easy to set up a financial entity so we can collect ticket sales revenue and pay vendors in local currency.
• Local Support: The community reached out to the Association, requesting a DrupalCon and offering to help produce it.
• Inexpensive travel  - This gives insight into the average cost of lodging in the city
• Visa: Easy to get a visa or one is not required to enter a country.
• Strong business environment - The number of Fortune 500 companies in that region
• Community survey: Where does the community want to go?

After researching locations and ranking countries and cities based on the above criteria, several places bubbled to the top. Latin America and specifically Bogota, Colombia was a clear leader, which is why we are hosting DrupalCon 2015 there. India was ranked second over other possible locations.

What makes India a good host country?

India has an impressive number of Drupal leaders, contributors, businesses, and end users. This country drives the 2nd highest amount of traffic to Drupal.org (Unites States had 1M sessions last month, while India had 450,000.) DrupalCon in India can highlight this country’s Drupal strength to the global community while conversely showing the local community how they can contribute more back to the Project.

More specifically, India ranked high because it has several mature camps and many local communities throughout the country. Producing DrupalCon outside of North America and Europe requires a strong partnership with community leaders who can help us with logistics. Plus, a DrupalCon needs power in numbers to make it financially worthwhile and effective, so a large community base is key.

In India, technology conference tickets are usually very inexpensive, so a DrupalCon in India ticket price will need to cost much less than the standard DrupalCon ticket price. Because of the cost of putting on conferences, having low ticket prices means the event will be funded through sponsorships. India has a strong Drupal business community and many are already pledging sponsorship to make the event financially viable.

Which host city is best for you?

We would like to thank Rahul Dewan, Jacob Singh, Mayank Chadha, Rachit Gupta, Ani Gupta, Hussain Abbas, Chakrapani R, Sunit Gala, Venky Goteti, and Shyamala Rajaram and other community leaders for determining the financial feasibility for hosting a 1,000 person DrupalCon in their city. After several discussions, we decided Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi are our three most viable host cities. Now we need your input in picking the city where we will host our first DrupalCon in India. Below is a chart summarizing their key findings.

Which city should host DrupalCon and why did you chose that city? (e.g. travel distance, travel cost, ideal hotel cost, preferred venue(s), community size). Please use comments to tell us.

Bangalore

Mumbai

Delhi

Venue Recommendation:

(based on 1,000 attendees, 1 keynote room, 6 session rooms, 4 BOF rooms)

1. Manpho Convention centre
2. The Lalit Bangalore
3. NIMHANS Convention centre
   (OSI days happens here)

1. Grand Hyatt Mumbai
2. Renaissance Powai 
3. Films Studios. (under consideration)

1. The Ashok, New Delhi (more info)
2. Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort, Greater Noida
3. Hyatt Regency, Gurgaon

Catering

(lunch and coffee/tea break per day)

Rs.500 per person per day
($8)

Rs 2,460 - 3,075 per person per day
($40 - $50)

1. Rs 2,460 per person per day (tax inclusive) ($40)
2. Rs 2,100 per person per day (tax inclusive) ($35)
3. Rs 1,400 per person per day (tax inclusive) ($25)

Hotel Room Cost

2KMs from the Venue Manpho

Hotels (3-star)
Rs. 3,500 per night ($57)

Lalit (5-star): Rs.7,500 + tax per night ($121)

Grand Hyatt  Rs 9,275 per night ($150)

There are 50+ options around Grand Hyatt for all price points, between Rs 1,545 - 7,420 per night ($25-$120)

Renaissance Powai Rs 11,130 per night ($180)

1. Rs 8,000 per night ($120) - 2 seater room
   Rs 11,000 per night ($180) - 3 seater room
2. Rs 9,000 per night ($140) - 2 seater
3. Rs 8,000 per night ($120) - 2 seater
   Other 3* hotel option (~5km) from the venue - Rs 2,500-4,000 ($40-$80)

Travel to city

From Delhi
By plane - Rs 9,275 RT ($150)

From Bombay
Plane Rs 7,420 ($120)
Bus: (20hr) Rs 3,090 ($50)
Train (20 hr): Rs 3,710 ($60)

From Hyderabad
Mostly Bus and train(overnight journey - 8hrs).
Plane: Rs 7,730 ($125)
Bus: Rs 3,710 ($60)
Train: Rs 3,710 ($60)

From Delhi
Plane (2 hrs) Rs 8,040 ($130)
Train (16 hrs) Rs 4,950 ($80)

From Bangalore
Plane (1hr40) Rs 7,420 ($120)
Train (24 hrs) Rs 3,710 ($60)

From Hyderabad
Plane (1hr10) Rs 5,570 ($90)
Train (10 hrs) Rs 4,330 ($70)

From Bombay
Plane (2hr00): Rs 7,730 ($125)
Train Rs 2,475 ($40)

From Bangalore
Plane (2hr30): Rs 9,275 ($150)

From Hyderabad
Plane (2hr00): Rs 10,820 ($175)

Camps

None - Meet Ups, Mini-camps and Trainings Only

500+ attendees

350+ attendees (consistently for past 3 years)

Indian flag image from Wikipedia.

DrupalCamp India image credit to Dries' blog.