India's MICE readiness: Evolving landscape
India’s MICE sector is entering a new phase of growth, underpinned by large-scale infrastructure development, evolving policy frameworks and a clear shift towards experience-led offerings. The discussion around the country’s preparedness and future MICE trajectory took centre stage during the panel on ‘India’s MICE Readiness: Evolving Landscape’, steered by Neeraj Dhawan, Hon Treasurer, ICPB and Director, Falcon Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd., at SATTE 2026, where industry stakeholders shared insights on opportunities, structural gaps and the way forward.
Strategic shift towards experience-led MICE
Harikishore S, IAS, Chairman, ICPB and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, emphasised that India’s tourism positioning has significantly evolved over the years. “Earlier, Ministry of Tourism was promoting India as a destination, leisure and heritage. That part is continuing. However, we have special products like MICE, wedding, golf. So there is a strategic focus on MICE and also on the other products,” he said.
He underlined a fundamental shift in traveller behaviour that is now influencing MICE. “Earlier people used to travel for leisure. Now people are traveling for experience. The same thing will happen in MICE. People will not come for a conference in a ballroom. They will come for experience.” He added that India’s cultural depth presents a strong competitive edge. “We have unique cultural and heritage products which people can experience. We just need to focus on our strength and leverage that.”
Infrastructure backed by momentum
Highlighting the country’s readiness, Harikishore pointed to the rapid pace of infrastructure development across regions. “When you compare the present situation… we have Bharat Mandapam, we have Yashobhoomi. G20 conference was done in 60 locations in India, the infrastructure was developed in all the 60 locations, which can host an international conference.
He further noted that India’s advantage lies in its distributed infrastructure model. “We are very strong in infrastructure and growing at a very accelerated pace, both in terms of the conference venue, hotel rooms, and also it is spreading to tier two and tier three cities. The diversity of India's infrastructure is not focused or concentrated on one location, that is our strength.”
At the same time, he acknowledged the need for stronger institutional mechanisms and focused promotion. “We need to focus on both marketing as well as to solve our structural issue. One is a marketing issue, which we can easily solve. Our structural issue is to have strong city-level MICE promotion bureaus.” He added that once cities and states actively take ownership, growth will accelerate further.
Delhi as a leading MICE hub
From a destination standpoint, Suneel Anchipaka, MD and CEO, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, outlined Delhi’s ambitions to emerge as a leading MICE capital in South Asia. “Delhi is not mere political capital of India now. It is fast-growing, becoming South Asia's one of the largest MICE capitals,” he said.
He highlighted the capital’s logistical advantage and seamless connectivity. “The moment I land in international airport, within 20 minutes with seamless transport facilities, I could land in Yashobhoomi. I don't need to stress about transfers, my luggage, that’s how Delhi is uniquely positioned.”
On the policy front, he revealed that new frameworks are being developed to strengthen the ecosystem. “DTDC, with the collaboration of GoI, we are ready to come up with a new policy framework, a new MICE policy, with incentivising measures.” He added that both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives are being considered to attract more international business travellers.
Importantly, he stressed the broader economic impact of the segment. “We are not treating MICE as merely a business opportunity. Rather, it is a complete economic multiplier, in terms of jobs, food, retail, transport and local artisans benefiting the local economy.”
IRCTC eyes experiential MICE offerings
Promila Gupta, Group General Manager, Tourism at IRCTC, highlighted the organisation’s readiness to tap into the growing MICE opportunity with integrated offerings. “IRCTC is now completely ready for MICE. Because we realise, we are very strong in making a person comfortable from all quarters.”
She noted that IRCTC’s strength lies in providing end-to-end solutions. “If any company wants to do a MICE event in India, we can give them complete solution. Because we have air facilities, air ticketing within us, we can plan train journey, we can plan the complete heritage trip.”
She also pointed to innovative formats such as luxury rail-based conferencing. “We have our luxury train, Golden Chariot, which is available for charters, for conferences, and while you are traveling, you can do your conference on the wheels. You can have the feel of luxury travel across the country and do your work as well.”
While acknowledging current positioning, she added, “We are not really having very good standing in MICE as of now. We have very big plans to collaborate with our private partners to execute all the events, to make IRCTC and India a MICE destination for the world.”
ITPO eyes scale & leadership
Premjit Lal, Executive Director, India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), outlined the scale of ambition for the sector. “We are going to increase from a 50 billion industry to a 100 billion industry in next 4-5 years,” he said, signalling strong growth potential.
He emphasised the central role of Bharat Mandapam in this journey. “Bharat Mandapam is going to play a very big and vital role in organising all the spectrum of the MICE industry, be it meetings, incentives or exhibitions.”
Highlighting the surge in activity, he said, “Last year, we had only 90 exhibitions. This year, we have been able to have 120 exhibitions. In conferences, we have crossed more than 400 this year, and events with Prime Minister and President have crossed more than 100 since G20.”
He added that the venue serves a larger strategic purpose. “It has to provide not only the venue, but this is the gateway to the Indian market. We want that the world should meet not only Bharat, but Bharat should lead the world.”
Building globally competitive IPs
P Ramakrishna, CEO, India Mobile Congress, highlighted the complexity of building large-scale, sustainable MICE IPs. “Creating an IP is a herculean task. It is a task we need to sustain for n number of years, we have to scale it year on year, make our balance sheet profitable.”
He stressed that sectoral relevance and institutional support are critical. “Anything which we do, we should bring the growth of this sector into the forefront. Institutional support should continue because we now have to scale it to the global map.”
Technology, he added, is reshaping how success is measured. “It is no longer footfall. It is more what you take away from the event, those measurable quantities we are trying to augment by technology, whether it's AI, VR, networking.” He also acknowledged infrastructure challenges but remained optimistic. “Slowly we are building up, definitely we will build this up as we go on.”
Sustainability as a core pillar
Ritika Gupta, Vice President Corporate Sales, IHCL, highlighted the growing importance of sustainability in MICE decision-making. “The circular economy today is a very important by-product of what people expect when they come to a conference,” she said.
She elaborated on IHCL’s ESG framework, Paathya, and its Innergise Green Meetings initiative. “We did a lot of work, because you don’t want to just make a false claim and say you can come for a green meeting.” She noted that the initiative is now operational across Taj, Vivanta and SeleQtions hotels and has been in play for over 18 months.
She also highlighted practical sustainability measures, from glass bottled water to EV charging stations and recycling initiatives. “It’s very fancy to say carbon neutral, but it is more important to see what you actually do.” She added that consumer expectations are evolving. “The decision of going to a hotel was dependent on whether glass bottles were available.”
Tier II & III cities driving growth
Surendra Pal Singh, Head of Marketing, Informa Markets India, pointed to the increasing role of emerging cities in driving the next phase of MICE growth. “Tier two and tier three cities are not just the growth drivers for the industry overall, they’re also adding to those revenues,” he said.
He highlighted the company’s regional-first strategy focused on expanding into smaller markets. “We are targeting smaller cities and building the ecosystem with local bodies, local councils and promotion councils being very important.”
He also outlined key expectations from the government. “Infrastructure, visibility and last-mile connectivity are critical. Additionally, he stressed the need for streamlined processes. “Single window clearance is very important for smooth execution.”
