India has world-class tourism infrastructure but lacks structural readiness for MICE growth, said Dr Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and Director General, Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India, at PATA India Tourism PowerHouse 2026. He noted that while facilities and connectivity are in place, most cities lack convention promotion bureaus. To address this, the Ministry of Tourism plans a new funding framework to support state-led MICE bidding.
Dr Billa said, “10 years ago, we did not have the infrastructure. Today, we do,” he said, pointing to India’s proven capacity to deliver major international events. “The challenge is not facilities. The challenge is that we are not structurally ready for MICE.” Globally, Dr Billa explained, cities compete through convention promotion bureaus that mobilise the entire destination. “All across the world, how does MICE work? You have a city convention promotion bureau,” he said. “They get the city to start rolling.” In India, however, this approach remains limited. “Except for Hyderabad, and now Mumbai, there is no other city, which has a city convention promotion bureau.” The absence of such bodies, he noted, places an unfair burden on professional conference organisers. “Today it has become the Professional Conference Organiser’s (PCOs) problem,” he remarked. “I have to run around to the hotel, the florist, the government, and everybody treats it as if it is my business and not their business.” This fragmented system, he warned, weakens India’s competitiveness in global bidding. To address this gap, the MoT plans to introduce a new support framework from the next financial year. “We are going to put a corpus,” Dr Billa said. “We will support states to bid for MICE, but the prerequisite is that you need to have a city convention promotion bureau.” Under this model, state contributions will be matched by central funding.
