While India’s share of the global trillion dollar MICE market is still under 1%, the country has moved decisively into a new phase — where the challenge is less about infra and more about strategy, promotion, and governance.
Nisha Verma
The PATA Tourism Powerhouse 2026 panel on MICE in New Delhi was a masterclass in pragmatic optimism. The discussion drew out grounded confidence of Harikishore S, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in India’s readiness and worldly bidding wisdom of Noor Hamid, Chief Executive Officer, PATA, revealing a nation poised to leap from infrastructure solid to global contender.
With India’s MICE share still under 1 per cent of a trillion-dollar pie, the discussion cut through platitudes to spotlight what is working, what is lagging, and how to win big.
Infra in place, marketing in focus
Setting the tone, Harikishore stressed that the fundamentals are no longer India’s weakness. “For MICE to happen, you need infrastructure first, and then it’s a marketing issue,” he said. He pointed out, “India now has 500 five-star hotels with around one lakh rooms, along with big convention centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and many other places.”
He cited the successful hosting of the G20 meetings as proof of capability: “We hosted G20 meetings where more than 200 meetings happened across 60 places. We have the potential. We have demonstrated we can do it, and we have an action plan for MICE too.” He underlined, “With infrastructure taken care of, now it’s about promotion. Once we do great promotion projecting India as a MICE destination, I am sure a lot of business will come to India.”
Govt action-plan
On facilitation and structure, Harikishore explained that the government has drawn up a comprehensive MICE action-plan integrating India’s private sector strengths. “When you break MICE into verticals — meetings, conventions, conferences — for exhibitions, we have Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA), and excellent operators handling incentives. Private players are doing very well, and the associations ecosystem is very strong,” he said.
A key pillar is city-level MICE bureaus. “We are promoting city-level bureaus, asking states to set up specific MICE promotion cells so they market aggressively as one vertical,” he noted. While visas and immigration are a central vertical, he confirmed progress. “We already have two city-level promotion bureaus in Hyderabad and Mumbai. We are planning six more in the next financial year, with a target and action plan for systematic promotion,” he added.
Think ecosystem
Noor Hamid, Chief Executive Officer, PATA, urged India to view MICE as distinct businesses. “MICE is a composition of sectors — exhibitions are totally different from conferences, governmental meetings, corporate travel, or incentives,” he emphasised. He praised India’s exhibition strength, saying, “More exhibition centres are being built around the country, doing extremely well. Some of the top 10 world exhibition organisers are already based in India — this is a testament to how well India is performing there.” Success, he argued, lies in city bureaus aligning events with local strengths.
From his Malaysia tourism experience, he shared how Sarawak won a 15,000-delegate International Water Congress against India. “As a national bureau, we worked with the state. Sarawak is on the third-largest island, with rainforest and lots of rain, but no pipes or systems to deliver water to homes. A young girl presented — ‘Please come to Sarawak because I live in a village; we have rain but no water.”
Hamid closed by noting Asian models where bureaus report to the Prime Minister’s Office: “They have budget leverage and national priority. Combining national and state budgets gives a bigger chance to attract events. It is an investment.”
India’s robust base plus these lessons signal clear potential — market boldly, empower city bureaus and bid with ecosystem-driven stories.
